Hector Elizondo

In his two-and-a-half-hour interview, Hector Elizondo talks about his early years as a child singer and making his first television appearance, on the children's series The Adventures of Oky Doky. He describes his first feature film, The Fat Black Pussycat, as well as his first adult television role, on The Jackie Gleason Show. He recounts his guest-starring role on the memorable All in the Family episode, "The Elevator Story," as well as roles on Kojak, Columbo, and The Rockford Files. He recalls working for Norman Lear, co-starring on A.k.a. Pablo, and working for Diane English on Foley Square. He discusses at length his role as "Dr. Phillip Watters" on the David E. Kelley drama Chicago Hope. Elizondo talks of the show's rivalry with ER, the fame that resulted from the show, and his eventually winning an Emmy for the episode "Bridge Over Troubled Watters." He speaks of co-starring (along with executive producer Jimmy Smits) in Cane, a Latino drama that was cut short due to the Writers Guild strike of 2007. He concludes by detailing his long association with Garry Marshall, including his roles in Pretty Woman and The Princess Diaries, and sums up with advice to aspiring actors. Adrienne Faillace conducted the interview on April 17, 2015 in Burbank, CA.