Emily Cranz (born 21 September 1942) is an

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-born Mexican actress, singer, and dancer.

Early life

She was born Emma Cranz Cantillano, in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, one of 6 children (3 boys and 3 girls) to a German-American father, Frank C., who was born in

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, CA and a Mexican mother, Evangelina (née Amillano) (1909-1964), who was born in

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. In 1953, as a 10-year-old girl, Cranz participated as a dancer and singer in community events in Tucson, Arizona. In February of that year, at the Mission View PTA meeting, which took place in the school auditorium, Cranz and a schoolmate were featured in a group of Mexican dances. Then, she participated in the September 16 Mexican Independence Day Celebration as a dancer and singer, who serenaded the Lady of Guadalupe. Her mother, Evangelina, was an organizer, and her sister, whose name was also Evangelina, was a dancer, as well. The program was broadcast over station KVOA. As a teenager, she sang at benefits and on a local radio station. At the age of 13, she appeared on television, which did not make a big impression, so her parents moved to

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to try to have her break in as a professional singer. Later, she joined the Chuck Rio Quintet in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and performed with them for several seasons. She left the group to record with Orfeón in

Career

In 1961, Cranz began her career as a Mexican recording artist on the Peerless label, backed up by Los Boppers, singing "Ahora o Nunca" and on the flip-side "Papa Loves Mambo" on a 45 rpm single. Later, she recorded on the Maya, Orfeón, Dimsa, and RCA Victor labels various singles and albums in Spanish, and, most notably, an English album (backed by the Mariachi Guadalajara) called "Speak to Me." In 1962, she appeared on the Paco Malgesto program every Saturday night on KWEX-TV Ch.41 in San Antonio, Texas. From 1963 to 1970, Cranz appeared in Mexican movies, television variety shows, and telenovelas (soap operas), where, in addition to acting, she would frequently sing or dance. She considered herself to be a "vedette" (a showgirl), rather than a serious actress. One of her more popular appearances was in 1966, when she co-starred with

Gaspar Henaine Gaspar Henaine (6 January 1927 – 30 September 2011), more commonly known by his pseudonym Capulina, was a Mexican comedian, actor, singer, film producer, and screenwriter. He was best known for partnering with Marco Antonio Campos as the do ...

as Capulina in '' La cigüeña distraída'' (1966), a comedy film directed by

Emilio Gómez Muriel Emilio Gómez Muriel was a prolific Mexican film director, active between the 1930s and the 1970s. He is known for melodramas, but one of his first films was ''Redes'' (release: 1936), an attempt at social cinema with a mostly non-professional ...

. She also accompanied show troupes and performed in different cities. In 1962, she was a member of a

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

troupe—complete with recording artists, dancers, and

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...

s—that headlined the annual Fiesta de Mayo celebration in her home town of Tucson. In 1970, she appeared on U.S. television in the

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

Comedy Special, which was set in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

during the Mexico International Film Festival.

Retirement

She seemed to have retired from the entertainment scene in 1970, as reflected in no new projects on her list of credits on IMDB after 1970.

Charitable causes

The Emily Cranz foundation in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

honored legendary Mexican comedian Mario Moreno "

Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely accomplished Mexican comedian and is well ...

" with its 1992 Gracias Award for his work on behalf of children. The charity benefit raised money to aid children living in crisis environments.

Selected filmography

*'' La cigüeña distraída'' (1966)

Citations

External links

*
Emily Cranz songs at Freegal Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranz, Emily 1942 births 20th-century Mexican actresses Actresses from Tucson, Arizona American emigrants to Mexico American people of German descent Chicano Living people Mexican women singers Mexican female dancers Mexican people of German descent American actresses of Mexican descent American musicians of Mexican descent