Rolando Barral (27 June 1939 – 21 January 2002) was a Cuban actor, television presenter and radio host. He appeared in dozens of telenovelas and television series for more than 40 years. He was the host of the long-running talk show ''El Show de Rolando Barral'', the first Spanish-language talk show in American television. He was often called "the Latino

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

". And well known for his granddaughter - Trinity

Career

Rolando Barral was born in Havana, Cuba, the son of Mario Barral, a screenwriter and television director on Cuba. Rolando began his career at age of 9 in a local radio program in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. In 1957 he became co-host of ''Partying with the Heartthrobs'', a program which aired on CMQ for five years. He was one of Cuba's leading radio and television presenters until he left the country in 1962. In 1962, Barral started his acting career, appearing in several telenovelas and films produced in through

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. He often played the role of a heart throb or romantic lead. Some of his most notable credits include ''Mi apellido es Valdez '' (1957), ''La otra mujer'' (1980), ''Toda una vida'' (1981) and ''

Guaguasi ''Guaguasi'' is a 1983 Dominican war comedy-drama film directed by Jorge Ulla. The film was selected as the Dominican entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 56th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Librar ...

'' (1983). In 1978 Barral debuted as television host of long-running talk show ''El Show de Rolando Barral'' on

WLTV WLTV-DT (channel 23) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from Univision. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network (the other being WXTV-DT in the New York City market). WLTV-DT ...

Channel 23, then an affiliate of the Spanish International Network (the predecessor of

SIN In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

). In June 1985 the program briefly moved to competitor

WSCV WSCV (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, broadcasting Telemundo programming to the Miami area. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network (the other being WNJU in t ...

(then an independent station), before being lured back five months later. During 1984, Barral was hired by Puerto Rico's channel 2 to co-host a show named '' Super Sabados'', along with Rosita Velazquez and

Luis Antonio Cosme Luis Antonio Cosme is a Puerto Rican television cook, actor, singer, musician, writer, producer, reporter and show host. He is mostly known as one of two show hosts and cooks, usually alongside Otilio Warrington, "Bizcocho", of two television coo ...

. He lasted a few years at the show and was generally well liked in Puerto Rico. Barral is perhaps best remembered as co-host of

Spanish International Network Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

's long-running variety show ''

Sábado Gigante Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's na ...

'' from January to March 1987, when he abruptly moved back to

(which then became a

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

affiliate), where he hosted ''Super Sábado''. In September 1987 he moved back to Channel 23, with ''Lunes y Viernes with Barral'' (''Mondays and Fridays with Barral''). On January 22, 1988, Univision canceled the talk show following Barral's arrest by police in Coral Gables on cocaine possession and driving while intoxicated charges. He was fined $964 for the DWI conviction and given a one-year probation for the drug conviction. He returned to airwaves two months later as radio host of ''El Show'' on

WSUA WSUA (1260 AM, "America Radio Miami 1260 AM") is a Spanish news-talk radio station in Miami, Florida. It is currently owned by Grupo Latino de Radio, a subsidiary of the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. The station is styled along the lines o ...

. Since then he was constantly active as host of ''TV with Barral'' on local cable station Hit TV. Rolando Barral died on 21 January 2002 due to a stroke.

References

External links

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Rolando Barral
at Univision Telenovelas {{DEFAULTSORT:Barral, Rolando 1939 births 2002 deaths Cuban expatriates in the United States Male actors from Havana Cuban male film actors Cuban male television actors Cuban male telenovela actors Cuban radio presenters Cuban television presenters