Edwin Velez (born June 4, 1958) is an American film, stage and television actor. He is best known for playing Frankie Santana in the final season of the American

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

and

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

television series ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court ma ...

''.

Early life and education

Velez was born in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, the son of Puerto Ricans. He graduated from the High School of Art and Design and attended the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

Career

Velez started his career as a stand-up comic. After serving in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

, he moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, where he acted in plays and studied at the

Estelle Harman Estelle Harman (September 11, 1922 – April 30, 1995) was an American acting coach in Los Angeles. Biography Harman began as an acting instructor at UCLA in the 1950s, then was hired by Universal Studios as Head of Talent to groom their st ...

's Actors Workshop. Velez appeared in various stage plays, including the first performance of the play ''Delirious'', for which the cast won the

Drama-Logue Award The Drama-Logue Award was an American theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would rece ...

in the category Best Ensemble Performance. Later in his career, Velez guest-starred in television programs including ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'', ''

The Trials of Rosie O'Neill ''The Trials of Rosie O'Neill'' is an American drama television series which aired on CBS from September 17, 1990 to May 30, 1992. The show stars Sharon Gless as Fiona Rose "Rosie" O'Neill, a lawyer working in the public defender's office for th ...

'' (three episodes), ''

Just Shoot Me! ''Just Shoot Me!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 4, 1997, to November 26, 2003, with a total of 145 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive ...

'', ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film '' Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the ...

'' (two episodes), ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The seri ...

'', '' JAG'', ''

Tour of Duty For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...

'', ''

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...

'' (two episodes), '' The Commish'', '' Profiler'' and ''

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ri ...

''. He appeared in films such as '' Split Decisions'', ''

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

'', '' Repo Chick'', '' Romero'', '' Repo Man'', '' The Hunted'', '' Most Wanted'', '' Rooftops'' and ''

White Chicks ''White Chicks'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contributions by and starring Marlon Wayans and Shawn ...

''. Velez has starred and co-starred in television programs including '' Bay City Blues'', playing Pepe Garcia, '' Berrenger's'', playing Julio Morales, '' Charlie & Co.'', playing Miguel Santana, ''

'', playing Frankie Santana, ''

Trial and Error Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem-solving characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying. According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan (18 ...

'', playing John Hernandez, '' True Blue'', playing Officer Frankie Avila and '' Live Shot'', playing Ricardo Sandoval. He also played as Detective Alexander Garcia in the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

television series '' Port Charles'' and as Malko and Paul Mendez in ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velez, Eddie 1958 births Living people People from Manhattan Male actors from New York (state) American people of Puerto Rican descent American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors American male soap opera actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors School of Visual Arts alumni