Maria Richwine (born María Eugenia Agudelo; June 22, 1952 – March 12, 2024) was a Colombian-born American actress who was also the first Latina

Playboy Bunny A Playboy Bunny is a cocktail waitress who works at a Playboy Club and selected through standardized training. Their costumes were made up of lingerie, inspired by the tuxedo-wearing Playboy rabbit mascot. This costume consisted of a straples ...

. Her first film role was as

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

's wife

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, in the 1978 biopic movie ''

The Buddy Holly Story ''The Buddy Holly Story'' is a 1978 American biographical musical drama film directed by Steve Rash which tells the life and career of rock and roll musician Buddy Holly. It features an Academy Award-winning musical score, adapted by Joe Ren ...

''. Her performance received positive reviews. ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' critic

David Ansen David Ansen is an American film critic. He was a senior editor for ''Newsweek'', where he served as film critic from 1977 to 2008 and subsequently contribute to the magazine in a freelance capacity. Prior to writing for ''Newsweek'', he served a ...

commented, "Her attractive performance suggests complexities of character that the script fails to explore." She was a regular on

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...

's 1984 series '' a.k.a. Pablo'', and also appeared in the

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American television sitcom that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. Developed by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West, it is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the ...

'', ''

Sledge Hammer! ''Sledge Hammer!'' is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from September 23, 1986, to February 12, 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Insp ...

'', and ''

Freddy's Nightmares ''Freddy's Nightmares'' (also known as ''A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series'') is an American horror anthology television series that aired in syndication from October 8, 1988 until March 12, 1990. A spin-off from the ''A Nightmare on Elm ...

''. On March 12, 2024, Richwine was found unresponsive in a hot tub, at a residence in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

, and was later pronounced dead. She was 71.

References

External links

* * 1952 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American actresses Colombian film actresses Colombian emigrants to the United States American film actresses American television actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Cali {{film-actor-stub