Miguel Ángel Álvarez, also known as "El Men," (August 25, 1928 – January 16, 2011), was a

Puerto Rica Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

n actor and

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

Early years

Álvarez was born 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 ...

, and when he was a child his family moved to

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain, it is bounded by Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo to the east, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa A ...

, where he was raised and received his primary and secondary education.

Career

Álvarez began his artistic career as a radio announcer, working for radio station WIAC, which was broadcasting out of Yauco and Bayamón. On October 31, 1950, Álvarez was among a group of reporters who covered the gunfight at ''Salón Boricua'' between

Vidal Santiago Díaz Vidal Santiago Díaz (January 1, 1910 – March 1982) was a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and served as president of the Santurce Municipal Board of officers of the party. He was also the personal barber of Nationalist leader Ped ...

, a Nationalist who was the personal barber of

Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos (June 29, 1893Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and a leading figure in ...

, and forty police and National Guardsmen during the San Juan Nationalist revolt. This event made Puerto Rican radio history because it was the first time that an event of this nature was transmitted live via the radio airwaves to the public in general. He later participated on the radio show ''El Tremendo Hotel'' (The Tremendous Hotel), starring Ramón Rivero "Diplo", and later Álvarez was contracted to do radionovelas (radio

soap operas A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originated from radio dramas original ...

). The Puerto Rican

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Francisco Arriví Francisco Arriví (June 24, 1915 – February 8, 2007), a.k.a. ''Paco,'' was a writer, poet and playwright known as "The Father of the Puerto Rican Theater." Early years Arriví (birth name: Francisco Arriví Alegria was born in Santurce, a s ...

invited Álvarez to appear in three of his plays. The three plays in which Álvarez made his theatrical debut were ''Club de Solteros'' (Bachelors Club), ''El Caso del Muerto en Vida'' (The Case of the Living Dead), and ''María Soledad'' (Lonely Maria). On one occasion Álvarez was asked to stand in for

Jacobo Morales Jacobo Morales (born 12 November 1934) is a Puerto Rican actor, poet, writer, playwright, filmmaker, and author born in Puerto Rico.Juano Hernández in the play "Widows Walk" which was presented at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

Theater. Álvarez's popularity grew and soon he was filming movies in various countries. Among the countries in which he filmed besides Puerto Rico were

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1965, he was given one of the leading roles in the Mexican film, "El Señor Doctor" (Mr. Doctor), with

Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely accomplished Mexican comedian and is well ...

and

Marta Romero Marta Romero (17 February 1928 – 31 May 2013) was a Puerto Rican actress and singer, and one of the pioneers in Puerto Rican television. Early life Romero was born on Calle Mora in downtown Ponce, a city in the south coast of Puerto Rico and ...

. After he returned to Puerto Rico he participated in a comedy entitled ''Johnny "El Men"'' (''Johnny the Man''), which was about the struggles of a Puerto Rican in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It was from this comedy that Álvarez took the nickname "El Men", a name which would accompany him for the rest of his life.

Filmography

Later years

Álvarez directed four movies for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. These were ''Arocho y Clemente'', ''Dos Contra el Destino'' (''Two Against Destiny''), ''Natas es Satán'' and ''El Alcalde Machuchal''. In 1984, he starred, along with Leopoldo "Pucho" Fernández, in a local TV comedy series called ''Barrio 4 Calles'' in which he played the owner of a bakery shop who was in competition, and constant conflict, with the owner of the bakery shop across the street. He also appeared in ''El Kiosko

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

''. Álvarez was married numerous times including to actress Gladys Rodríguez and singer Evelyn Souffront. Later in life, Álvarez suffered respiratory problems and was admitted to the ''Hospital Metropolitano'' in the town of

Guaynabo Guaynabo (, ) is a city and municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Located west of the capital San Juan, east of Bayamón, south of Cataño and San Juan Bay, and north of Aguas Buenas, Guaynabo is spread over 9 barrio ...

. Álvarez died in that hospital on January 16, 2011. He was buried at

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery () is a colonial-era Catholic cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in ...

."Muere actor Miguel Ángel Álvarez"; El Vocero

References

External links