Rubén Aguirre

Infobox actor


name = Rubén Aguirre
imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Rubén Aguirre
birthdate = birth date and age|1934|6|15
location = flagicon|Mexico Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico
deathdate =
deathplace =
height =
othername =
homepage =
notable role = Professor Jirafales in "El Chavo del Ocho"
academyawards =
emmyawards =

Rubén Aguirre (born June 15, 1934) is a Mexican actor who is best remembered for his characterization of "Professor Jirafales" in the Televisa's television show "El Chavo del Ocho". Aguirre also participated in another well known television show of the era, "El Chapulín Colorado", albeit less frequently.

Life and work

Rubén Aguirre was born in Saltillo, Coahuila. He began his acting career in Monterrey, Nuevo León, working with a character (a famous clown) named "Pipo" .

He went on to Mexico City, where he worked on several television scripts with "Chespirito", creator and main star of both "El Chavo" and "El Chapulín Colorado". Chespirito noticed the tall, skinny figure of Aguirre and asked him to play "Professor Jirafales", to which Aguirre agreed. Aguirre was a personal friend of journalist Carlos Villagrán, who later played "Quico" in the same show and also acted in "El Chapulín Colorado". During a party at Aguirre's house, he "discovered" Villagrán, recommending him for the role of "Quico".

Aguirre gained much fame across Latin America when both "El Chavo" and "El Chapulín Colorado" became major international hits. The group of actors that comprised the casts of both shows toured often, and sometimes they would venture out on their own. Aguirre was not the exception, visiting such places as Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Brazil many times.

Chespirito owns the rights to "El Chavo del Ocho", "El Chapulín Colorado" and both shows' character names in Mexico, so after his participation in both shows was over, Aguirre moved to Argentina and opened a circus there. Since Chespirito does not have copyrights in Argentina, Aguirre was able to name his circus "El circo del Professor Jirafales".

Aguirre returned to Mexico in 2003 and started working as an announcer at gameshows. He returned after gaining an unspecified amount of weight, as a result of a medical mistreatment that he suffered in south America involving cortizone, which has led to several media outlets to rumor about his health.

External links

;In Spanish
* [http://www.chespirito.org/actores_ruben.htm Bio (video) @ Chespirito.org]