Argentine actor and activist Lito Cruz dies at 76
Last edited Tue Dec 19, 2017, 11:30 PM - Edit history (1)
Born Oscar Alberto Cruz in the working-class port town of Berisso, about 35 mi SE of Buenos Aires, in 1941, he began performing in local theaters at 15.
He graduated from the School of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Buenos Aires in 1964; but returned to his earlier calling in the University Theater Institute of Chile (ITUCH).
Cruz in 1969 co-founded the Experimental Theater Team of Buenos Aires (ETEBA), which toured successfully through Europe in festivals at Nancy (France), Berlin, and Florence. ETEBA was invited to perform their production of the Greek fable 'The Toad and the Serpent' at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
He later studied in Lee Strasberg's famed Actors Studio. Cruz's courses at ETEBA made it one of Argentina's most coveted drama schools during the 1970s and '80s, where he became known for his demanding but approachable style; an unconvincing student performance, for instance, would elicit a sly "I don't believe you."
His leftist views put him at odds with both the Isabel Perón administration in the mid 1970s, and the dictatorship that took power in 1976. His production of Eduardo Pavlovsky's political drama El Señor Galíndez, led to the bombing of the Payró Theatre by the fascist Argentine Anticommunist Alliance in 1975, and his work was largely limited to his drama school and the theater during the military regime.
Cruz, however, helped lead the Open Theater movement against dictatorship-era censorship in 1981. Censorship in Argentina eased considerably partly as a result, and continued doing so through the return of democracy in 1983.
He performed with Robert De Niro in Reinaldo Povod's Cuba and His Teddy Bear, which opened on Broadway in 1986, and starred in numerous Argentine political fims afterward - notably as the happy-go-lucky ghost of an assassinated stockyards worker in Fernando Solanas' acclaimed Sur (1988).
Cruz remained devoted to his drama school, accepting few film roles in later years and instead becoming a leading advocate for the Argentine theater during the 1990s and 2000s.
He headed the Argentine Actors' Association and was appointed National Theater Director in 1995. His advocacy persuaded Congress to pass the National Theater Law in 1998, helped protect struggling stages against demolition and guaranteed annual subsidies for the stage.
Cruz, who struggled with alcohol and depression in his later years, was accused of domestic violence by his domestic partner, 39 year-old actress Patricia Perrotta. She described him as "obsessively possessive" and when their two-year relationship ended in 2016 he, according to Perrotta, threatened to die "like Othello."
The noted actor remained active on stage until last month. Cruz was found dead in his Buenos Aires apartment by his daughter earlier today; he was 76.
At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lanacion.com.ar%2F2093907-murio-lito-cruz&edit-text=
Argentine actor Lito Cruz, 1941-2017.
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That has never happened anywhere in the US outside Miami.
There's nothing more evil than right-wing politics. Nothing.
I'm sorry to learn this great actor had anger problems. That's probably not all that uncommon, unfortunately, with many people who grow to be dependent upon so much approval from their audiences. No doubt the fact they are appreciated and enjoyed so much turns a lot of them into less than they were as children. They become more self-centered.
He has an expressive face, I imagine he had a great smile.
Looked for a photo of him with Robert de Niro, found this one! It actually looks very recent, doesn't it?
Yay!
Pretty neat learning de Niro had a great friend in Argentina who was also very successful in his chosen line of work!
Sad to hear that the oppression also was vicious enough to even target actors, after reading they went wacko over folk singers, other musicians, writers, etc., driving those on their assassination lists out of the country if they found out about it in time.
This must have been taken during De Niro's visit to Buenos Aires three years ago.
Here he is visiting the Theater House (Casa del Teatro), a residential complex and theater for retired actors. At the end of his visit he can be seen giving Cruz a goodbye peck on the cheek; to my knowledge, they never saw each other again.
The Payró Theater, you'll be happy to know, recovered and is still going as a co-op - thanks in no small part to Cruz's National Theater Law, which guarantees it a small annual state subsidy.
