Award-winning actor Hector Elizondo has had a successful career spanning 40 years that includes film, television, theater and radio. In 1997, Elizondo won the prestigious Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Dr. Phillip Watters on CBS’ “Chicago Hope.” For six years on the show, Elizondo delivered a heartfelt and poignant performance that earned him four Emmy nominations, while creating a character that will be etched in television history for a long time to come. Elizondo was also nominated for both a Golden Globe and American Comedy Award for his portrayal of a hotel manager in the mega-feature hit “Pretty Woman.” He recently starred with Jimmy Smits in the CBS series, “Cane”, and joined the cast of “Monk” in its seventh season on USA (now currently in its eighth season). Mr. Elizondo reflects on his early brush with the entertainment business and how he ultimately came to be such a renown actor. “When I got started in this business,” he explains. “Well, I didn’t have a plan...it wasn’t on my radar screen at all. My plan was the common plan of that generation that was raised in the 1940s in New york City. I wanted to play for one of the New York teams —the Yankees, the Jets or the Dodgers, in that order. My second plan was to be involved in music. It was part of my inner vocabulary. As my father said, ‘you could sing before you could talk, man.’ I wanted to be part of a jazz group of some kind. But I could always wind up working for Cheech and Tony—you know, the low-level street mafia guys, carrying packages for them and working my way down. Of course, that was only a thought because if my father had gotten wind of that plan, he would have simply hung me from the nearest lamp post.” Elizondo credits his eventual interest in show business to day dreaming. “I was a day dreamer,” he says. “Most good things come from day dreaming. Something that kids don’t get a chance to do today. Poets come from day dreamers; artists come from day dreamers, watching clouds and looking at stars are very important things to do.”

He goes on to say that he was not very ambitious and was just a normal kid, but then that all changed. “Then little by little the finger of fate was pointing at me...now knowing,” he says. “There’s a wonderful Chinese proverb that says, ‘You often find your destiny on the path you take to avoid it.’ That’s what happened to me. I was in the 6th grade and I was singing this song in a school production that I had no business singing, quite frankly. It turnes out that in the audience was the composer, who I eventually met after the performance and one thing lead to another and I am auditioning!” This lead to a series of auditions and gigs that a young Elizondo worked for several months, before deciding to hang it up for a few years. Then, in his 20s, Elizondo rediscovered his love of performing, and started doing Broadway, which lead to his films and numerous television appearances. “So I wanted to play for the Yankees and I ended up on Broadway. Give me a break, won’t ya?” he says, laughing. The highlight of his professional career in films he credits to Gary Marshal, who not only put him in “Pretty Woman”, but in a total of 17 films, including the recent hit “Valentine’s Day.” His only problem with the director is that the characters he’s played have all been well liked, and he wants to play a bad guy some day, but is afraid no one can see him that way any more. “Gary Marshall ruined that for me!” he jokes. Despite his hectic schedule, Elizondo still finds time for his passion for charity work. “I was with the SAG Foundation helping kids out and I helped found the LATW— the Los Angeles Theatre Works.” Founded in 1974, the mission of LATW is to enrich the cultural life of our national community through the use of innovative technologies to produce and preserve significant works of dramatic literature on audio, and to assure the widest public access to these great works. “We have the quintessential radio group,” he says. “We’ve done 250 broadcasts of the best stuff in the world with the best actors in the world. Actors love to do radio because radio is where you can do the work.” Reflecting on his past success. Elizondo sums up his philosophy on what it takes to make it as an actor. “To be a professional you have to show up on time and make sure you have the courtesies that perhaps your mother and father didn’t teach you if you were that unfortunate. You know ‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ go a long way. And make sure you get to know the crew and thank them because they work harder than you and they’re there longer. And just remember: there are rocket scientists who are struggling to make a living....so keep it in perspective.” “What’s life about?” he adds. “Pay attention. Pay attention to everything. It’s a very short trip, pal.” —Adam Albright-Hanna