Alberto Olmedo (24 August 1933 – 5 March 1988) was an Argentine comedian and actor, popularly regarded as one of the most important comedians in the history of his country, for his outstanding work in television, cinema and theater. Olmedo was born in the city of

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...

. In his teens, he was a gifted

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

and an aspiring actor who tried his luck with several amateur theater companies and enjoyed some local success. Olmedo moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in 1954. One year later, while working as a technician in Canal 7, Argentina's first television station, his

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

skills caught the attention of the management, who gave him acting jobs in several TV shows. While Olmedo had a string of successful children's programs during the 1960s, he gained the most notoriety when given the opportunity to mix

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...

, nonsense and adult-oriented entertainment.

Career

Film

Starting with ''Gringalet'' in 1959, Olmedo starred in 49 movies, including: ''Los Doctores las Prefieren Desnudas'' (''Doctors Prefer Them Naked''), in 1973, ''Maridos en Vacaciones'', (''Husbands on Vacation'', 1975), ''Fotógrafo de Señoras'' (''Ladies' Photographer'', 1978), ''Las Mujeres Son Cosas de Guapos'' (''Women Are for the Brave'', 1981), ''Los Fierecillos Indomables'' (''The Indomitable Little Beasts'', 1982), ''Sálvese Quien Pueda'' (''Every Man for Himself'', 1984) and ''Rambito y Rambón, Primera Misión'' (''Little Rambo and Big Rambo, First Mission'', 1986). His last movie was ''Atracción Peculiar'', released shortly after his death. ''Los Fierecillos Indomables'' had a sequel in 1983. Many of Olmedo's movies in the 1980s were adult-oriented comedies featuring

Jorge Porcel Jorge Raúl Porcel de Peralta (; 7 September 1936 – 16 May 2006), known as Jorge Porcel, was an Argentine comedy actor and television host. He was nicknamed ''El Gordo de América'' (''America's Fat Guy''). Porcel is considered, along with A ...

and ''vedettes''

Moria Casán Ana María Casanova (born August 16, 1946), known by her stage name Moria Casán, is an Argentine actress and TV personality. Casán made her theatre debut in 1970, and quickly became one of the country's leading vedettes during Argentina's Gol ...

and

Susana Giménez María Susana Giménez Aubert (born 29 January 1944), known as Susana Giménez (), is an Argentine TV host, actress, model and businesswoman. In 2012, she was considered the biggest celebrity in Argentine television by the media firm that pub ...

. Conservative Argentine authorities rated these movies as PM-18 (age 18 and above), save for a few tamer films aimed at family audiences. The "Olmedo and Porcel" movies are considered to be the pinnacle of Argentina's

sexploitation A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit s ...

movie genre. Most of these movies were directed by

Gerardo Sofovich Gerardo Andrés Sofovich (March 18, 1937 – March 8, 2015) was an Argentine businessman, dramaturge, television host and presenter, comedian, scriptwriter, and director. He was the producer of '' Polémica en el bar'' and ''La noche del Domin ...

or his brother Hugo, who also directed Olmedo's TV shows ''El Chupete'' (''The Pacifier'') and ''No Toca Botón!'' (''Don't Touch That Button!'').

Television

Olmedo's ''Capitán Piluso'' show was a hit with children in the 1960s, but he preferred working for adult audiences. After acting in the successful ''Operación Ja Ja'' weekly show, Olmedo landed his first leading role in ''El Chupete''. In 1976, shortly after the beginning of the military dictatorship known as the

National Reorganization Process The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'', often simply ''el Proceso'', "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, in which it was supported by the United St ...

, Olmedo had his own death announced on the show. Once the truth was revealed, the actor was punished for his prank and banished from the airwaves for two years. In the 1980s, ''No Toca Botón!'' was the highest-rated show in Argentina. In fits of improvisation, Olmedo would stray from script, tear down props, dash past the cameras and verbally abuse his fellow actors. He created popular characters such as ''General González'', ''Rucucu'' the Ukrainian magician, the dictator of Costa Pobre (a parody of a

banana republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring c ...

ruler; its name is a pun on Costa Rica, since the country's name means "rich coast" and Costa Pobre means "poor coast"), and above all ''el Manosanta'' ("the miracle healer"), a multi-level parody on

charlatan A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. Synonyms for ''charlatan'' include '' ...

s of all stripes and Argentines' reckless pursuit of sex and money. Those years saw the blooming of a partnership with character actor Javier Portales, who provided a counterweight to Olmedo's wild improvising. Olmedo, who was nicknamed ''el Negro'', would evoke his Rosario background by using Rosario slang and narrating implausible stories about his childhood exploits.

Death

Olmedo died in the resort city of

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a sh ...

, on 5 March 1988. According to police reports, he slipped off his eleventh-floor apartment's balcony. It is believed that he tried, possibly under the influence of alcohol or

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

, to perform a high-wire stunt on the balcony and lost his balance. The only witness to his last moments was girlfriend Nancy Herrera, who was pregnant with his posthumous son Alberto Jr. Olmedo married and divorced twice and had six children (including Alberto Jr.). He is buried in La Chacarita Cemetery in Buenos Aires.

References

External links