Percy Rodriguez

heritage.

Rodriguez started his acting career in the 1930s appearing in stage plays and television series in his native country. He eventually moved to New York City where he made his Broadway theatre debut in Lillian Hellman's "Toys in the Attic" in 1960. He first gained widespread notoriety in 1968 for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Harry Miles in the prime time soap opera "Peyton Place". Rodriguez managed to avoid the stereotypical roles typically given to Black actors at the time. His deep, authoritative voice and articulate speaking manner helped Rodriguez to be cast usually as intelligent authority figures. He also narrated numerous movie trailers and documentaries throughout his career. He retired from acting in 1987 but continued to do voiceovers. He spoke of his narration of the trailer for "Jaws" in the documentary "The Shark is Still Working". This was his final public appearance.

Rodriguez died of kidney failure at his Indio, California home.

elected television work

*"Carol for Another Christmas" (1964)
*"" four episodes (1966-1970)
*"" episode "Court Martial" (1967) as Commodore Stone
*"Peyton Place" (1968-1969) as Dr. Harry Miles
*"Then Came Bronson" episode "Two Percent of Nothing" (1969)
*"Somerset" as The Lieutenant (1971)
*"Genesis II" (1973)
*"" (1979)
*"Sanford" (1980) as Winston
*"Benson" (1982-1985) as Judge Harper
*"The Atlanta Child Murders" (1985) as Maynard Jackson

elected filmography

*"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" (1968) as Dr. Benedict Copeland
*"Come Back, Charleston Blue" (1972)
*"Rhinoceros" (1974) as Mr. Nicholson
*"Galaxina" (1980)
*"Heavy Metal" (1981) as Loknar (uncredited)
*"Deadly Blessing" (1981) as Narrator
*"The Shark is Still Working" (2006) (documentary)

References

*cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-rodrigues14sep14,0,6624025.story?coll=la-home-obituaries|title=Percy Rodrigues, 89; black actor fought for authority figure roles|publisher="The Los Angeles Times"|work=Obituaries|author=Nelson, Valerie J.|date=2007-09-14

External links

* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2576611.ece Obituary in "The Times", 3 October 2007]
*
* [http://ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=95688 Percy Rodrigues at the Internet Broadway Database]