Emilio Delgado Dies: Longtime ‘Sesame Street’ Fix-It Shop Owner Luis Was 81

deadline.com:

Emilio Delgado, the actor whose decades-long portrayal of Sesame Street‘s fix-it shop owner Luis Rodriguez endeared him to generations of young viewers and was a pioneering force in TV’s depiction of Mexican-Americans, died in New York City today just more than two years after being diagnosed with the blood cancer multiple myeloma.

He was 81.His death was announced by wife Carole Delgado to TMZ.“We’re devastated to hear about the loss of the brilliant Emilio Delgado,” tweeted the California Shakespeare Theater (also known as Cal Shakes), where Delgado appeared several years ago in the world premiere production of Octavio Solis’ Quixote Nuevo, a contemporary retelling of the Cervantes’ classic Don Quixote. “It was a true honor to have him grace our stage in Quixote Nuevo in 2018.”Born in Calexico, California, and spending much of his childhood with his grandparents in Mexicali, Mexico, Delgado began acting in his high school productions and local theater, and in 1968 began his professional TV career with a role on the Los Angeles-based Mexican-American soap opera Cancion de la Raza.Delgado joined the cast of PBS’ Sesame Street in 1971 as Luis, the affable neighborhood handyman and aspiring writer.

The actor’s hiring came several seasons into the show’s run when producers moved to increase the series’ representation of the Puerto Rican and Mexican communities.

Also joining the cast then was Raul Julia, who played Luis’ fix-it shop partner Rafael. (Julia left the series after one season.)Among Luis’ major storylines was his romance with the character Maria, played by Sonia Manzano, and their eventual marriage.During his more than 40 years on Sesame Street, Delgado, who as a singer performed at the Hollywood Bowl and