From small TV roles, to Broadway and film, the great Mexican-American actor Edward James Olmos has graced us with his talents for over 30 years, and yesterday he celebrated his 66th birthday.
Olmos grew up in East Los Angeles, which is notorious for gang violence. He is a true Latino inspiration playing strong roles that encourage others and break the Latino stereotypes.
His most notable roles have been that of Lt. Martin Castillo in the NBC series "Miami Vice," for which he won two Golden Globes and one Emmy, and Jaime Escalante, the determined math teacher in the film "Stand and Deliver," for which he won an Independent Spirit award and was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Olmos also played Abraham Quintanilla, father of the late Selena and manager of the band "Selena y los Dinos," in the movie "Selena," for which he won an ALMA award. He portrayed Comander William Adama in the re-imagined sci-fi series "Battlestar Galactica," for which he won two ALMA awards and one Saturn award, he also directed four episodes of the show and the final Galactica TV movie, "The Plan."
The latest news of the Mexican actor was his 2011 guest appearance as Geller, a professor of religious studies, in Showtime's acclaimed series Dexter. Last year he also joined forces with waterkeeper.org, for which he is narrated a PSA to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of US Clean Water Act and to advocate sustainable access to clean water by people across the globe.
Olmos is a true believer of the Latino talent and film. Back in 1998, along with Marlene Dermer, he created Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), a non-profit organization funded by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. According to the site, the organization funds dramas, documentaries, comedies, satire and animation representative of Latinos and which address the community's issues and interests.
Today Olmos has an active role as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of LPB and is passionately involved in the organizations efforts to bring more Latino films and programs to public television.
Happy Birthday Eddie, we hope to see you back on the screen soon!
The following is Olmos' PSA for Waterkeeper Alliance:
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