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Míriam Colón

May 08, 2023

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Colón and the second or maternal family name is Valle.

Míriam Colón Valle (August 20, 1936 – March 3, 2017) was a Puerto Rican actress. She was the founder and director of New York City's Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Beginning her career in the early 1950s, she performed on Broadway and on television. She appeared on television programs from the 1960s to the 2010s, including Sanford and Son and Gunsmoke. She is best known as Mama Montana, the mother of Al Pacino's title character in Scarface. In 2014, she received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama.[1] She died of complications from a pulmonary infection on March 3, 2017, at the age of 80.

Míriam Colón
Colón in 1962
Born
Míriam Colón Valle

(1936-08-20)20 August 1936
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died3 March 2017(2017-03-03) (aged 80)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1953–2015
Known forMama Montana – Scarface
Spouses
George Paul Edgar
​
​
(m. 1966; died 1976)​
Fred Valle
​
(m. 1987⁠–⁠2017)​

Early life

Míriam Colón Valle was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on August 20, 1936.[2] In the 1940s, her recently divorced mother moved the family to a public housing project called Residencial Las Casas in San Juan. She attended Román Baldorioty de Castro High School in Old San Juan, where she took part in plays.[2] Her first drama teacher, Marcos Colón (no relation) believed in her talent, and helped her gain permission to observe the students in the drama department of the University of Puerto Rico. She was a good student in high school and was awarded scholarships to the Dramatic Workshop and Technical Institute and Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio in New York City.[3]

In New York, she befriended Dean Zayas, another young Puerto Rican actor and future director.[4]

Career

External audio
  Colón's debut in "Los Peloteros" on YouTube

In 1953, Colón debuted as an actress in Los Peloteros (The Baseball Players), a film produced in Puerto Rico, starring Ramón "Diplo" Rivero, and in which she played a character called Lolita.[3] That year, she moved to New York City, where she was accepted by Actors Studio co-founder Elia Kazan after a single audition,[5][6] thus becoming the studio's first Puerto Rican member.[7] In New York, she worked in theater and later landed a role on the soap opera Guiding Light. She attended a performance of René Marqués' La Carreta (The Oxcart) which motivated her to form the first Hispanic theater group, with the help of La Carreta's producer, Roberto Rodríguez, called "El Circuito Dramático".[8]

 
Colón and James Arness in Gunsmoke, 1970

In 1954, she appeared on stage in "In The Summer House" at the Play House in New York City.[9] Between 1954 and 1974, she made guest appearances in television shows such as Peter Gunn and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. She appeared mostly in westerns such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The High Chaparral, and Have Gun, Will Travel. She appeared in the 1961 film One-eyed Jacks as "the Redhead". In 1962, she was featured as the co-star in a teleplay written by Frank Gabrielsen, and produced for the TV series The DuPont Show of the Week. The title of the hour-long episode is "The Richest Man in Bogota", airing on 17 June 1962.[10] It starred Lee Marvin as Juan de Núñez, and Miriam Colón as "Marina" (not Medina-Saroté, as in the original H.G. Wells story, The Country of the Blind). She co-starred as Anita Chavez in Thunder Island (1963), with the screenplay written by Jack Nicholson. In 1963, she guest starred on Gunsmoke, playing the title character, a Comanche woman who marries a settler and the two must deal with the racial hatred of others due to it in the episode “Shona” (S8E22).

In 1979, she starred alongside fellow Puerto Rican actors José Ferrer, Raúl Juliá, and Henry Darrow in Life of Sin, a film in which she portrayed Isabel la Negra, a real-life Puerto Rican brothel owner. In 1983, she was cast as the mother of Tony Montana in Scarface, despite being only 4 years older than Al Pacino. Colón has said that she based her performance on her own mother.[11] She was also cast as María in the 1999 film Gloria, starring Sharon Stone. In 2013, she was cast in the role of Ultima, a New Mexico Hispanic healer, in the movie Bless Me, Ultima based on the novel by Rudolfo Anaya.[12] She appeared in Season 1 of the TV series Better Call Saul in 2015, as Abuelita.

Puerto Rican Traveling Theater

 
Puerto Rican Travelling Theater
Main article: Puerto Rican Traveling Theater

In the late 1960s, Colón founded The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater company on West 47th street in Manhattan, New York. The company presents Off-Broadway productions onsite and also goes on tour. She was the director of the company and she appeared in the following PRTT productions:[13]

  • The Ox Cart (1966–1967)[14]
  • The Boiler Room (1993)[15]
  • Simpson Street
  • Señora Carrar's Rifles

The play The Ox Cart (La Carreta), written by Puerto Rican dramatist René Marqués, was first produced in 1953. It was directed by Roberto Rodríguez and starred Colón. The success of the play allowed Rodríguez and Colón to form the first permanent Hispanic theatrical group, and for the group to have its own space, Teatro Arena, located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th street.[16]

Recognition

 
National Medal of Arts

In 1993, Colón received an Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater. In 2000, she received the HOLA Raúl Juliá Founders Award, presented by the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA).

Colón's biography, Míriam Colón: Actor and Theater Founder, was written by Mayra Fernandez in 1994.

In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded Colón the National Medal of Arts for her contributions as an actress. The citation reads as follows: "Ms. Colón has been a trailblazer in film, television, and theater, and helped open doors for generations of Hispanic actors."[1]

Personal life

Colón was married to George Paul Edgar from 1966 until his death in 1976.[11] In 1987, she married Fred Valle.

She was an avid collector of ancestral arts including pre-Columbian, tribal African, historic Native American, and other tribal art. She collected Mid-East artifacts, abstract paintings, and modern sculpture. A signed Pablo Picasso sketch in crayon that she owned was auctioned for $6500 on June 16, 2019. At her death, she owned at least six signed movie posters of Al Pacino's Scarface and at least seven signed Scarface soundtrack albums.[17]

Her final years were in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Death

Colón died on March 3, 2017, at the age of 80, in New York City of complications from a pulmonary infection.[18] Among those who paid tribute to her were Rosalba Rolón, Marc Anthony (who she had coached as an actor and briefly appeared with on television), and Lin-Manuel Miranda.[19]

Filmography

Broadway

  • In The Summer House (1954)
  • The Innkeepers (1956)
  • The Wrong Way Lightbulb (1969)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Miriam Colón". www.arts.gov.
  2. ^ a b Kelley, Seth (March 4, 2017). "Miriam Colon, Latina Film and Theater Pioneer Known for 'Scarface,' Dies at 80". Varitey. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Miriam Colón". Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  4. ^ "Miriam Colón: pionera de la cultura". El Nuevo Día. March 4, 2017.
  5. ^ Bosworth 1971, p. D5.
  6. ^ Garfield 1980, p. 277.
  7. ^ Moreno 1989, p. 30.
  8. ^ "Danny en 'Coincidencias'… y en San Juan". 31 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Miriam Colon Biography (1945-)". Film Reference Library. Toronto: TIFF Bell Lightbox. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  10. ^ "The Richest Man in Bogota". TV Guide. Vol. 10, no. 24. June 16–22, 1962.
  11. ^ a b Gates, Anita (March 5, 2017). "Miriam Colón, 80, Actress and Founder of Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Dies". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  12. ^ "Miriam Colon, iconic U.S. Latina movie, theater actress, dies at 80". Daily News. New York City: Daily News, L.P. Associated Press. March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  13. ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  14. ^ ​The Ox Cart​ at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
  15. ^ ​The Boiler Room​ at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
  16. ^ Kanellos, Nicolás (2003). Hispanic Literature of the United States: A Comprehensive Reference. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 273.
  17. ^ url=https://www.liveauctioneers.com/search/?keyword=m%C3%ADriam%20col%C3%B3n&sort=-relevance&status=archive
  18. ^ Contreras, Russell (March 3, 2017). "U.S. News: Miriam Colón, Iconic US Latina Movie, Theater Actress, Dies". U.S. News & World Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. News & World Report, L.P. Associated Press. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  19. ^ Rolón, Rosalba (9 March 2017). "Miriam Colón: Opening Doors". American Theatre. Theatre Communications Group. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

External links

May 08, 2023
míriam, colón, this, spanish, name, first, paternal, surname, colón, second, maternal, family, name, valle, valle, august, 1936, march, 2017, puerto, rican, actress, founder, director, york, city, puerto, rican, traveling, theater, beginning, career, early, 19. In this Spanish name the first or paternal surname is Colon and the second or maternal family name is Valle Miriam Colon Valle August 20 1936 March 3 2017 was a Puerto Rican actress She was the founder and director of New York City s Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Beginning her career in the early 1950s she performed on Broadway and on television She appeared on television programs from the 1960s to the 2010s including Sanford and Son and Gunsmoke She is best known as Mama Montana the mother of Al Pacino s title character in Scarface In 2014 she received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama 1 She died of complications from a pulmonary infection on March 3 2017 at the age of 80 Miriam ColonColon in 1962BornMiriam Colon Valle 1936 08 20 20 August 1936Ponce Puerto RicoDied3 March 2017 2017 03 03 aged 80 New York City U S OccupationActressYears active1953 2015Known forMama Montana ScarfaceSpousesGeorge Paul Edgar m 1966 died 1976 wbr Fred Valle m 1987 2017 wbr Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Puerto Rican Traveling Theater 4 Recognition 5 Personal life 6 Death 7 Filmography 8 Broadway 9 See also 10 References 11 External linksEarly life EditMiriam Colon Valle was born in Ponce Puerto Rico on August 20 1936 2 In the 1940s her recently divorced mother moved the family to a public housing project called Residencial Las Casas in San Juan She attended Roman Baldorioty de Castro High School in Old San Juan where she took part in plays 2 Her first drama teacher Marcos Colon no relation believed in her talent and helped her gain permission to observe the students in the drama department of the University of Puerto Rico She was a good student in high school and was awarded scholarships to the Dramatic Workshop and Technical Institute and Lee Strasberg s Actors Studio in New York City 3 In New York she befriended Dean Zayas another young Puerto Rican actor and future director 4 Career EditExternal audio Colon s debut in Los Peloteros on YouTubeIn 1953 Colon debuted as an actress in Los Peloteros The Baseball Players a film produced in Puerto Rico starring Ramon Diplo Rivero and in which she played a character called Lolita 3 That year she moved to New York City where she was accepted by Actors Studio co founder Elia Kazan after a single audition 5 6 thus becoming the studio s first Puerto Rican member 7 In New York she worked in theater and later landed a role on the soap opera Guiding Light She attended a performance of Rene Marques La Carreta The Oxcart which motivated her to form the first Hispanic theater group with the help of La Carreta s producer Roberto Rodriguez called El Circuito Dramatico 8 Colon and James Arness in Gunsmoke 1970 In 1954 she appeared on stage in In The Summer House at the Play House in New York City 9 Between 1954 and 1974 she made guest appearances in television shows such as Peter Gunn and Alfred Hitchcock Presents She appeared mostly in westerns such as Gunsmoke Bonanza The High Chaparral and Have Gun Will Travel She appeared in the 1961 film One eyed Jacks as the Redhead In 1962 she was featured as the co star in a teleplay written by Frank Gabrielsen and produced for the TV series The DuPont Show of the Week The title of the hour long episode is The Richest Man in Bogota airing on 17 June 1962 10 It starred Lee Marvin as Juan de Nunez and Miriam Colon as Marina not Medina Sarote as in the original H G Wells story The Country of the Blind She co starred as Anita Chavez in Thunder Island 1963 with the screenplay written by Jack Nicholson In 1963 she guest starred on Gunsmoke playing the title character a Comanche woman who marries a settler and the two must deal with the racial hatred of others due to it in the episode Shona S8E22 In 1979 she starred alongside fellow Puerto Rican actors Jose Ferrer Raul Julia and Henry Darrow in Life of Sin a film in which she portrayed Isabel la Negra a real life Puerto Rican brothel owner In 1983 she was cast as the mother of Tony Montana in Scarface despite being only 4 years older than Al Pacino Colon has said that she based her performance on her own mother 11 She was also cast as Maria in the 1999 film Gloria starring Sharon Stone In 2013 she was cast in the role of Ultima a New Mexico Hispanic healer in the movie Bless Me Ultima based on the novel by Rudolfo Anaya 12 She appeared in Season 1 of the TV series Better Call Saul in 2015 as Abuelita Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Edit Puerto Rican Travelling Theater Main article Puerto Rican Traveling Theater In the late 1960s Colon founded The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater company on West 47th street in Manhattan New York The company presents Off Broadway productions onsite and also goes on tour She was the director of the company and she appeared in the following PRTT productions 13 The Ox Cart 1966 1967 14 The Boiler Room 1993 15 Simpson Street Senora Carrar s RiflesThe play The Ox Cart La Carreta written by Puerto Rican dramatist Rene Marques was first produced in 1953 It was directed by Roberto Rodriguez and starred Colon The success of the play allowed Rodriguez and Colon to form the first permanent Hispanic theatrical group and for the group to have its own space Teatro Arena located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th street 16 Recognition Edit National Medal of Arts In 1993 Colon received an Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater In 2000 she received the HOLA Raul Julia Founders Award presented by the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors HOLA Colon s biography Miriam Colon Actor and Theater Founder was written by Mayra Fernandez in 1994 In 2014 President Barack Obama awarded Colon the National Medal of Arts for her contributions as an actress The citation reads as follows Ms Colon has been a trailblazer in film television and theater and helped open doors for generations of Hispanic actors 1 Personal life EditColon was married to George Paul Edgar from 1966 until his death in 1976 11 In 1987 she married Fred Valle She was an avid collector of ancestral arts including pre Columbian tribal African historic Native American and other tribal art She collected Mid East artifacts abstract paintings and modern sculpture A signed Pablo Picasso sketch in crayon that she owned was auctioned for 6500 on June 16 2019 At her death she owned at least six signed movie posters of Al Pacino s Scarface and at least seven signed Scarface soundtrack albums 17 Her final years were in Albuquerque New Mexico Death EditColon died on March 3 2017 at the age of 80 in New York City of complications from a pulmonary infection 18 Among those who paid tribute to her were Rosalba Rolon Marc Anthony who she had coached as an actor and briefly appeared with on television and Lin Manuel Miranda 19 Filmography Edit1951 Los Peloteros as Lolita 1955 Danger TV Series 1955 Star Tonight TV Series 1956 Crowded Paradise 1956 Soraya TV Series three episodes 1957 The Big Story TV Series as Esperanza Martinez 1958 Decoy TV Series as Maria 1956 1958 Studio One TV Series as Mrs Talavera Rosie 1959 Lux Playhouse TV Series as Mrs Flores 1959 State Trooper TV Series Episode Case of the Barefoot Girl as Francesca 1959 One Step Beyond TV Series Episode The Hand as Alma Rodriguez 1959 Markham TV Series as Esperanza 1959 Mike Hammer TV Series as Tarano 1959 Peter Gunn TV Series as Maria DeCara 1959 Tales of Wells Fargo TV Series Episode Desert Showdown as Rita 1959 Wanted Dead or Alive TV Series Episode Desert Seed as Mrs Gomez 1961 One eyed Jacks as Redheaded Lady 1961 Battle at Bloody Beach as Nahni 1961 The Outsider as Anita 1962 Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV Series Episode Strange Miracle as Lolla 1962 The New Breed TV Series as Dolores Madero 1962 The Richest Man in Bogota TV Series on The DuPont Show of the Week as Marina 1962 Doctor Kildare TV Series as Pila Rani Stewart 1962 The Defenders TV Series as Carmella Lopez 1962 Gunsmoke TV Series Episode He Learned About Women as Kisla 1963 Have Gun Will Travel TV Series as Punya 1963 Laramie TV Series as Winema 1963 Death Valley Days TV Series as Maria 1963 Harbor Lights as Gina Rosario 1963 Ben Casey TV Series as Eva Rosario 1963 The Great Adventure TV Series as Sarah Crow 1963 Thunder Island as Anita Chavez 1963 The Dick Van Dyke Show TV Series as Maria 1963 Gunsmoke TV Series Episode Shona as Shona 1964 The Nurses TV Series as Maria Marissa 1964 Slattery s People TV Series as Elena Delgado 1966 The Legend of Jesse James TV Series as Theresa 1966 The Appaloosa as Ana 1967 N Y P D TV Series as Teresa 1967 The Fugitive TV Series as Mercedes Anza 1967 The Virginian TV Series as Eva Talbot 1967 Christmas in the Marketplace TV Movie as Virgin Mary Mercedes 1968 The High Chaparral TV Series Episode Follow Your Heart as Trini Butler 1968 Gunsmoke TV Series Episode Zavala as Amelita Avila 1969 Desperate Mission TV Movie as Claudina Otilia s Servant 1969 Bonanza TV Series as Anita Lavez 1969 Gunsmoke TV Series Episode Charlie Moon as The Woman 1970 Gunsmoke TV Series Episode Chato as Mora 1971 They Call It Murder TV Movie as Anita Nogales 1972 Gunsmoke TV Series Episode The River as Paulette 1972 The Possession of Joel Delaney as Veronica 1974 Dr Max TV Movie as Mrs Camacho 1974 Sanford amp Son TV Series Episode Julio and Sister and Nephew as Carlotta 1974 Gunsmoke TV Series Episode The Iron Blood of Courage as Mignon 1976 The Hemingway Play TV Movie 1979 A Life of Sin as Isabel 1979 The Edge of Night TV soap opera as Dr Marie Santos 1981 Back Roads as Angel 1981 ABC Afterschool Specials TV Series as Yolanda 1983 Scarface 1983 as Mama Georgina Montana 1984 Best Kept Secret TV Movie as Ina Dietz 1985 Lady Blue TV Series as Dona Maria 1986 Kay O Brien TV Series as Mrs Amaro 1987 Highway to Heaven TV Series as Anna Martinez 1988 Deadline Madrid TV Movie 1991 L A Law TV Series as Gaby Sifuentes 1991 Law and Order TV Series as Mrs Anna Rivers 1991 Lightning Field TV Movie 1991 City of Hope as Mrs Ramirez 1992 Murder She Wrote TV Series Episode Day of the Dead as Consuela Montejano 1993 The House of the Spirits as Nana 1994 The Cosby Mysteries TV Series 1994 NYPD Blue TV Series as Valeria Santiago 1995 Streets of Laredo TV Mini Series as Estrella 1995 Sabrina as Rosa 1995 All My Children TV soap opera as Lydia Flores 1996 Edipo alcalde as Deyanira 1996 Lone Star as Mercedes Cruz 1996 Mistrial TV Movie as Mrs Cruz 1996 Cosby TV Series as Lillian 1996 1997 One Life to Live TV soap opera as Abuelita Maria Delgado 1999 Gloria as Maria 2000 For Love or Country The Arturo Sandoval Story TV Movie as Cirita Sandoval 2000 All the Pretty Horses as Dona Alfonsa 2001 Third Watch 2001 TV Series as Theresa Caffey 2001 The Blue Diner as Meche 2001 Guiding Light TV soap opera as Maria Santos 2001 Almost a Woman TV Movie as Tata 2005 Jonny Zero TV Series as Lupe 2005 Goal as Mercedes 2007 Goal 2 Living the Dream as Mercedes 2007 The Cry as Gloria The Curandera 2009 Law amp Order Special Victims Unit TV Series as Yolanda 2009 Goal 3 Taking on the World as Mercedes uncredited 2010 2011 How to Make It in America TV Series as Cam s Grandma 2011 Gun Hill Road as Gloria 2011 The Bay TV Series as Grandma Andrews 2011 Hawthorne TV Series as Mama Renata 2011 Foreverland as Esperanza 2013 Bless Me Ultima as Ultima 2013 Unhallowed as Bruja rumored 2014 Top Five as Chelsea s Grandmother 2014 On Painted Wings not distributed as Manuela 2015 Better Call Saul TV Series as Abuelita Salamanca 2015 The Girl Is in Trouble as Grandma 2015 The Southside as Abuelita SanchezBroadway EditIn The Summer House 1954 The Innkeepers 1956 The Wrong Way Lightbulb 1969 See also Edit Puerto Rico portal Biography portalList of Puerto Ricans History of women in Puerto RicoReferences Edit a b Miriam Colon www arts gov a b Kelley Seth March 4 2017 Miriam Colon Latina Film and Theater Pioneer Known for Scarface Dies at 80 Varitey United States Penske Media Corporation Retrieved March 7 2017 a b Miriam Colon Archived from the original on 2012 09 07 Retrieved 2010 03 29 Miriam Colon pionera de la cultura El Nuevo Dia March 4 2017 Bosworth 1971 p D5 Garfield 1980 p 277 Moreno 1989 p 30 Danny en Coincidencias y en San Juan 31 October 2014 Miriam Colon Biography 1945 Film Reference Library Toronto TIFF Bell Lightbox Retrieved March 7 2017 The Richest Man in Bogota TV Guide Vol 10 no 24 June 16 22 1962 a b Gates Anita March 5 2017 Miriam Colon 80 Actress and Founder of Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Dies The New York Times New York City Retrieved March 7 2017 Miriam Colon iconic U S Latina movie theater actress dies at 80 Daily News New York City Daily News L P Associated Press March 3 2017 Retrieved March 7 2017 The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Archived from the original on 2016 08 13 Retrieved 2008 09 08 The Ox Cart at the Internet Off Broadway Database The Boiler Room at the Internet Off Broadway Database Kanellos Nicolas 2003 Hispanic Literature of the United States A Comprehensive Reference Greenwood Publishing Group p 273 url https www liveauctioneers com search keyword m C3 ADriam 20col C3 B3n amp sort relevance amp status archive Contreras Russell March 3 2017 U S News Miriam Colon Iconic US Latina Movie Theater Actress Dies U S News amp World Report Washington D C U S News amp World Report L P Associated Press Retrieved March 3 2017 Rolon Rosalba 9 March 2017 Miriam Colon Opening Doors American Theatre Theatre Communications Group Retrieved 26 December 2022 External links EditBosworth Patricia September 12 1971 Look Let s Have Justice Around Here The New York Times New York City p D5 Retrieved October 24 2021 Garfield David 1980 Appendix Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980 A Player s Place The Story of The Actors Studio New York City MacMillan p 277 ISBN 978 0025426504 Moreno Sylvia June 13 1989 Lessons Feature Hispanic Heroes Newsday Melville New York Patrick amp Charles Dolan and Altice USA p 30 Retrieved December 13 2012 Miriam Colon at IMDb Miriam Colon at AllMovie Miriam Colon at the Internet Broadway Database Miriam Colon bio at the Internet Off Broadway Database The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Miriam Colon s Interview on NBC Latino Archived 2015 11 19 at the Wayback Machine Miriam Colon Interview at the WNYC Archives Portals United States Puerto Rico Biography Film Television Theatre Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Miriam Colon amp oldid 1142209760, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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