Oh, Pancho!

When I was very young, there were few TV shows that kids could enjoy, and one of my favorites was The Cisco Kid. Very loosely based on an O. Henry story, it told the tale of a pair of outsiders who righted wrongs against the poor and powerless. I liked Cisco, but my favorite was his sidekick Pancho, played by the character actor Leo Carrillo. He was a very warm and likable man and loved by all.

When I was four, he appeared at a local department store for some kind of promotion, and I was extremely excited to meet him. It turns out that my mother's father, who was a Hollywood producer, was a long time personal friend of Leo's, and my mother had met him many times growing up. She introduced herself and his eyes lit up, and he was happy to meet me, shook my hand and gave me an autographed photo. I was of course totally blown away that my mother knew the great Pancho!

Later in life, I learned more about this remarkable man. Besides being an actor in many films before his television success (at the age of 70), he was a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Examiner, a Broadway star, and preservationist, serving on the California Parks Commission, where he championed the acquisition of Hearst Castle as a park, among other activities. The beautiful Leo Carrillo State Beach was named in his honor.

He was a man of great wit and charm, and very proud of his California heritage. He descended from one of the earliest California families, back when it was part of Mexico, who settled what became San Diego. His great-grandfather was Governor of Alto California in the early nineteenth century, and his great uncle was three-time mayor of Los Angeles.

Because of the political climate of the time, he often played roles that would be considered stereotypical Mexicans by today's standards. But he never played the fool, and always brought a great deal of humor and dignity to the role. The old Cisco Kid episodes (the first tv series to be filmed in color) are still fun to watch. Cisco and Pancho were anything but negative stereotypes; they played their roles with intelligence and pride, and are generally seen as positive models today.

Just a few words about an actor who is still one of my favorites, and not known to that many folks these days.