Nate Esformes obit

Obituary: Nate Esformes (1932-2013)

 

He was not on the list.

Character actor Nate Esformes died on June 19, according to the August edition of the WGA bulletin Write Now.

Born on June 29, 1932, Esformes came to prominence in the late sixties and seventies, usually playing characters of Latin American ethnicity.  He made what may have been his television debut as a gangster in “Legacy For a Lousy Future,” a 1966 episode of the New York City-based cop drama Hawk.  (As of this writing, the Internet Movie Database incorrectly puts Esformes in a different Hawk episode, and also has his date of birth wrong.)

By 1968, he had relocated to Los Angeles and his career began to take off in concert with the ascendancy of adventure shows that could make ample use of ethnically ambiguous villains: It Takes a Thief, The Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible (which used Esformes five times), Ironside, The Six Million Dollar Man.  Esformes also did multiple guest turns on Run For Your Life, The Flying Nun, Mannix, Police Story, and Hunter, and appeared in the mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man.  He played one of the Watergate burglars in All the President’s Men, and most of his other films have achieved either critical acclaim or cult fame: Petulia, Marlowe, Black Belt Jones, Henry Jaglom’s Tracks, Battle Beyond the Stars, Vice Squad, Invasion U.S.A.

If you’re wondering why Esformes’s death was reported by the Writers Guild, it’s because he had a story credit on a single Naked City episode early in his career.  That’s the only produced or published work by Esformes that I can find, apart from a 1983 Los Angeles Times story lamenting the closure of the famed Schwab’s Drug Store.  In fact, I wasn’t able to produce much of anything else on Esformes, either – not a single profile or interview.  That’s surprising, given how much we movie fans cherish our character actors.

If anyone out there knew Esformes, here’s the place to tell us about him.

Actor

Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul, David Hasselhoff, David Chokachi, Gena Lee Nolin, and Jaason Simmons in Baywatch (1989)

Baywatch

5.4

TV Series

Fernando Miller

1991

1 episode

 

James Earl Jones and Richard Crenna in Pros and Cons (1991)

Pros and Cons

6.6

TV Series

Hernando

1991

1 episode

 

DEA (1990)

DEA

7.6

TV Series

Pascual Cordera

1990

2 episodes

 

Another Time, Another Place (1989)

Another Time, Another Place

4.2

Sammy Colangelo

1989

 

Angela Lansbury in Murder, She Wrote (1984)

Murder, She Wrote

7.2

TV Series

President Ruiz

1989

1 episode

 

Billy the Kid (1989)

Billy the Kid

5.7

TV Movie

Valdez

1989

 

Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer in Hunter (1984)

Hunter

6.9

TV Series

Seraneo

Seranco

1985–1986

3 episodes

 

Chuck Norris in Invasion U.S.A. (1985)

Invasion U.S.A.

5.4

Terrorist with Tomas

1985

 

Ernest Borgnine, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Alex Cord in Airwolf (1984)

Airwolf

6.7

TV Series

Tomas

1985

1 episode

 

Tales from the Darkside (1983)

Tales from the Darkside

7.4

TV Series

Mohandus Mukhar

1985

1 episode

 

The Rosebud Beach Hotel (1984)

The Rosebud Beach Hotel

4.3

Maitre D'

1984

 

Gone Are the Dayes (1984)

Gone Are the Dayes

6.0

TV Movie

Papa Delgado

1984

 

T.J. Hooker (1982)

T.J. Hooker

6.1

TV Series

Madera

1983

1 episode

 

Blood Feud (1983)

Blood Feud

6.9

TV Movie

Capo di Capi

1983

 

Victoria Principal, Barbara Bel Geddes, Patrick Duffy, Larry Hagman, Charlene Tilton, Jim Davis, Linda Gray, and Steve Kanaly in Dallas (1978)

Dallas

7.1

TV Series

Señor Perez

1983

1 episode

 

River Phoenix, Richard Dean Anderson, Peter Horton, Drake Hogestyn, Terri Treas, and Roger Wilson in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

6.6

TV Series

Gomez

1983

1 episode

 

Vice Squad (1982)

Vice Squad

6.4

The John

1982

 

Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981)

Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story

5.6

TV Movie

Barney

1981

 

Sybil Danning, George Peppard, Richard Thomas, Lara Cody, Darlanne Fluegel, Lawrence Steven Meyers, and Morgan Woodward in Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

Battle Beyond the Stars

5.5

Dako: Malmori

1980

 

A Man Called Sloane (1979)

A Man Called Sloane

6.5

TV Series

Carlos Casal

1979

1 episode

 

Jack Klugman in Quincy, M.E. (1976)

Quincy, M.E.

7.3

TV Series

George Mendes

1978

1 episode

 

The Streets of San Francisco (1972)

The Streets of San Francisco

7.3

TV Series

Inspector Rodriguez

1977

1 episode

 

Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith in Charlie's Angels (1976)

Charlie's Angels

6.6

TV Series

Toby Rizzo

1976

1 episode

 

Dennis Hopper and Taryn Power in Tracks (1976)

Tracks

6.3

Train Steward

1976

 

Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford in All the President's Men (1976)

All the President's Men

7.9

Virgilio R. Gonzales

1976

 

Robert Forster, David Birney, and Richard E. Kalk in Police Story (1973)

Police Story

7.5

TV Series

Morrie Green

The Deputy D. A.

Deputy District Attorney

1974–1976

3 episodes

 

Nick Nolte, Peter Strauss, and Susan Blakely in Rich Man, Poor Man (1976)

Rich Man, Poor Man

8.2

TV Mini Series

Alsie

1976

2 episodes

 

Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in McMillan & Wife (1971)

McMillan & Wife

7.2

TV Series

William Torrio

1976

1 episode

 

Alex Rocco in Three for the Road (1975)

Three for the Road

7.5

TV Series

Bruno

1975

1 episode

 

Peter Falk in Columbo (1971)

Columbo

8.3

TV Series

Hakim

1975

1 episode

 

Barbary Coast (1975)

Barbary Coast

6.8

TV Series

Morales

1975

1 episode

 

The Ultimate Warrior (1975)

The Ultimate Warrior

5.6

Garon

1975

 

McCoy (1975)

McCoy

6.5

TV Series

Art

1975

1 episode

 

Kojak (1973)

Kojak

7.1

TV Series

Leonard Tapler

1975

1 episode

 

Lee Majors in The Six Million Dollar Man (1973)

The Six Million Dollar Man

7.1

TV Series

Chief of Security Shahvid

1974

1 episode

 

Arthur Hill in Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (1971)

Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law

7.0

TV Series

Lt. Colonel

Assistant DA Escobedo

Mike Escobedo

1972–1974

3 episodes

 

The F.B.I. (1965)

The F.B.I.

7.4

TV Series

Captain Ortega

1974

1 episode

 

Jim Kelly in Black Belt Jones (1974)

Black Belt Jones

6.2

Roberts

1974

 

Mike Connors in Mannix (1967)

Mannix

7.4

TV Series

Raoul

Steve

1972–1974

3 episodes

 

Kung Fu (1972)

Kung Fu

7.6

TV Series

Judge

1974

1 episode

 

The Death Squad (1974)

The Death Squad

5.4

TV Movie

Pela

1974

 

Raymond Burr and Barbara Sigel in Ironside (1967)

Ironside

6.9

TV Series

Marco

Juan Moreno

1971–1973

2 episodes

 

Female Artillery (1973)

Female Artillery

6.4

TV Movie

Johnny

1973

 

Banyon (1971)

Banyon

7.8

TV Series

Silverio

1972

1 episode

 

Emergency! (1972)

Emergency!

7.9

TV Series

Sgt. McNamara

1972

1 episode

 

Barbara Bain, Martin Landau, Peter Graves, Peter Lupus, and Greg Morris in Mission: Impossible (1966)

Mission: Impossible

7.9

TV Series

Jules Cordova

Turk

Lacerda ...

1968–1972

5 episodes

 

Anthony Franciosa, Doug McClure, and Hugh O'Brian in Search (1972)

Search

8.1

TV Series

Landis

1972

1 episode

 

The Final Comedown (1972)

The Final Comedown

5.7

1972

 

O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971)

O'Hara, U.S. Treasury

7.4

TV Series

Schiller

1972

1 episode

 

Leif Erickson, Linda Cristal, Henry Darrow, Cameron Mitchell, and Mark Slade in The High Chaparral (1967)

The High Chaparral

7.6

TV Series

Francisco

1970

1 episode

 

Company of Killers (1970)

Company of Killers

5.7

TV Movie

Peterson

1970

 

Sally Field in The Flying Nun (1967)

The Flying Nun

6.5

TV Series

Enrique

Dr. Leonard

1967–1969

2 episodes

 

James Garner and Rita Moreno in Marlowe (1969)

Marlowe

6.4

Paleface (uncredited)

1969

 

Lee Majors, Barbara Stanwyck, Linda Evans, Peter Breck, and Richard Long in The Big Valley (1965)

The Big Valley

7.6

TV Series

Ramon

1969

1 episode

 

Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in The Wild Wild West (1965)

The Wild Wild West

8.1

TV Series

Colonel Vega

Perrico Mendoza

1967–1969

2 episodes

 

It Takes a Thief (1968)

It Takes a Thief

7.5

TV Series

Paco

1968

1 episode

 

Petulia (1968)

Petulia

6.8

Mr. Mendoza (as Nat Esformes)

1968

 

Bill Cosby and Robert Culp in I Spy (1965)

I Spy

7.2

TV Series

Arista

1968

1 episode

 

Ben Gazzara in Run for Your Life (1965)

Run for Your Life

7.6

TV Series

Shlomo

1968

1 episode

 

Fess Parker in Daniel Boone (1964)

Daniel Boone

7.3

TV Series

The Sargento

1968

1 episode

 

Christmas in the Marketplace

TV Movie

Jo

Joseph

1967

 

James Drury, Doug McClure, and John McIntire in The Virginian (1962)

The Virginian

7.6

TV Series

Crazy Juan

1967

1 episode

 

The Felony Squad (1966)

The Felony Squad

7.5

TV Series

Taxi

1967

1 episode

 

Iron Horse (1966)

Iron Horse

7.1

TV Series

Diaz

1967

1 episode

 

Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and The Monkees in The Monkees (1965)

The Monkees

7.5

TV Series

Jose

1967

1 episode

 

Burt Reynolds in Hawk (1966)

Hawk

6.9

TV Series

Charles

1966

1 episode

 

Writer

Naked City (1958)

Naked City

8.2

TV Series

story (as Nat Esformes)

1963

1 episode