Rolando Barral (27 June 1939 – 21 January 2002) was a Cuban actor, television presenter and radio host. He appeared in dozens of telenovelas and television series for more than 40 years. He was the host of the long-running talk show ''El Show de Rolando Barral'', the first Spanish-language talk show in American television. He was often called "the Latino
Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...
".
Career
Rolando Barral was born in Havana, Cuba, the son of Mario Barral, a screenwriter and television director on Cuba. Rolando began his career at age of 9 in a local radio program in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.CMQ for five years.
He was one of Cuba's leading radio and television presenters until he left the country in 1962. In 1962, Barral started his acting career, appearing in several telenovelas and films produced in through
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
,
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
and
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
. He often played the role of a heart throb or romantic lead. Some of his most notable credits include ''Mi apellido es Valdez '' (1957), ''La otra mujer'' (1980), ''Toda una vida'' (1981) and ''
Guaguasi
''Guaguasi'' is a 1983 Dominican war comedy-drama film directed by Jorge Ulla. The film was selected as the Dominican entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 56th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Librar ...
'' (1983).
In 1978 Barral debuted as television host of long-running talk show ''El Show de Rolando Barral'' on
WLTV
WLTV-DT (channel 23) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, serving as the local Univision outlet. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network (the other being WXTV-DT in the New York City market). W ...
Channel 23, then an affiliate of the Spanish International Network (the predecessor of
SIN
In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...
). In June 1985 the program briefly moved to competitor
WSCV
WSCV (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, serving as the Telemundo outlet for the Miami area. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network (the other being WNJU in the ...
(then an independent station), before being lured back five months later.
During 1984, Barral was hired by Puerto Rico's channel 2 to co-host a show named '' Super Sabados'', along with Rosita Velazquez and Luis Antonio Cosme. He lasted a few years at the show and was generally well liked in Puerto Rico.
Barral is perhaps best remembered as co-host of
Spanish International Network
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and include ...
's long-running variety show ''
Sábado Gigante
In a vast number of languages, the names given to the seven days of the week are derived from the names of the classical planets in Hellenistic astronomy, which were in turn named after contemporary deities, a system introduced by the Sumer ...
'' from January to March 1987, when he abruptly moved back to
WSCV
WSCV (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, serving as the Telemundo outlet for the Miami area. It is one of two flagship stations of the Spanish-language network (the other being WNJU in the ...
(which then became a
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
affiliate), where he hosted ''Super Sábado''. In September 1987 he moved back to Channel 23, with ''Lunes y Viernes with Barral'' (''Mondays and Fridays with Barral'').
On January 22, 1988, Univision canceled the talk show following Barral's arrest by police in
Coral Gables
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248.
Cora ...
on cocaine possession and driving while intoxicated charges. He was fined $964 for the DWI conviction and given a one-year probation for the drug conviction. He returned to airwaves two months later as radio host of ''El Show'' on
WSUA
WSUA (1260 AM broadcasting, AM, "America Radio Miami 1260 AM") is a Spanish language, Spanish All-news radio, news-Talk radio, talk radio station in Miami, Miami, Florida. It is currently owned by Grupo Latino de Radio, a subsidiary of the Spai ...
. Since then he was constantly active as host of ''TV with Barral'' on local cable station Hit TV.
Rolando Barral died on 21 January 2002 due to a stroke. He was buried at Graceland Memorial Park in
Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...