Tommy Muñiz

Lucas Tomás Muñiz Ramírez (4 February 1922 – 15 January 2009), better known as Tommy Muñiz, was a Puerto Rican comedy and drama actor, media producer, businessman and network owner. He is considered to be one of the pioneering figures of the television business in Puerto Rico. Although Muñíz was born in Ponce, he was raised in the capital city of San Juan where he studied. Muñíz developed an interest in the entertainment business thanks to his father Tomas and to his uncle and godfather Félix Muñíz, who also produced radio programs.Article about his death in Primera Hora
Muñiz was a successful radio producer in Puerto Rico during the mid- to late 1940s. Five of his radio programs -comedies for which he was often the scriptwriter, sometimes with the assistance of Sylvia Rexach- would consistently earn a strong following, as judged by the attendance to personal presentations of the artists featured in them. He was responsible for introducing more than a dozen new artists to the media. He bought Radio Luz 1600 (WLUZ-AM) a radio station in Bayamón, Puerto Rico During the first years of commercial television in Puerto Rico, and after a brief period during which revenues from his radio productions trickled down, Muñiz opted to start producing television programs as well. During the 1940s, when radios where ubiquitous in Puerto Rican households, Muñiz's radio scripts then became increasingly successful, beginning with ''El colegio de la alegría'', in which he performed along José Miguel Agrelot. This was followed by ''La familia Pérez'', ''Adelita, la secretaria'', ''Gloria y Miguel'' and ''¡Qué sirvienta!'', all of which featured him in some function. He was producer or executive producer for dozens of television programs and specials between 1955 and 1995. At one time in the early 1960s, five programs produced by Muñiz were in the top five television rankings in local audience surveys. One of the programs even spawned a 1967 film, ''"La Criada Malcriada"'', starring Velda González, Shorty Castro and Muñiz, among others. He is credited for producing most of José Miguel Agrelot's television programs during his career. He is also credited with discovering and promoting other television artists as well, particularly Otilio Warrington. In the 1970s he was the owner of WRIK-TV Channel 7 in Ponce.

In the late 1970s, Muñiz revived a comedy format that he had successfully used in three previous radio and television productions, the family sitcom. He produced and acted in a comedy series named '' Los García'' together with his real-life son Rafo Muñiz, and with longtime friend Gladys Rodríguez. Also starring were William Gracia as Pepín, Gina Beveraggi as Gini, Edgardo Rubio as Junito, Manela Bustamante as Doña Tony, Emma Rosa Vincenty as Doňa Cayetana, and a number of additional actors in various roles. The show became the most successful television show in Puerto Rican history, having a mostly successful six-year run and staying for three of those years at the top of local television ratings. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Muñiz was the owner of a radio station (Radio Luz WLUZ) and a television channel ( Teleluz). Both were named after his wife, Luz María. In 1988, he became one of the largest minority owners of another channel, TeleOnce. In 1989, he and Rodríguez reunited to act in the movie ''Lo que le Pasó a Santiago'', directed by Jacobo Morales becoming the first and only Puerto Rican film so far to do so. As a consequence of his part in ''Lo que le Pasó a Santiago'', Muñiz was selected to act in the 1991 television comedy film ''Crazy From The Heart'', directed by Thomas Schlamme and featuring Christine Lahti and Rubén Blades. In the movie, Muñiz played Blades' father, a Mexican peasant with a proclivity for setting billboards on fire as a protest. The movie was eventually broadcast by Turner Network Television (TNT).

Early years

Muñiz Ramírez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on 4 February 1922, to Don Tomás Muñíz Souffront and Monserrate "Nena" Ramírez. His father, Don Tomás, was a marketing executive who later became the administrator (and eventual owner) of various radio stations, as well as a radio producer.Chronicle of his life in Primera Hora
Muñiz was born during the 1920s, the same decade when radio first arrived to Puerto Rico, to a household of several siblings including Carmen, Marjorie, Nellie, Andy, Néstor and Nilza. Early in his life, Muñiz suffered from rickets. Despite this, he gained interest in eventually becoming a race jockey. His father Tómas Muñiz, Sr. had pursued several venues of substainance including real estate sales, while his mother Nena was sickly. He was an insecure child, which was reflected in issues at schools and a number of expulsions. Witnessing this, his uncle Félix Muñiz decided to take him to the West Indies Advertising Company (WIAC) where he worked. The institution would become a radio station in 1942, and when his uncle died, His father Tómas was selected to fill the vacancy. Since the age of 12, Muñiz would be the tasked with several functions within WIAC. Under José A. Torres Martinó, he learned to write scripts and wrote ''Francisquito Rosales y Miel de Aveja'' along his mentor. In this, he performed as the effeminate titular character. In 1939, Muñiz met Luz María García de la Noceda while coursing high school. During the following five years he approached her, eventually convincing her after appearing at her house with a gift. They married in 1944, living in poverty for some time. Afterwards, Muñiz,Sr. loaned a large house from the owners of WIAC which became known as ''La Casona''.

He started by being the messenger of the marketing firm where his father and uncle used to work, and eventually became a radio scriptwriter. Muñiz sold his car, a 1932 red Ford, and acquired an Underwood typewriter in which he wrote his scripts. Meanwhile, he survived by raising chickens for his parents in law which served to produce eggs to sell and would also be sold themselves. The couple moved to Santa Rita in Río Piedras and had three children, Tómad Gerardo, Félix Antonio and Mario Andrés. Muñiz loaned a building at Santurce, which would serve as his workplace, the first local independent production entity known as Producciones Tommy Muñiz. The services provided grew to include representation and the hosting of activities by his artists, but focused on his radio productions. Among them was Sylvia Rexach, who also collaborated in writing scripts. Jacobo Morales

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