Hector Elizondo, better known for his role as Dr. Phillip Watters in the 90s medical drama Chicago Hope, will replace Stanley Kamel as Tony Shalhoub psychiatrist in the USA Network series 'Monk'. The role was awarded to Elizondo after Stanley Kamel's untimely death in April from a heart attack. (Stanley Kamel pictured below)
Hector Elizondo, born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, has a career that very much mirrors the rise of Hispanic actors from outlaws to more mainstream roles.
From his wikipedia biography
* A Mexican bandit in Valdez is Coming (1971)
* A Puerto Rican janitor who, along with his pregnant wife and four others, got stuck on an elevator with Archie Bunker in a 1972 episode of All in the Family
* A psychopathic killer in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
* Hassan Salah, a devious First Secretary of the embassy of fictional Arab country Swahari in Columbo: A Case of Immunity (1975)
* A dogged detective in The Fan (1981)
* A middle-class family man in The Flamingo Kid (1984)
* The agent of a struggling stand-up comic in the short-lived television series a.k.a. Pablo (1984)
* As Tom Hanks's boss in Nothing In Common (1986)
* As Bernard Thompson, manager of the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, in Pretty Woman (1990)
* As defense attorney Sandy Stern in The Burden of Proof (1990)
* As Dr. Dio Gottlieb, a psychiatrist in Final Approach (1991)
* As Coach Ed Gennero in Necessary Roughness (1991)
* A Greek coffee shop owner in Frankie and Johnny (1991)
* Joe, The head of the queen's security service (and future husband of the Queen) in The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
* Twice in The Rockford Files, Once as former detective Frank Falcone, "Freeze Turkey" and earlier in the series as a Korean War buddy that hires Jim Rockford to find a love interest - he gets killed halfway through that episode. (1973–1980)
* As Chief of Staff Dr. Phillip Watters in Chicago Hope (1994–2000)
* As Javier Del Campo in the made-for-tv movie Borrowed Hearts
* As Wan Shi Tong on Avatar: The Last Airbender
* As Cardinal Sebastian on The Celestine Prophecy
* As Detective Jon Flint in Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
* As Bill, the Harvard crew coach, in How High (2001)
* Martin Naranjo, the widowed father of the three girls in Tortilla Soup (2001)[4]
* As Izzy in Georgia Rule (2007)
* As Ben Padrow in Music Within (2007)
* As the dying patriarch, Pancho Duque, of a family-run sugar and rum company in Cane (2007)
* As Don Leo in Love in the Time of Cholera based on the Gabriel García Márquez book (2007)
* As Adrian Monk's new therapist Dr. Bell in Monk (2008)
Stanley Kamel's role was not explored much in the series, to have such a talented actor be underused is a real shame. I hope the show's writers will not make the same mistake with Hector Elizondo's role as Dr. Bell.
2 comments:
i saw the new episode. mr elizondo is absolutely perfect for that role. i do agree however that he's too much of a talented actor to play a "small" role in a tv series - much like stanley kamel.
The Show is awesome.I love this Show.Monk is the Best character of the show.His gestures and body language is equally humorous as his deeds.One day i was Searched to download monk episodes and i got the Good Stuff and Really that was the Best source for me to watch the show.
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