Puerto Rican actor (1940-1994). Real name: Raul Rafael Carlos Julia y Arcelay. Julia was discovered while performing in a
nightclub in his hometown of
San Juan,
Puerto Rico by actor
Orson Bean. He moved to
New York City in 1964 and began working in
off-Broadway plays. Soon, he moved up to higher-profile work, playing Edmund in "
King Lear" in 1973 and the title character in "
Othello" in 1979, as well as performing in
musicals: "
Two Gentlemen of Verona" in 1971, "
The Threepenny Opera" in 1976, and "
Nine" in 1982. He also played Rafael for a season or two on "
Sesame Street" in the early 1970s.
After moving up to
films, Julia had a number of
memorable roles in
movies that were rarely commercial
successes. He played a
political prisoner in "
Kiss of the Spider Woman," controversial archbishop
Oscar Romero in "
Romero," and a flamboyant attorney in "
Presumed Innocent." His most successful role came as
joyously
swashbuckling goofball
Gomez Addams in "
The Addams Family" and "
Addams Family Values."
After he was diagnosed with
cancer in 1993, Julia played
Chico Mendes, a Brazilian
rain forest activist in a made-for-cable movie called "
The Burning Season." He suffered a
stroke in mid-October of 1994, fell into a
coma, and was put on
life support. He died about a week later; his body was flown back to
Puerto Rico, where thousands of
mourners turned out for his
funeral.
He won
posthumous Emmys and
Golden Globes for "The Burning Season," and his last movie, "
Street Fighter," was dedicated to his
memory. Though "Street Fighter" was a mostly
forgettable video-game movie, Julia's role as the evil
dictator M. Bison does a lot to redeem it, and he had the film's
best line.
Partial Filmography:
Research from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)