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Roger Cudney (June 22, 1936 – July 5, 2021) was an American actor, singer, dubbing director, radio and television announcer.


Biography

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudney was known for starring in numerous Mexican films and
telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ( ...
s in which he often portrayed
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
characters or other villains. In 2003, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' described his career playing 'unpopular
gringo ''Gringo'' (, , ) (masculine) (or ''gringa'' (feminine)) is a term in Spanish and Portuguese for a foreigner, usually an English-speaking Anglo-American. There are differences in meaning depending on region and country. In Latin America, it is ...
s':
MEXICO CITY -- Roger Cudney, a smallish, 66-year-old with a receding hairline and a gleaming smile, may be the most notorious gringo in Mexico. Some Mexicans know him as a plunderer of ancient
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
treasures. Others remember him as the union-busting manager of a
sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...
. Still others recognize Mr. Cudney as a pathologically nasty Texas ranger or a meddling diplomat. Mr. Cudney has been all of these things and more in a 30-year acting career in Mexican TV and movies. The Ohio-born Mr. Cudney came to Mexico in the 1960s to play the lead in the musical ''
Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the pe ...
'' but he soon found a different dramatic calling. "Roger Cudney is the epitome of the bad gringo, a blending of all the worst American
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for exampl ...
s," says David Wilt, who compiled the ''Biographical Dictionary of Mexican Film Performers''. On the
001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: *1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
Mexican soap opera, Amigas y rivales (Friends and Rivals), Mr. Cudney was a racist South Texas rancher who caught a couple of illegal Mexican immigrants trespassing on his property, shortly after the
World Trade Center attack In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the wor ...
. "Git off of my land," the actor snarled, waving a shotgun. Then, in his distinctively accented Spanish, he ad-libbed: "Thousands of Americans have just died in New York. They shouldn't let anyone enter my country anymore."
Cudney also had parts in mainstream Hollywood films, including a co-starring role opposite
Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and wa ...
in '' The Evil That Men Do'', '' Total Recall'', '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'', the James Bond film '' Licence to Kill'', '' Julia'', '' Perdita Durango'' and ''
Original Sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 ( ...
''. He portrayed the part of the United States Ambassador to Mexico in ''
La Dictadura Perfecta ''The Perfect Dictatorship'' ( es, La dictadura perfecta) is a 2014 Mexican comedy political satire film, written, produced and directed by Luis Estrada and starring Damián Alcázar, Alfonso Herrera, Joaquín Cosío, Dagoberto Gama, María Rojo ...
''. Cudney was married, with three sons and one daughter. He died on July 5, 2021, of a heart attack following a car accident.


Filmography


Television


References


External links

* 1936 births 2021 deaths People from Cleveland 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Ohio American male film actors {{US-actor-stub