Ricardo González Gutiérrez known as Cepillín () (February 7, 1946 – March 8, 2021) was a Mexican clown as well as a singer, TV host and actor.

Career

Ricardo was a dentist who started to paint his face so that kids would not be afraid of him as he worked on their teeth. He became famous when a local TV channel interviewed him. The name ''Cepillín'' means "Little (tooth)Brush" in Spanish (while "cepillo" means literally "brush", the origin of the nickname implies it is, in fact, referring to a toothbrush). With

Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...

he had a show called '' El Show de Cepillín'' starting in 1977. This was an educational, comedy and interview show with guests such as

Lou Ferrigno Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. (; born November 9, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles; and appeared in the documenta ...

(who was '' Hulk'' on the popular TV show). The show was a success in Mexico as well as Chile and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. He arguably became the most famous clown in Mexico and all Latin America. His show was aired in more than 18 countries. Cepillín recorded 27 long play albums of children songs, 11 of which went gold. In all they sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. The most popular songs were ''La feria de Cepillín'' (Cepillín's Fair), ''Tomás'' ("Thomas"), ''En el bosque de la China'' ("In China's forest") and ''La Gallina Cocoua''. Cepillín also helped younger artists to acquire fame such as singer

Yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

, who took a role in his movie ' ("Miracle in the circus"), and

Salma Hayek Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...

, to whom he gave the opportunity in the masterpiece Aladdin as Jasmine. Cepillín had another show in 1987 called ''Una sonrisa con Cepillín'' on Channel 5 of

. In 1990 he returned to Monterrey for ''Súper sábados con Cepillín'' which featured his sons Ricardo González Jr (″Cepi″) and Roberto González (″Franky″). In 2006 he and his sons recorded ''Cepillín live'' for

Multimedios Television Canal 6 (alternately known as Multimedios Televisión) is a network of Spanish language television stations primarily concentrated in northeastern Mexico and the southwestern United States. The system is part of Grupo Multimedios. The flagship st ...

. From 1982 to 2006 he toured Mexico and the United States with a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

that bore his name.

Political activism

On April 12, 2018, Cepillín uploaded a video where he endorsed

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mex ...

for president in the 2018 Mexican presidential election.

Health and death

González Gutiérrez was a smoker and was hospitalized with heart attacks on three occasions. Ricardo González Gutiérrez was admitted to a hospital in Naucalpan, State of Mexico, on February 28, 2021 because of intense back pain. He underwent a nine-hour surgery and seemed to be recovering, and received a visit from ″Rey Grupero″ (Luis Alberto Ordaz). However, he had chest pains and was admitted to

intensive care Intensive care medicine, also called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes pro ...

and put on a ventillator on March 7. On March 8, 2021, Cepillín died at the age of 75 after battling spinal cancer. His son, Ricardo González Jr., said that his father had a respiratory arrest from which the doctors managed to "get him out of"; however, he reported that "he was already very deteriorated" and he had a failed kidney.Mexican clown Payaso Cepillin dies at the age of 75 after battling with spinal cancer
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Films

*1979: ''

Milagro en el circo Milagro means "miracle" in Spanish language, Spanish. Milagro may refer to: Places: *Milagro, Ecuador, a city *Milagro Canton, Ecuador, of which the city is the canton seat *Milagro River, Ecuador *Milagro, Navarre, Spain, a town and municipality ...

'' *1989: '' La Corneta de mi General'' *1989 '' Hola Ninos de lucion''

Albums

*2016: ''Gracias'' – Album nominated for the Latin Grammy *1998: '' Cepillín 15 éxitos Vol. II'' *1995: '' Fiesta con Cepillín'' *1994: '' Cepillín 15 éxitos El Payasito de la Tele'' *1991: '' Cepillín Fiesta con Cepillín'' *1981: '' Cepillín El Vaquero Infantil Pancho Lopez'' *1978: '' Fiebre Del Cepillín, Cepillín Night Fever'' *1978: '' Navidad Con Cepillín Vol. IV'' *1978: '' Cepillín Vamos a la escuela Vol. III'' *1978: '' Cepillín La Feria De Cepillín Vol. II'' *1977: '' Un Dia Con Mamá Vol. I''

References

External links

*
Article
on '' El Universal'' (in Spanish).
Cepillín died at the age of 75 due to Spine Surgery Complications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cepillin Mexican male film actors Mexican clowns People from Monterrey 1945 births 2021 deaths Mexican television personalities Deaths from spinal cancer Deaths from cancer in Mexico Neurological disease deaths in Mexico Mexican dentists