Antonio Fargas(born August 14, 1946[2]) is an American actor known for his roles in 1970sblaxploitationand comedy movies, as well as his portrayal as Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV seriesStarsky & Hutch.
Antonio Fargas | |
|---|---|
 Fargas at the 2018East Coast Comicon in Secaucus, New Jersey | |
| Born | August 14, 1946[1] New York City,New York,U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Known for | Huggy Bear –Starsky & Hutch |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 4, includingJustin Fargas |
| Website | www.AntonioFargas.com |
Early life
editFargas was born in New York City to Mildred (née Bailey) and Manuel Fargas; he was one of 11 children.[3]His father was Puerto Rican and worked for the City of New York. His mother was fromTrinidad and Tobago.[3]Raised in New York'sSpanish Harlem,Fargas graduated fromFashion Industries High Schoolin 1965.[4]
Acting career
editFargas' breakout role was in the comedy filmPutney Swope(1969). After starring in a string of blaxploitation movies in the early 1970s, such asAcross 110th Street(1972) andFoxy Brown(1974), he gained recognition as streetwise informant Huggy Bear in the television seriesStarsky & Hutch.He appeared inAll My Childrenbeginning in 1982 as Les Baxter, the upper-class lawyer who was the father ofAngie Hubbard;the character of Les was killed in 1987.
As a nod to his early roles, Fargas had a part in the blaxploitation spoofI'm Gonna Git You Sucka(1988) as well as anotherWayans brothers"hood" parody,Don't Be a Menace(1996). He guest-starred in the mid-1990s sitcomsLiving Single,Martin,The Fresh Prince of Bel-AirandThe Steve Harvey Show.Fargas played the driver in the 1997 music video for theBackstreet Boyshit "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"and also appeared as a robot in their music video for"Larger than Life (song)"in 1999.
Some of Fargas' notable appearances on British television shows includeSeries 4of the reality seriesI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!in 2004 andFrank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Showin early 2006. He played the part of Toledo in a revival ofAugust Wilson'sMa Rainey's Black Bottomat theRoyal Exchange Theatrein Manchester in 2006. He had a regular role as Doc on the 2005–2009 television seriesEverybody Hates Chris.
In 2008, Fargas acted in the British boxing filmSucker Punch.He appeared in an episode of Fox'sLie to Meas the father of a murdered firefighter.
Personal life
editFargas' sonJustin Fargas,aUniversity of Southern Californiaalumnus, is a formerNFLrunning backwho played seven seasons for theOakland Raiders,amassing over 3,000rushingyards in his career. Fargas's daughter-in-law isNikki Caldwell,the president of theLas Vegas Acesof theWNBA.[5]
Filmography
edit| † | Denotes projects that have not yet been released |
Film
edit| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Cool World | Uncredited | |
| 1967 | Ironside | T.D. Harris | TV film |
| 1969 | Putney Swope | The Arab | |
| Stiletto | Man in jazz club | Uncredited | |
| 1970 | Pound | Greyhound | |
| 1971 | Shaft | Bunky | |
| Cisco Pike | Brother Buffalo | ||
| Believe in Me | Boy | ||
| 1972 | Across 110th Street | Henry J. Jackson | |
| 1973 | Cleopatra Jones | Doodlebug | |
| 1974 | Busting | Stephen | |
| Conrack | Quickfellow | ||
| Foxy Brown | Link Brown | ||
| The Gambler | Pimp | ||
| 1975 | Huckleberry Finn | Jim | TV film |
| Cornbread, Earl and Me | One-Eye | ||
| 1976 | Next Stop, Greenwich Village | Bernstein Chandler | |
| Adventurizing with the Chopper | Leonard Jones | TV film | |
| Car Wash | Lindy | ||
| 1978 | Pretty Baby | The Professor | |
| 1979 | Milo Milo | Doc | |
| 1980 | Escape | Jamie Valdez | TV film |
| Nurse | Marshall Gripps | TV film | |
| Up the Academy | Coach | ||
| 1982 | The Ambush Murders | Vaness | TV film |
| A House Divided: Denmark Vesey's Rebellion | TV film | ||
| Paper Dolls | Oliver | TV film | |
| Model Behaviour | Mr. Henri | ||
| 1984 | A Good Sport | Clifford | TV film |
| Firestarter | Taxi Driver | ||
| P.O.P. | Frank Wilkey | TV film | |
| 1985 | Crimewave | Blind Man | |
| Streetwalkin' | Finesse | ||
| 1986 | Florida Straits | El Gato Negro | TV film |
| 1988 | Night of the Sharks | Paco | |
| Shakedown | Nicky 'N.C.' Carr | ||
| I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | Flyguy | ||
| 1991 | Howling VI: The Freaks | Bellamey | Direct-to-Video |
| The Borrower | Julius | ||
| Whore | Rasta | ||
| 1992 | Maid for Each Other | Eddie Kemper | TV film |
| 1993 | Percy & Thunder | Spider | TV film |
| 1995 | Soul Survivors | Leroy James | TV film |
| 1996 | Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood | Old School | |
| 1997 | Levitation | Otis Hill | |
| Gator King | Santos Lobilita | ||
| 1998 | Milo | Kelso | |
| 1999 | The Suburbans | Magee | |
| Unconditional Love | Bobby Chiclets | ||
| 2000 | 3 Strikes | Uncle Jim Douglas | |
| Ali: An American Hero | Elijah Muhammad | TV film | |
| The Riff | Shoop Summers | ||
| 2001 | Osmosis Jones | Chill | Voice role only |
| Extreme Honor | Willy | ||
| 2006 | Honey and Sting | The Beekeeper | Short film |
| Vengeance | Bert | ||
| Sucka Punch | Uncle G | Short film | |
| 2007 | The Caper | Lydell | |
| Fist of the Warrior | Father Riley | ||
| Sister Sonya's Prayer Group | Bishop Titus Kingston | Direct-to-Video | |
| 2008 | Bad Guys | Flappy | |
| Sucker Punch | Baz | ||
| Abduction of Jesse Bookman | Frank Bookman | ||
| 2009 | X Returns | Agent Adams | Short film |
| Murphy's Law | Diamond Specialist | ||
| The Adventures of Umbweki | Umbweki's Father | ||
| 2010 | Once Fallen | Jay | |
| Changing Hands | Carjack Victim | ||
| 2012 | Stealing Las Vegas | Mo | |
| 2013 | Silver Bells | Major Melvin Lowell | Direct-to-Video |
| 2014 | SnakeHead Swamp | William Boudreaux | TV film |
| Popovich and the Voice of the Fabled American West | Lightfoot Legrand | ||
| 2017 | Beyond Skyline | Sarge | |
| Tom Hennessy | Willie 'Pops' Hennessy | ||
| 2021 | Mister Mayfair: Shooting Paul | Charlie | |
| Mister Mayfair: Serena's Game | Charlie | ||
| 2022 | Until We Meet Again | Louie | |
| 2023 | One Year Off | Charlie Brooks | |
| TBC | Deep† | Dean Kirby | Filming |
Television
edit| Year | Series | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Bill Cosby Show | J.J. | Episode: "The Barber Shop" |
| 1973 | Police Story | Harpie | Episode: "The Ho Chi Minh Trail" |
| Ironside | T.D. Harris | Episode: "Downhill All the Way" | |
| 1974 | Sanford and Son | Sonny Cochran | Episode: "Fred Sanford, Legal Eagle" |
| Toma | Episode: "Indictment" | ||
| Police Woman | Rex | Episode: "The Beautiful Die Young" | |
| Kolchak: The Night Stalker | Sweetstick Weldon | Episode: "The Zombie" | |
| Kojak | Benny | Episode: "Loser Takes All" | |
| 1975–1979 | Starsky & Hutch | Huggy Bear | Series regular, 92 episodes |
| 1978 | The Love Boat | Lee Graham | Episode: "Pacific Princess Overtures/Gopher, the Rebel/Cabin Fever" |
| Vega$ | 'Fast' Freddie Tibbs | Episode: "Mother Mishkin" | |
| Kaz | Episode: "Which Side Are You On?" | ||
| 1979 | Sweepstakes | Episode: "Cowboy, Linda and Angie, Mark" | |
| CHiPs | Self | Episode: "Roller Disco: Part 2" | |
| 1980 | Charlie's Angels | Blackie | Episode: "Angels of the Deep" |
| 1981 | Nurse | Marshall Gripps | Episode: "Long Days Journey Into Morning" |
| 1982–1987 | All My Children | Les Baxter | Recurring role |
| 1983 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Jerry Blackmore | Episode: "Once Again with Vigorish" |
| 1988 | Miami Vice | Alejandro Gutierrez | Episode: "Mirror Image" |
| 1990 | La belle Anglaise | Caldwell | Episode: "Weekend Surprise" |
| 1991 | MacGyver | Colonel Devraux | Episode: "Walking Dead" |
| 1994 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Lamont Kelly | Episode: "Soooooooul Train" |
| 1995 | Martin | Antonio Fargas aka Huggy Bear | Episode: "All the Players Came" |
| 1996 | The Parent 'Hood | The Criminal | Episode: "We Don't Need Another Hero" |
| The Wayans Bros. | Uncle Nate | Episode: "Family Business" | |
| Homeboys in Outer Space | Dolomoth | Episode: "Super Bad Foxy Lady Killer or Ty and Morris Get the Shaft" | |
| 1997 | Living Single | Otis Jones | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | Damon | Sammy | Episode: "A Bury Special Episode" |
| 1999 | The Steve Harvey Show | Smitty Rollins | Episode: "All That Jazz" |
| L.A. Heat | Jeremy Lauren | Episode: "Obsession" | |
| 2000 | G vs E | Dutch Simms | Episode: "Renunciation" |
| 2002 | Fastlane | Jimmy Lipps | Episode: "Girls Own Juice" |
| 2003 | Holby City | Victor Garrison | Episode: "Seasons in the Sun" |
| Grease Monkeys | Tony | Episode: "The Drugs Don't Work" | |
| The District | J.T. | Episode: "In God We Trust" | |
| 2004 | Eve | Uncle Jerry | Episode: "Pimps Up, DivaStyle Down" |
| 2005 | Everybody Hates Chris | Sweet Tooth | Episode: "Everybody Hates Halloween" |
| 2006 | The Simpsons | Huggy Bear (Voice) | Episode: "Bart Has Two Mommies" |
| 2006-2009 | Everybody Hates Chris | Doc | Recurring role, 23 episodes |
| 2008 | Numb3rs | Jeffrey Knight | Episode: "Thirty-Six Hours" |
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Mr. Mitchell | Episode: "Unchained" |
| Brothers | Maurice | Episode: "Snoop Returns" | |
| 2014 | House of Lies | Mr. Zhang | Episode: "Zhang" |
| 2016 | Dark Memories | Isum | Episode: "Death at Sunrise" |
| 2017 | Mann & Wife | Lieutenant Lou | Episode: "Mann, Shut Yo Mouth" |
| 2018 | Cherif | Huggy Bear | Episode: "Quand Cherif rencontre Huggy" |
| Black Lightning | David Poe | Episode: "And Then the Devil Brought the Plague: The Book of Green Light" | |
| Code Black | Harold | Episode: "Home Stays Home" | |
| 2024 | Everybody Still Hates Chris | Doc Harris (voice role) | Episode: "Everybody Still Hates the GED" |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"officialantoniofargas".14 August 2020.Retrieved21 January2025.
- ^"officialantoniofargas".14 August 2020.Retrieved21 January2025.
- ^ab"Antonio Fargas Interview".Memorable TV.2008. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008.Retrieved19 January2017.
- ^Reyes, Luis (2000).Hispanics in Hollywood: A Celebration of 100 Years in Film and Television.Lone Eagle. p. 464.ISBN9781580650250.
- ^Rabalais, Scott (7 September 2014)."LSU's Nikki Caldwell makes it official with longtime fiancé Justin Fargas".The Advocate.
External links
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