Mario Ernesto Sánchez (10 January 1947 – 10 April 2025) was a Cuban actor who founded Teatro Avante, a Hispanic theatre, in 1979 in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He played various bit parts on ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

'' and in Hollywood movies, including '' Invasion U.S.A.'' (1985) and ''

The Specialist ''The Specialist'' is a 1994 American action thriller film directed by Luis Llosa and starring Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Eric Roberts, and Rod Steiger. It is loosely based on "The Specialist" series of novels by John ...

'' (1994). Sánchez was born in San Antonio de las Vegas, in Cuba. He went to the United States as a teenager, at 15, during the

Operation Pedro Pan Operation Peter Pan (or Operación Pedro Pan) was a clandestine exodus of over 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban minors ages 6 to 18 to the United States over a two-year span from 1960 to 1962. They were sent by parents who feared, on the basis of unsu ...

. Among his various roles, he appeared in 5 episodes of ''

'' (as a limo driver), the film ''

'' (2006) (as a different character), the film '' Bad Boys'' as a drug buyer, the film ''

The Truman Show ''The Truman Show'' is a 1998 American Psychological film, psychological comedy-drama film written and co-produced by Andrew Niccol, and directed by Peter Weir. The film depicts the story of Truman Burbank (played by Jim Carrey), a man who is un ...

'' as a security guard and the classic British sitcom ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

'' as a Colombian

drug baron A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin, or lord of drugs is a type of crime boss in charge of a drug trafficking network, organization, or enterprise. Crime barons may be difficult to bring to justice: usually, they do not possess illegal goods. Ra ...

. Sánchez died in Miami on 10 April 2025, at the age of 78.Fallece director de Teatro Avante, Mario Ernesto Sánchez

References

External links

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Miami Herald Latin spotlight July 6, 2007
1947 births 2025 deaths Cuban emigrants to the United States Cuban male film actors Cuban male television actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Florida American entertainers of Cuban descent {{Cuba-actor-stub