Olmos, Edward James (24th February 1947-Present)

He is an actor, director, musician and singer born to a Mexican immigrant family in Los Angeles, California, where his father was a welder.

He first set his sights on becoming a baseball player and became so proficient in the sport that he was named the Golden State batting champion. He also set his sights high while at high school but lost the race to become Student Body President to Art Torres who was later be a member of the California Democratic Party.

It wasn’t long before he moved his attention to music when he was a teenager and started singing as the lead singer for the group Pacific Ocean. He carried on with the band after he graduated in 1964 and also during his attendance at East Los Angeles College where his studies included acting courses. As well as performing at several venues in the Los Angeles area they released a record in 1968.

In late 1971 he managed to land himself a job singing background vocals, through a friend he worked with at Gazzari’s Club, on Todd Rundgren’s 1972 release Something/Anything. Although he was performing at the club as Eddie James, he is credited as Edward Olmos on the album.

He moved into acting in various smaller productions and then got himself the role as the narrator El Pachuco in the successful play Zoot Suit. He travelled to New York to continue the role on Broadway and won himself a nomination for a Tony Award. He later appeared in the movie version of the play that was released in 1981.

In 1980 he appeared in the film Virus with an all star cast and also sang a Spanish ballad and played the piano as part of his role. He went on to appear in other science films such as Wolfen in 1981 and Blade Runner in 1982.

In 1984 he moved into television and took on the role of Lieutenant Martin Castillo in the extremely successful Miami Vice which led to him winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe in 1985. He turned down the Captain’s role in Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1986 and remained with Miami Vice until 1989.

In the 1990s he moved back to film and appeared in Stand and Deliver. His performance won him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and made him the first American-born Latino to receive the honour. He moved into directing with the 1992 American Me, which he also starred in. During the 1990s he also starred in My Family/Mi Familia, My Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and Selena and was the co-founder of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and Latino Public Broadcasting, which he is the Chairman of.

When the new millennium came around he found himself just as sought after and starred in the 2001 In the Time of Butterflies. That same year he spent nearly three weeks in jail after he had been arrested for participating in the Navy-Vieques protests, He had a regular role in the TV series The West Wing and in 2002 he starred in American Family: Journey of Dreams, staying with the series until 2004.

In 2003 he became Admiral William Adama in the Battlestar Galactica mini series and then carried on the role in the ensuing TV series, directing four of the episodes. He later made a guest appearance in the music video of “Vato” by Snoop Dogg and directed the TV movies The Plan and Walkout.

Outside of his career as an entertainer he was involved in the clean up of the community after the Rodney King Riots in 1992 and was a co-founder of Latino Literacy Now in 1997. In 2007 he received he gained Mexican nationality.

He is a spokesman and a narrator on the Spanish language adverts for the Farmers Insurance Group and is a regular visitor to detention centres and juvenile halls where he speaks to teenagers that are deemed “at-risk”. He is also works with UNICEF as an international ambassador.

He was honoured when the asteroid 5608 Olmos was named after him and recognised for his contribution to the arts, California State University awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in 1996.

Sources:

Olmos, Edward James (24th February 1947-Present)

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