George Lopez

George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961)[1] is an American comedian and actor. He is known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican American culture. Lopez has received several honors for his work and contributions to the Latino community, including the 2003 Imagen Vision Award, the 2003 Latino Spirit Award for Excellence in Television and the National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Award. He was also named one of "The Top 25 Hispanics in America" by Time magazine in 2005.[2]

George Lopez
Lopez in April 2019
Birth name	George Edward Lopez
Born	April 23, 1961 Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Years active	1983–present
Genres	Observational comedy, black comedy, insult comedy, physical comedy, satire
Subject(s)	Latin American culture, American politics, race relations, family, everyday life, pop culture
Spouse	Ann Serrano ​ ​ (m. 1993; div. 2011)​
Children	1
Website	georgelopez.com

Early life

Lopez was born on April 23, 1961, in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California, the son of Frieda and Anatasio Lopez, a migrant worker.[3] He is of Mestizo Mexican descent.[4] He was deserted by his father when he was two months old and by his mother when he was 10 years old,[5] but was raised by his maternal grandmother, Benita Gutierrez, a factory worker, and step-grandfather, Refugio Gutierrez, a construction worker.[6][7] Lopez attended San Fernando High School, graduating in 1979.[8]

Career

Television

Lopez at his Walk of Fame star dedication ceremony, March 29, 2006

In 2000, after several years of performing stand-up comedy, Lopez was approached by actress Sandra Bullock for Lopez to produce and star in a comedy. Bullock was concerned about the lack of Hispanic-oriented sitcoms on American television and pushed to get a sitcom on television that starred Hispanics without being exclusively about the Hispanic American community. Long criticized by Hispanic American groups for lack of Latinos on their television shows, ABC quickly picked up the television series. In 2002, Lopez became one of the few Latinos to star in a television comedy series, following in the footsteps of Desi Arnaz, Freddie Prinze, and John Leguizamo. George Lopez is an American situation comedy that originally aired on ABC from 2002 to 2007. Lopez is the co-creator, writer, producer, and star of the show.

On March 8, 2007, it was announced that George Lopez would join the Nick at Nite lineup. It first aired on Nick at Nite on September 10, 2007. On May 15, 2007, ABC announced that the series would be canceled after its sixth season. The show last aired on ABC September 7, 2007. The show also entered syndication in the fall of 2007. Never a big Nielsen hit in prime-time, the show became a surprise success in syndication.

After receiving the news that his show was canceled in 2007, Lopez criticized president of ABC Entertainment Steve McPherson for using racially motivated reasons for his decision. The actor told the Los Angeles Times that "TV just became really, really white again," and lashed out against ABC by saying, "So a chicano can't be on TV, but a caveman can?" in reference to the short-lived sitcom Cavemen, which was replacing George Lopez on the schedule. Cavemen garnered a sharply negative reception from critics and viewers, and was canceled after 13 episodes. Lopez blamed ABC for causing over a hundred of his show's staff to become jobless.[9][10]

Lopez was a cast member and commentator for HBO's hit sports show Inside the NFL for the 2003–04 football season.[11]

Lopez guest-starred as the mayor of Reno, Nevada in season five of Reno 911! in 2008.[12]

On March 28, 2009, it was announced that Lopez would be hosting his own late-night talk show on TBS.[13] Lopez hosted a late-night talk show entitled Lopez Tonight on TBS Monday through Thursday at midnight Eastern Time. The show debuted in November 2009. In November 2010, the show moved back to midnight ET to accommodate a new show with former Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien. Although O'Brien had reservations about the move and initially refused TBS's offer, Lopez supported and even advocated for it, making it different from the 2010 Tonight Show conflict that saw O'Brien depart NBC after a proposal to push Tonight back 30 minutes for Jay Leno to return to the 11:35 p.m. slot.[14] On August 10, 2011 Lopez received a cancellation notice from TBS. The network decided not to renew Lopez Tonight for a third season. Lopez would later regret his decision to assent to the time slot change.[15][16]

On April 18, 2013, it was announced that Lopez would be starring in his own sitcom on FX called Saint George, which premiered on March 6, 2014.[17][18][19] Saint George was produced under Debmar-Mercury and Lionsgate Television's syndication model, which states that if a show hits certain ratings thresholds in its first 10-episode run, it triggers an additional 90-episode order. Failing to do so, Saint George was canceled on June 25, 2014, after one season.[20]

Lopez in 2007

In August, 2015, TV Land announced a straight-to-series order for Lopez, a semi-autobiographical single-camera sitcom,[21] which debuted on March 30, 2016.[22]

Lopez was invited to be a guest judge on America's Got Talent in 2016. He was allowed to use his golden buzzer once, which made an act go straight to the live shows. He used his on the dance group Malevo.

Film

Lopez's HBO Films drama Real Women Have Curves premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received the 2002 Audience Award. Previously, Lopez was featured in the 2000 drama Bread and Roses. He starred in the ABC Wonderful World of Disney Christmas film Naughty or Nice, and he appeared in the Robert Rodriguez-directed film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D (2005).

Brown is The New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream is a 2007 documentary directed and produced by Phillip Rodriguez.

In 2010, Lopez appeared in The Spy Next Door with Jackie Chan, starring as a villain named Glaze. The following year Lopez reprised his role as Papi for Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2, and was the voice of a toco toucan, Rafael, in the box-office animated hit Rio, alongside Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, will.i.am, and Jamie Foxx. In 2019, he played the role of Captain Gomez in the independent film El Chicano.[23]

Books

Lopez's autobiography Why You Crying was published by the Touchstone/Fireside division of Simon & Schuster, and placed in The New York Times Bestsellers top twenty. The book is co-written by Armen Keteyian.

Other work

In January 2009, Lopez appeared in We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.

He is a two-time host of the Latin Grammy Awards, and a co-host of the Emmy Awards.

Personal life

In 1993, Lopez married Ann Serrano. The couple has a daughter, Mayan, born in 1996. On September 27, 2010, Lopez announced that he and his wife had decided to end their marriage.[24] Serrano filed for divorce on November 23, 2010, citing "irreconcilable differences".[25] The divorce was finalized on July 1, 2011.[26]

Lopez has a genetic condition that caused his kidneys to deteriorate. His doctors had told him in April 2004 that he was going to require an organ transplant but he postponed the operation until finishing the fourth season of George Lopez. In 2005, his wife Ann donated one of her kidneys to Lopez. The transplant was successful; Lopez lost 45 lb (20 kg) after the operation due in part to the improvement in his health. He brought awareness to the issue on his show; his character's son Max was diagnosed with a similar illness.[27]

Lopez endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[28]

Lopez owns a house in Los Feliz, Los Angeles.[29]

Charity work and honors

Lopez speaking in 2019 at the California Hall of Fame when he was inducted.

Lopez was a featured celebrity golfer in the 2004 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the 2004 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Lopez and his pro partner finished third in the Pebble Beach event. George was the top-ranking celebrity at completion of the tournament. Since 2006, Lopez has served as host of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He is a member at Lakeside Country Club in Burbank, California, and has a 13 handicap.

A native of Los Angeles who grew up in the San Fernando Valley's Mission Hills, Lopez devotes much time to the community. He heads his own charity, The Ann & George Lopez Foundation (www.thelopezfoundation.org). He is a recipient of the Manny Mota Foundation Community Spirit Award and was named Honorary Mayor of Los Angeles for his extensive fund-raising efforts benefiting earthquake victims in El Salvador and Guatemala. In February 2004, Lopez was presented the 2004 Artist of the Year and Humanitarian Award by the Harvard Foundation at Harvard University, presented by its president and dean for his artistic work and charitable endeavors.[30]

Lopez has received several honors for his work and contributions to the Latino community. In September 2004, George was honored with the "Spirit of Liberty Award," presented by People for the American Way. In August 2005, Time magazine recognized George as one of "The 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America."[31] On October 18, 2011, Lopez's elementary school, San Fernando Elementary School, honored him for his beneficent efforts by naming their auditorium after him. Lopez has ensured through his annual toy giveaway that every child at the school receives a gift during the holidays.[32]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Ski Patrol	Eddie Martinez
1993	Fatal Instinct	Murder Investigator
2001	Bread and Roses	Perez
2002	Real Women Have Curves	Mr. Guzman
2002	Outta Time	Felix
2005	The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D	Mr. Electricidad, Mr. Electric, Voices of Tobor and Ice Guardian
2006	Balls of Fury	Ernie Rodriguez
	Tortilla Heaven	Everardo
2008	Swing Vote	John Sweeney
	Henry Poole Is Here	Father Salizar
	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	Papi	Voice acting debut
2009	Shannon's Rainbow	Captain Martin
2010	The Spy Next Door	Glaze
	Valentine's Day	Alfonso
	Marmaduke	Carlos	Voice role
2011	Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2	Papi
	The Smurfs	Grouchy Smurf	Voice role
	Rio	Rafael	Voice role
	April Apocalypse	Dr. Lyle
2012	Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva la Fiesta!	Papi	Voice role
2013	Escape from Planet Earth	Thurman	Voice role
	The Smurfs 2	Grouchy Smurf (voice)	Voice role
2014	Rio 2	Rafael	Voice role
	School Dance	Oscar
2015	Spare Parts	Fredi Cameron	Also producer
2016	Meet the Blacks	President El. Bama
	Car Dogs	Christian
	Aloha Santa[33]		Filming
2017	Gnome Alone		Voice role
2018	River Runs Red	Javier
2019	El Chicano	Captain Gomez
2020	The Tax Collector	Uncle Louis
	Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite!	Pablo the Parrot	Voice role; direct-to-video
2021	No Man's Land	Ramirez	Post-production
	Walking with Herb	TBA	Post-production

Television

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Fidel	Chucho Osorio
	The Brothers García	Mr. Fender	Episode: "The Student Buddy"
	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Himself
2002–07	George Lopez	George Lopez	120 episodes Won – Imagen Award for Best Actor – Television (2004) Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series (2004–07) Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Breakout Star – Male Young Artist Award for Most Popular Mom & Pop in a Television Series (shared with Constance Marie; 2004)
2004	Naughty or Nice	Henry Ramiro
2006	Freddie	George	Episode: "Freddie Gets Cross Over"
2007	America's Mexican	Himself	HBO special
2007–08	The Naked Brothers Band	Himself	5 episodes
2008	Reno 911!	Mayor of Reno	3 episodes
2009	Mr. Troop Mom	Eddie Serrano	Nickelodeon movie Nominated – ALMA Award for Outstanding TV Comedy Actor Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer TV Star: Male
2009	Tall, Dark, & Chicano	Himself	HBO special
2009–11	Lopez Tonight	Himself/Host	Nominated – People's Choice Award for Favorite Talk Show Host (2011)
2012	Take Me Out	Himself/Host
2012	It's Not Me, It's You	Himself	HBO special
2013	Shake It Up	George Martinez	Episode: "In The Bag It Up"
2014	Saint George	George	Series regular (10 episodes); also creator and executive producer
2015	Real Rob	Himself	Episode: "Cleaning House"
2016–17	Lopez	Himself	Series regular and executive-producer 24 episodes
2016	America's Got Talent	Himself (guest judge)	Episode: "Judge Cuts 2"
2017	The Comedy Get Down	Himself
2018	The Garbage Man Show	Beach Man	Episode: "This is the End"
2019–20	The Casagrandes	Ernesto Estrella (voice)	2 episodes
2020	Harley Quinn	Himself (voice)	Episode: "There's No Place to Go But Down"
2020	Jimmy Kimmel Live!	Himself	Guest Host

Accolades

Association	Year	Nominated Work	Category	Results	Ref
Grammy Awards	2003	Team Leader	Best Comedy Album	Nominated	[34]
	2007	America's Mexican		Nominated
	2009	Tall, Dark & Chicano		Nominated
Walk of Fame	2006	Television	6801 Hollywood, Blvd.	Won	[35]

References

1. "George Lopez Biography: Actor, Television Actor, Comedian(1961–)". Biography.com )FYI / A&E Networks). Retrieved March 29, 2017.
2. Poniewozik, James (August 22, 2005). "25 Most Influential Hispanics in America – TIME" – via content.time.com.
3. Lila; Guzman, Rick (2009). George Lopez : Latino king of comedy. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers. p. 13. ISBN 978-0766029682.
4. "'George Lopez' breaks barrier". March 22, 2002.
5. "George Lopez Personal Life! All about George Lopez childhood and family!". Bestcomedyonline.net. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
6. "George Lopez Biography (1961–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
7. "George Lopez and Ann Serrano Marriage Profile". Marriage.about.com. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
8. "LA North: George Lopez offers to buy CIF rings for San Fernando baseball team".
9. Fernandez, Marie (May 15, 2007). "George Lopez lashes out at ABC". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
10. Fernandez, Marie (May 14, 2007). "TV just got a lot 'whiter,' says a canceled George Lopez". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 3, 2008.
11. https://www.nfl.info/nflmedia/Kickoff%20Weekend/2004/04lopezhost.htm
12. 'Reno 911!' creators remember the show 5 years later, talk reunion
13. Kate Ward, Entertainment Weekly
14. Bill Carter (April 12, 2010). "How the Conan O'Brien-TBS Deal Happened". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
15. "TBS Canceling Comic George Lopez's Talk Show". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
16. Carter, Bill (August 10, 2011). "TBS Cancels "Lopez Tonight"". The New York Times. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
17. "George Lopez Show Picked Up By FX, Titled 'Saint George'". Huffington Post. April 18, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
18. Bibel, Sara (April 18, 2013). "FX Greenlights George Lopez Comedy 'Saint George'". TVBytheNumbers. Archived from the original on April 22, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
19. Tabrys, Jason (April 19, 2013). "FX Gives George Lopez the 'Charlie Sheen' Deal for New Sitcom". ScreenRant. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
20. Albiniak, Paige (June 25, 2014). "FX Won't Go Forward with 'Saint George'". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
21. TV Land press release (August 11, 2015). "TV Land Gives Series Order to Innovative New Comedy "Lopez" Starring Acclaimed Actor and Comedian George Lopez". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
22. TV Land press release (February 8, 2016). ""Lopez" Premieres March 30th on TV Land". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
23. Goodykoontz, Bill (May 2, 2019). "'The Chicano': Origin story for a Batman of the barrio doesn't really fly". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
24. "George Lopez and Wife End 17-Year Marriage". People. September 27, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
25. "George Lopez' Wife Ann Lopez Filed For Divorce". TMZ. November 23, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
26. "George Lopez – Divorce Final". TMZ. July 1, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
27. Guzman, Lila (September 18, 2008). George Lopez: Latino King of Comedy. Latino Biography Library. ISBN 9780766029682. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
28. "George Lopez on Facebook". Facebook.
29. https://www.aol.com/2014/02/13/george-lopez-buys-house-LA
30. Harvard News Office (February 26, 2004). "Harvard Gazette: Harvard Foundation names Lopez Artist of the Year". News.harvard.edu. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
31. "The 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America". Time. August 13, 2005. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
32. Strauss, Bob (October 19, 2011). "Comedian George Lopez gets Valley school's auditorium named after him". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
33. Galuppo, Mia (October 6, 2015). "George Lopez to Star in 'Aloha Santa'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
34. "George Lopez". GRAMMY.com. May 19, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
35. "George Lopez". Hollywood Walk of Fame. October 25, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2020.

External links

• Quotations related to George Lopez at Wikiquote
• Official website
• George Lopez at IMDb
• "Brown is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream". – PBS