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Míriam Colón

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(Redirected fromMiriam Colon)
In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisColónand the second or maternal family name isValle.
Míriam Colón
Colón in 1962
Born
Míriam Colón Valle

(1936-08-20)20 August 1936
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died3 March 2017(2017-03-03)(aged 80)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1953–2015
Known forMama Montana –Scarface
Spouses
George Paul Edgar
​
​
(m.1966; died 1976)​
Fred Valle
​
(m.1987⁠–⁠2017)​

Míriam Colón Valle(August 20, 1936 – March 3, 2017) was aPuerto Ricanactress. She was the founder and director of New York City'sPuerto Rican Traveling Theater.Beginning her career in the early 1950s, she performed onBroadwayand on television. She appeared on television programs from the 1960s to the 2010s, includingSanford and SonandGunsmoke.She is best known as Mama Montana, the mother ofAl Pacino's title character inScarface.In 2014, she received theNational Medal of Artsfrom PresidentBarack Obama.[1]She died of complications from apulmonary infectionon March 3, 2017, at the age of 80.

Early life

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Míriam Colón Valle was born inPonce,Puerto Rico,on August 20, 1936.[2]In the 1940s, her recently divorced mother moved the family to a public housing project calledResidencial Las CasasinSan Juan.She attendedRomán Baldorioty de CastroHigh School inOld San Juan,where she took part in plays.[2]Her first drama teacher, Marcos Colón (no relation) believed in her talent, and helped her gain permission to observe the students in the drama department of theUniversity of Puerto Rico.She was a good student in high school and was awarded scholarships to theDramatic Workshop and Technical InstituteandLee Strasberg'sActors StudioinNew York City.[3]

In New York, she befriendedDean Zayas,another young Puerto Rican actor and future director.[4]

Career

[edit]
External audio
audio iconColón's debut in "Los Peloteros"onYouTube

In 1953, Colón debuted as an actress inLos Peloteros(The Baseball Players), a film produced in Puerto Rico, starringRamón "Diplo" Rivero,and in which she played a character called Lolita.[3]That year, she moved to New York City, where she was accepted byActors Studioco-founderElia Kazanafter a single audition,[5][6]thus becoming the studio's first Puerto Rican member.[7]In New York, she worked in theater and later landed a role on thesoap operaGuiding Light.She attended a performance ofRené Marqués'La Carreta(The Oxcart) which motivated her to form the firstHispanictheater group, with the help of La Carreta's producer, Roberto Rodríguez, called "El Nuevo Círculo Dramatico".[8]

Colón andJames ArnessinGunsmoke,1970

In 1954, she appeared on stage in "In The Summer House" at the Play House in New York City.[9]Between 1954 and 1974, she made guest appearances in television shows such asPeter GunnandAlfred Hitchcock Presents.She appeared mostly in westerns such asGunsmoke,Bonanza,The High Chaparral,andHave Gun, Will Travel.She appeared in the 1961 filmOne-eyed Jacksas "the Redhead". In 1962, she was featured as the co-star in a teleplay written by Frank Gabrielsen, and produced for the TV seriesThe DuPont Show of the Week.The title of the hour-long episode is "The Richest Man in Bogota", airing on 17 June 1962.[10]It starredLee Marvinas Juan de Núñez, and Miriam Colón as "Marina" (not Medina-Saroté, as in the original H.G. Wells story,The Country of the Blind). She co-starred as Anita Chavez inThunder Island(1963), with the screenplay written byJack Nicholson.In 1963, she guest starred onGunsmoke,playing a Comanche woman who marries a settler and the two must deal with the racial hatred of others due to it in the episode “Shona” (S8E22).

In 1979, she starred alongside fellow Puerto Rican actorsJosé Ferrer,Raúl Juliá,andHenry DarrowinLife of Sin,a film in which she portrayedIsabel la Negra,a real-life Puerto Rican brothel owner. In 1983, she was cast as the mother of Tony Montana inScarface,despite being only 4 years older thanAl Pacino.Colón has said that she based her performance on her own mother.[11]She was also cast as María in the 1999 filmGloria,starringSharon Stone.In 2013, she was cast in the role of Ultima, a New Mexico Hispanic healer, in the movieBless Me, Ultimabased on the novel byRudolfo Anaya.[12]She appeared in Season 1 of the TV seriesBetter Call Saulin 2015, as Abuelita.

Puerto Rican Traveling Theater

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Puerto Rican Travelling Theater
Main article:Puerto Rican Traveling Theater

In the late 1960s, Colón founded The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater company onWest 47th streetinManhattan, New York.The company presentsOff-Broadwayproductions onsite and also goes on tour. She was the director of the company and she appeared in the following PRTT productions:[13]

  • The Ox Cart(1966–1967)[14]
  • The Boiler Room(1993)[15]
  • Simpson Street
  • Señora Carrar's Rifles

The playThe Ox Cart(La Carreta), written by Puerto Rican dramatistRené Marqués,was first produced in 1953. It was directed by Roberto Rodríguez and starred Colón. The success of the play allowed Rodríguez and Colón to form the first permanent Hispanic theatrical group, and for the group to have its own space, Teatro Arena, located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th street.[16]

Recognition

[edit]
National Medal of Arts

In 1993, Colón received anObie Awardfor Lifetime Achievement in the Theater. In 2000, she received the HOLARaúl JuliáFounders Award, presented by theHispanic Organization of Latin Actors(HOLA).

Colón's biography,Míriam Colón: Actor and Theater Founder,was written by Mayra Fernandez in 1994.

In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded Colón the National Medal of Arts for her contributions as an actress. The citation reads as follows: "Ms. Colón has been a trailblazer in film, television, and theater, and helped open doors for generations of Hispanic actors."[1]

Personal life

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Colón was married to George Paul Edgar from 1966 until his death in 1976.[11]In 1987, she married Fred Valle.

She was an avid collector of ancestral arts including pre-Columbian, tribal African, historic Native American, and other tribal art. She collected Mid-East artifacts, abstract paintings, and modern sculpture. A Pablo Picasso sketch she owned, she signed with a crayon, and it was auctioned for $6500 on June 16, 2019. At her death, she owned at least six signed movie posters of Al Pacino'sScarfaceand at least seven signedScarfacesoundtrack albums.[17]

Her final years were inAlbuquerque, New Mexico.

Death

[edit]

Colón died on March 3, 2017, at the age of 80, in New York City of complications from apulmonary infection.[18]Among those who paid tribute to her wereRosalba Rolón,Marc Anthony(who she had coached as an actor and briefly appeared with on television), andLin-Manuel Miranda.[19]

Filmography

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  • 1951Los Peloterosas Lolita
  • 1955Danger(TV Series) (Season 5 Episode 20: "No Passport for Death" )
  • 1955Star Tonight(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 28: "The Ring of General Maclas" )
  • 1956Crowded Paradise
  • 1956Soraya(TV Series) (60 episodes)
  • 1956-1958Studio One(TV Series)
    • (Season 8 Episode 38: "Flight" ) (1956) as Rosie
    • (Season 10 Episode 42: "Tag-Along" ) (1958) as Mrs. Talavera
  • 1957The Big Story(TV Series) (Season 8 Episode 14: "House Divided" ) as Esperanza Martinez
  • 1958Decoy(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 32: "Fiesta at Midnight" ) as Maria
  • 1959Lux Playhouse(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 13: "The Dreamer" ) as Mrs. Flores
  • 1959State Trooper(TV Series) (Season 3 Episode 7: "Case of the Barefoot Girl" ) as Francesca
  • 1959One Step Beyond(TV Series) (Season 2 Episode 15: "The Hand" ) as Alma Rodriguez
  • 1959Markham(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 2: "Woman of Arles" ) as Esperanza
  • 1959Mike Hammer(TV Series) (Season 2 Episode 23: "See No Evil" ) as Tarano
  • 1959Peter Gunn(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 37: "The Coffin" ) as Maria DeCara
  • 1959Tales of Wells Fargo(TV Series) (Season 4 Episode 2: "Desert Showdown" ) as Rita
  • 1959Wanted: Dead or Alive(TV Series) (Season 2 Episode 11: "Desert Seed" ) as Mrs. Gomez
  • 1961One-eyed Jacksas Redheaded Lady
  • 1961Battle at Bloody Beachas Nahni
  • 1961The Outsideras Anita
  • 1962Alfred Hitchcock Presents(TV Series) (Season 7 Episode 19: "Strange Miracle" ) as Lolla Siqueras
  • 1962The New Breed(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 31: "My Brother's Keeper" ) as Dolores Madero
  • 1962The DuPont Show of the Week(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 28:The Richest Man in Bogotaas Marina
  • 1962Doctor Kildare(TV Series) (2 episodes)
    • (Season 1 Episode 19: "The Glory Hunter" ) as Rani Stewart
    • (Season 2 Episode 8: "The Cobweb Chain" ) as Pila
  • 1962The Defenders(TV Series) (Season 2 Episode 12: "The Savage Infant" ) as Carmella Lopez
  • 1962-1974Gunsmoke(TV Series) (8 episodes)
    • (Season 7 Episode 21: "He Learned About Women" ) (1962) as Kisla
    • (Season 8 Episode 22: "Shona" ) (1963) as Shona
    • (Season 14 Episode 3: "Zavala" ) (1968) as Amelita Avila
    • (Season 15 Episode 7: "Charlie Noon" ) (1969) as Woman
    • (Season 16 Episode 1: "Chato" ) (1970) as Mora
    • (Season 18 Episode 1: "The River: Part 1" ) (1972) as Paulette Duvalier
    • (Season 18 Episode 2: "The River: Part 2" ) (1972) as Paulette Duvalier
    • (Season 19 Episode 19: "The Iron Blood of Courage" ) (1974) as Mignon Anderson
  • 1963Have Gun - Will Travel(TV Series) (Season 6 Episode 24: "Caravan" ) as Punya
  • 1963Laramie(TV Series) (Season 4 Episode 23: "The Unvanquished" ) as Winema
  • 1963Death Valley Days(TV Series) (Season 11 Episode 22: "Phantom Procession" ) as Maria
  • 1963Harbor Lightsas Gina Rosario
  • 1963Ben Casey(TV Series) (Season 3 Episode 2: "Justice to a Microbe" ) as Eva Rosario
  • 1963The Great Adventure(TV Series) (2 episodes) as Sarah Crow
    • (Season 1 Episode 2: "The Death of Sitting Bull" )
    • (Season 1 Episode 3: "The Massacre at Wounded Knee" )
  • 1963Thunder Islandas Anita Chavez
  • 1963The Dick Van Dyke Show(TV Series) (Season 3 Episode 11: "Turtles, Ties, and Toreadors" ) as Maria
  • 1964The Nurses(TV Series) (Season 2 Episode 19: "Is There Room for Edward?" ) as Maria Marissa
  • 1964Slattery's People(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 6: "Question:" What Became of the White Tortilla? ") as Elena Delgado
  • 1966The Legend of Jesse James(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 16: "The Empty Town" ) as Theresa
  • 1966The Appaloosaas Ana
  • 1967N.Y.P.D.(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 22: "Macho" ) as Teresa
  • 1967The Fugitive(TV Series) (Season 4 Episode 24: "The Savage Street" ) as Mercedes Anza
  • 1967The Virginian(TV Series) (Season 6 Episode 1: "The Reckoning" ) as Eva Talbot
  • 1967Christmas in the Marketplace(TV Movie) as Virgin Mary / Mercedes
  • 1968The High Chaparral(TV Series) (Season 2 Episode 3: "Follow Your Heart" ) as Trinidad 'Trini' Butler
  • 1969Desperate Mission(TV Movie) as Claudina, Otilia's Servant
  • 1969Bonanza(TV Series) (Season 11 Episode 6: "To Stop a War" ) as Anita Lavez
  • 1971They Call It Murder(TV Movie) as Anita Nogales
  • 1972The Possession of Joel Delaneyas Veronica
  • 1974Dr. Max(TV Movie) as Mrs. Camacho
  • 1974Sanford & Son(TV Series) (Season 4 Episode 10: "Julio and Sister and Nephew" ) as Carlotta
  • 1976The Hemingway Play(TV Movie)
  • 1979A Life of Sinas Isabel
  • 1980The Edge of Night(TVsoap opera) (8 episodes) as Dr. Marie Santos
    • (Episode 6247) (uncredited)
    • (Episode 6248) (uncredited)
    • (Episode 6249)
    • (Episode 6251) (uncredited)
    • (Episode 6254) (uncredited)
    • (Episode 6255) (credit only)
    • (Episode 6256) (credit only)
    • (Episode 6258)
  • 1981Back Roadsas Angel
  • 1981ABC Afterschool Specials(TV Series) (Season 10 Episode 2: "Starstruck" ) as Yolanda
  • 1983Scarface(1983) as Mama Georgina Montana
  • 1984Best Kept Secret(TV Movie) as Ina Dietz
  • 1985Lady Blue(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 7: "Portrait of Death" ) as Dona Maria
  • 1986Kay O'Brien(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 8: "Dollars and Sense" ) as Mrs. Amaro
  • 1987Highway to Heaven(TV Series) (Season 4 Episode 4: "The People Next Door" ) as Anna Martinez
  • 1988Deadline: Madrid(TV Movie)
  • 1989-2002Guiding Light(TVsoap opera) (4 episodes)
    • (Episode dated January 18, 1989) as Mother Superior
    • (Episode dated September 4, 2001) as Maria Santos
    • (Episode dated Thursday, January 3, 2002) as Maria Santos (uncredited)
    • (Episode dated Monday, January 16, 2002) as Maria Santos (credit only)
  • 1991L.A. Law(TV Series) (Season 5 Episode 14: "The Gods Must Be Lawyers" ) as Gaby Sifuentes
  • 1991Law and Order(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 18: "The Secret Sharers" ) as Mrs. Anna Rivers
  • 1991Lightning Field(TV Movie)
  • 1991City of Hopeas Mrs. Ramirez
  • 1992Murder, She Wrote(TV Series) (Season 8 Episode 19: "Day of the Dead" ) as Consuela Montejano
  • 1993The House of the Spiritsas Nana
  • 1994The Cosby Mysteries(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 4: "Only You" )
  • 1994NYPD Blue(TV Series) (Season 2 Episode 8: "You Bet Your Life" ) as Valeria Santiago
  • 1995Streets of Laredo(TV Mini-Series) (3 episodes) as Estrella
    • (Season 1 Episode 1)
    • (Season 1 Episode 2)
    • (Season 1 Episode 3)
  • 1995Sabrinaas Rosa
  • 1995All My Children(TVsoap opera) as Lydia Flores
  • 1996Edipo alcaldeas Deyanira
  • 1996Lone Staras Mercedes Cruz
  • 1996Mistrial(TV Movie) as Mrs. Cruz
  • 1996Cosby(TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 8: "The Two Mr. Lucases" ) as Lillian
  • 1996-1997One Life to Live(TVsoap opera) as Maria 'Abuelita' Delgado
  • 1999Gloriaas María
  • 2000For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story(TV Movie) as Cirita Sandoval
  • 2000All the Pretty Horsesas Doña Alfonsa
  • 2001Third Watch(TV Series) (2 episodes) as Theresa Caffey
    • (Season 2 Episode 15: "Requiem for a Bantamweight" )
    • (Season 2 Episode 16: "Unfinished Business" )
  • 2001The Blue Dineras Meche
  • 2001Almost a Woman(TV Movie) as Tata
  • 2005Jonny Zero(TV Series) (2 episodes) as Lupe
    • (Season 1 Episode 1: "Pilot" )
    • (Season 1 Episode 4: "Who's Your Daddy" )
  • 2005Goal!as Mercedes
  • 2007Goal! 2: Living the Dream...as Mercedes
  • 2007The Cryas Gloria The Curandera
  • 2009Law & Order: Special Victims Unit(TV Series) (Season 10 Episode 19: "Selfish" ) as Yolanda
  • 2009Goal! 3: Taking on the Worldas Mercedes (uncredited)
  • 2010-2011How to Make It in America(TV Series) (6 episodes) as Cam's Grandma
    • (Season 1 Episode 1: "Pilot" ) (2010)
    • (Season 1 Episode 2: "Crisp" ) (2010)
    • (Season 1 Episode 5: "Big in Japan" ) (2010)
    • (Season 1 Episode 8: "Never Say Die" ) (2010)
    • (Season 2 Episode 1: "I'm Good" ) (2011)
    • (Season 2 Episode 7: "The Friction" ) (2011)
  • 2011Gun Hill Roadas Gloria
  • 2011The Bay(TV Series) (Episode: "Far from the Bay: Part 1" ) as Grandma Andrews
  • 2011Hawthorne(TV Series) (2 episodes) as Mama Renata
    • (Season 3 Episode 3: "Parental Guidance Required" )
    • (Season 3 Episode 6: "Just Between Friends" )
  • 2011Foreverlandas Esperanza
  • 2013Bless Me, Ultimaas Ultima
  • 2013Unhallowedas Bruja (rumored)
  • 2014Top Fiveas Chelsea's Grandmother
  • 2014On Painted Wings(not distributed) as Manuela
  • 2015Better Call Saul(TV Series) (2 episodes) as Abuelita Salamanca
    • (Season 1 Episode 1: "Uno" )
    • (Season 1 Episode 2: "Mijo")
  • 2015The Girl Is in Troubleas Grandma
  • 2015The Southsideas Abuelita Sanchez

Broadway

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  • In The Summer House(1954)
  • The Innkeepers(1956)
  • The Wrong Way Lightbulb(1969)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"Miriam Colón".arts.gov.
  2. ^abKelley, Seth (March 4, 2017)."Miriam Colon, Latina Film and Theater Pioneer Known for 'Scarface,' Dies at 80".Varitey.United States:Penske Media Corporation.RetrievedMarch 7,2017.
  3. ^ab"Miriam Colón".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-09-07.Retrieved2010-03-29.
  4. ^"Miriam Colón: pionera de la cultura".El Nuevo Día.March 4, 2017.
  5. ^Bosworth 1971,p. D5.
  6. ^Garfield 1980,p. 277.
  7. ^Moreno 1989,p. 30.
  8. ^"Danny en 'Coincidencias'… y en San Juan".31 October 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 13 June 2010.Retrieved29 March2010.
  9. ^"Miriam Colon Biography (1945-)".Film Reference Library.Toronto:TIFF Bell Lightbox.RetrievedMarch 7,2017.
  10. ^"The Richest Man in Bogota".TV Guide.Vol. 10, no. 24. June 16–22, 1962.
  11. ^abGates, Anita (March 5, 2017)."Miriam Colón, 80, Actress and Founder of Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Dies".The New York Times.New York City.RetrievedMarch 7,2017.
  12. ^"Miriam Colon, iconic U.S. Latina movie, theater actress, dies at 80".Daily News.New York City:Daily News, L.P.Associated Press.March 3, 2017.RetrievedMarch 7,2017.
  13. ^"The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-08-13.Retrieved2008-09-08.
  14. ^​The Ox Cart​at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
  15. ^​The Boiler Room​at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
  16. ^Kanellos, Nicolás (2003).Hispanic Literature of the United States: A Comprehensive Reference.Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 273.
  17. ^url=https:// liveauctioneers /search/?keyword=m%C3%ADriam%20col%C3%B3n&sort=-relevance&status=archive
  18. ^Contreras, Russell (March 3, 2017)."U.S. News: Miriam Colón, Iconic US Latina Movie, Theater Actress, Dies".U.S. News & World Report.Washington, D.C.:U.S. News & World Report, L.P.Associated Press.RetrievedMarch 3,2017.
  19. ^Rolón, Rosalba (9 March 2017)."Miriam Colón: Opening Doors".American Theatre.Theatre Communications Group.Retrieved26 December2022.
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