José Reymundí (July 13, 1940 – October 7, 2017) was a Puerto Rican

Telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

and stage actor.

Early years

José Reymundi who was popularly known as Pepe, was born on July 31, 1940, in the town of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. While studying in the public schools of Rio Grande in the 1950s, Reymundí traveled to Cuba during the revolution and participated in the resistance in favor of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

. He worked alongside his father in the family furniture store and the

Don Q Don Q is a Puerto Rican rum, distilled, manufactured, bottled, and distributed by Destilería Serrallés from its corporate facility in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Don Q, "Puerto Rico's best-known rum", is the top-selling rum in Puerto Rico, where ov ...

rum distillery, but he continued to perform in the theater.

Acting career

After finishing his studies in Puerto Rico, José Reymundí moved to

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

where he studied theater at the Cinematographic, Theatrical and Radio and Television Institute, better known as the Andrés Soler Instituted. He returned to Puerto Rico and joined an acting academy run by Edmundo Rivera Álvarez. In 1961 Reymundi debuted on television in the "Teatro Carnation" show on Telemundo canal 2. In 1962 he joined the

Puerto Rico National Guard The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG; ) is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions, which includes to provide ...

and stepped away from acting for six months due to training requirements. In the 1970s,

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 ...

recruited him to do

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

s but n 1973 he started a strike against Tommy Muñiz because Tommy hired Cuban actor

Héctor Travieso Héctor Travieso (December 1, 1943 – January 6, 2025) was a Cuban actor, comedian and television host. Travieso immigrated to Puerto Rico and had an extensive career in telenovelas. He hosted ''SuperXclusivo'', and La Comay serving as sidekic ...

to start in the telenovela "Marta" and did not consider him for the role. A couple of years later he went back to work for Muñiz as a comedian joining the cast of the shows "Ja Ja, Ji Ji, Jo Jo con Agrelot", "Esto no tiene nombre" and "La criada Malcriada". Reymundí did stage acting from 1966 to 1999. He also worked for

Manolo Urquiza Manuel Fernández Urquiza, (January 29, 1920 – December 30, 1987) more commonly known as Manolo Urquiza, was a Cuban-born media personality whose career spanned over three decades. He developed his career as a radio announcer, public relations ...

, rejoining Telemundo and working on the melodramas produced by Angel del Cerro.

Telenovelas (soap operas)

*''"Marta Lloréns"'' *''"Tanairí"'' *''"Viernes social"'' *''"Alejandra"'' *''"Andrea"'' *''"Pacto de amor"'' *''"Apartamento de solteras"''

Death

José Reymundí suffered from

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, he died on October 7, 2007, in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

at the age of 77

References

1940 births 2017 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States Neurological disease deaths in Puerto Rico People from Río Grande, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican male stage actors Puerto Rican male telenovela actors Puerto Rico National Guard personnel {{PuertoRico-bio-stub