Sonny Melendrez

infobox actor

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occupation=Television actor

Sonny Melendrez is an American actor, radio-TV personailty, and inspirational speaker.

Based in San Antonio, Texas, USA, he is Texas' first multi-media personality and host of SonnyRadio.com.

Twice named Billboard Magazine's "Radio Personality of the Year," he has is included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one of the Top 100 Radio Personalities Of All Time.

Melendrez has hosted drive time shows at KMPC, KFI, KMGG AND KRLA Radio in Los Angeles.

As TV host, actor, radio personality, writer, commercial spokesman, comedian, motivational speaker, and cartoon voice artist, Melendrez grew up in San Antonio, Texas.

He has been spokesperson for companies like Disney, Pepsi, McDonald's, Sears and Sprint.

He has hosted or been a featured speaker at The White House Hispanic Heritage Awards; the National "Just Say No To Drugs" Rally at the Washington Monument; and the USO 50th Anniversary Gala at the Ambassador's Palace in Paris, France with guest of honor, the late Princess Grace of Monaco.

He hosted the award winning children's series, ‘You And Me, Kid,” on the Disney Channel.

He was named Inc. Magazine's "Socially Responsible Entrepreneur of the Year” and awarded the “2000 Marketing Philanthropist Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Sales and Marketing Executives of San Antonio.

President Reagan commended Sonny for his efforts in the war on drugs. In 1990, in recognition for raising tens of thousands of dollars for youth scholarships, he was named "El Rey Feo" (The People's King) and reigned over San Antonio's annual weeklong Fiesta celebration.

The City of San Antonio named the Sonny Melendrez Community Center located on the city's West Side in his honor as way to say “thank you” for his community involvement.

He created the children's version of "We Are The World" in Los Angeles in 1985. Over 1500 children participated in the recording and video, and proceeds from record sales benefited USA For Africa. Sonny received a Grammy nomination for "Best Children's Recording."

The Sonny Melendrez Children's Foundation was created in 1998 to help disabled and disadvantaged youth in San Antonio and to date, he has helped to raise over 100 million dollars in cash, goods and services for local and national charities during the last 25 years.

He has provided the voices of several characters in Hanna-Barbera's "Jetsons" cartoon series; created many of the sounds heard in the Gremlins movie; was the bug who yelled "Oh, no! It's RAAAAAID!" in the popular TV commercial; played opposite Walter Mathau as the voice of Bob Cratchet in the animated TV classic, "The Stingiest Man in Town"; and was even the voice of the infamous Fred the Cockatoo in the 70s TV series starring Robert Blake. Recently he was chosen from a field of over 140,000 as the new voice of the Parkay Margarine Talking Tub.

As a motivational speaker, he brings his positive message to colleges, universities, and corporate groups at home and abroad.

External links

*imdb name|id=0577608|name=Sonny Melendrez
*tvtome person|id=185131|name=Sonny Melendrez