Henry Darrow obit

Henry Darrow, Actor on 'The High Chaparral,' Dies at 87

 

He was not on the list.

The Emmy winner also starred opposite David Janssen on 'Harry O' and worked on three TV versions of 'Zorro.'

Henry Darrow, the pride of Puerto Rico who starred as the charming Manolito Montoya, the son of a wealthy Mexican land baron, on the 1967-71 NBC Western The High Chaparral, has died. He was 87.

Darrow died Sunday of natural causes at his home in Wilmington, North Carolina, his former publicist, Michael B. Druxman, announced.

The actor also played San Diego police detective Manny Quinlan alongside David Janssen in the first season of the 1974-76 ABC series Harry O and received a Daytime Emmy in 1990 for his turn as Rafael Castillo, the father of A Martinez's character, on the NBC daytime serial Santa Barbara.

For the 1981 CBS animated series The New Adventures of Zorro, Darrow provided the voice of the masked swordsman, then portrayed an elderly Don Diego de la Vega on the 1983 CBS series Zorro and Son and the father of a new Zorro (replacing Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) on a 1990-93 Family Channel show that starred Duncan Regehr.

Darrow was appearing on stage in a Los Angeles production of Ray Bradbury's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit opposite F. Murray Abraham when he was spotted by producer David Dortort, who had created Bonanza and was now casting The High Chaparral.

"I said I'd like to speak in Spanish and that I would learn Indian sign language," he recalled in a 2015 interview for Richard Armstrong's Classic Film & TV Café website. "I said, 'I'm ready to read for the part.' And David Dortort replied: 'You don't have to. You've got it. You talked us into it."

He played the son of Mexican rancher Don Sebastián Montoya (Frank Silvera) and brother of Linda Cristal's Victoria Cannon, wife of Leif Erickson's Big John Cannon, on 97 episodes of the series, which featured a Latino family on an equal level with an Anglo clan, a rarity for its time.

Darrow said he "styled [Manolito] after two Shakespearean characters I played: Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet, which added a comedic touch, and Iago from Othello, which mixed a little darkness to the character," he said. "He was a free spirit!"

Wrote Lisa McKenzie on a website dedicated to High Chaparral: "Whether playing poker in a saloon, wooing a potential conquest, breaking a political prisoner out of jail, cradling a lost child in his arms or waxing philosophical beneath the stars, there is nothing simple about Manolito Montoya.

"He stands tall with the rest of the Cannons; formidable, discerning and loyal, yet restless, self-indulgent and ever searching — a collection of contradictions hidden by a pair of warm brown eyes and a roguish smile."

Darrow was born Enrique Tomás Delgado Jr. in Manhattan on Sept. 15, 1933. His parents, Gloria and Enrique, ran an inn/restaurant in nearby Bedford Village frequented by the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Tallulah Bankhead. When he was 13, his parents brought the family to their native Puerto Rico.

He studied political science and acting at the University of Puerto Rico, then won a scholarship to the Pasadena Playhouse in 1954. He acted in plays and took music, dance, tap, fencing and phonetic classes before graduating two years later (his classmates included future Laugh-In star Ruth Buzzi).

In 1957, he auditioned for the lead in the Disney-ABC series Zorro. He didn't get the part — Guy Williams did — but said he benefited from the experience.

"I overacted, and I remember the director walking away and then announcing to the rest of the cast and crew, 'It looks like we have a Spanish Barrymore on our hands,'" he said in a 2016 interview. "I thought, 'Oh boy!' I wrote my mother and she replied, 'Honey, I thought [Lionel] Barrymore was a ham.' So, I learned to do less."

In one of his first movies, he played a villain in Revenge of the Virgins (1959), written by Ed Wood.

He went onto portray a drug kingpin in Badge 373 (1973), starring Robert Duvall, while also appearing in other films like Summer and Smoke (1961), The Glass Cage (1964), St. Helens (1981), The Hitcher (1986), Runaway Jury (2003) and Soda Springs (2012).

Darrow did loads of television, working as a regular on The Bold and the Beautiful and showing up on episodes of Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible, The Outer Limits, Mod Squad, Kojak, Baretta, Hawaii Five-O, The Waltons, Dallas, Benson, T.J. Hooker and Star Trek: Voyager, among many other shows.

His memoir, Henry Darrow: Lightning in the Bottle, was published in 2012. That year, he also received the Ricardo Montalban Lifetime Achievement Award at the ALMA Awards. He had helped Montalban launch the Nosotros Organization, which aims to assist Latinos in the entertainment industry, in 1970.

Survivors include his second wife, Lauren, whom he married in 1982, daughter Denise and brother Dennis.

Filmography

Film appearance

 

    Curse of the Undead (1959) - Roberto Robles (uncredited)

    Holiday for Lovers (1959) - Station Wagon Driver (uncredited)

    Revenge of the Virgins (1959) - Gunslinger Wade Connor

    The 3rd Voice (1960) - Hotel Papacio Clerk (uncredited)

    Cage of Evil (1960) - 2nd Mexican Policeman (uncredited)

    Sniper's Ridge (1961) - Pvt. Tonto

    Man-Trap (1961) - 1st Mexican Policeman (uncredited)

    Summer and Smoke (1961) - Drunk on Porch (uncredited)

    The Glass Cage (1964) - Police Lab Man

    The Dream of Hamish Mose (1969) - Mex

    Cancel My Reservation (1972) - Joe Little Cloud

    Brock's Last Case (1973, TV Movie) - Arthur Goldencorn

    Badge 373 (1973) - Sweet William

    Aloha Means Goodbye (1974, TV Movie) - Dr. David Kalani

    Exit Dying (1976, TV Movie)

    Halloween with the New Addams Family (1977, TV Movie) - Pancho Addams

    Computer Wizard (1977)

    Where's Willie? (1978) - Sheriff Charlie Wade

    Walk Proud (1979) - Mike Serrano

    A Life of Sin (1979)

    Attica (1980, TV Movie) - Herman Badillo

    Beyond the Universe (1981) - Coblenz

    St. Helens (1981) - Lloyd Wagner

    Birds of Paradise (1981) - Mario, 'The Jackal'

    Rooster (1982, TV Movie) - Dr. Sanchez

    Losin' It (1983) - Sheriff

    The Hitcher (1986) - Trooper Hancock

    Mission to Kill (1986) - Senor Borghini

    Death Blow (1987) - Chief Medina

    In Dangerous Company (1988) - Alex Aguilar

    L.A. Bounty (1989) - Lt. Chandler

    Blue Heat (1990) - Captain Joe Torres

    Percy and Thunder (1993, TV Movie) - Manuel Valencia

    Maverick (1994) - Riverboat Poker Player #4

    Criminal Passion (1994) - Captain Ramoz

    The Fight in the Fields (1999) - Doc

    Tequila Body Shots (1999) - Doctor

    Runaway Jury (2003) - Sebald

    The Writer's Pub (2005, Short) - Old Timer

    Angels with Angles (2005) - Raul

    A Girl like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story (2006, TV Movie) - Papi

    Primo (2008) - Dr. Vasquez

    From Bubba with Love (2009)

    Soda Springs (2012) - El Quijano

 

Television appearance

 

Darrow has also appeared in hundreds of episodes of soap operas, miniseries, sitcoms and dramas, along with numerous stage plays. Television series in which he has appeared include:

 

    Wagon Train (1959) - Benito DeVarga (credited as Henry Delgado)

    Stoney Burke (1963) - Mexican Border Policeman

    T.H.E. Cat (1966-1967) - Gregory Tyrole / Cosmo Pumbol

    Gunsmoke (1966-1967) - Ross Segurra / Oro

    The Wild Wild West (1967) - Archduke Maurice

    Bonanza (1967) - Amigo

    The High Chaparral (1967-1971) - Manolito Montoya

    Daniel Boone (1967) - Gideon

    The Big Valley (1969)

    Top of the Pops (1970) - guest on the 26th February edition

    Mission: Impossible (1971) - Gregory Tolan

    Night Gallery (1971) - Dr. Juan Munos (segment "Cool Air")

    Bearcats! (1971) - Raoul Estaban

    Hawaii Five-O (1971-1977) - Stewart Longworth / Billy Madrid / Johnny Oporta

    The Mod Squad (1972) - Israel Rivera

    Kung Fu (1973) - Don Emilio Fierro

    Kojak (1974) - Kevin Le Jeune

    Harry O (1974-1975) - Lt. Manuel 'Manny' Quinlan

    The Invisible Man (1975) - Dr. Nick Maggio

    McMillan and Wife (1975) - Inspector Jacques Arnaud

    The Streets of San Francisco (1976) - Ramon Montoya

    Sara (1976) - Angelo

    The Six Million Dollar Man (1976) - Byron Falco

    Quincy, M.E. (1976-1982) - Dr. Tony Avila / Dr. Edward Herrera / Dr. Rivera

    Wonder Woman (1977) - David Allen / Walter Lampkin

    Centennial (1978) - Alvarez

    The Waltons (1979) - Barry Stone

    The Incredible Hulk (1981) - Patrero

    Simon & Simon (1981-1988) - Alejandro Agilar / Manuel Fernandez

    The New Adventures of Zorro (1981) - Don Diego / Zorro (voice)

    Seguin (1982) - Don Erasmo

    T.J. Hooker (1982–1986) - Gus Kalioki / Miguel Gomez / Dr. Frank Martinez

    Born to the Wild (1982) - Lost Robe

    Tales of the Gold Monkey (1983) - The Magistrate

    Airwolf (1984) - Philip Maurice

    Magnum, P.I. (1985) - Will Kenikowa

    Knight Rider (1986) - Roderigo DeLorca

    Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988, Episode: "Conspiracy") - Adm. Savar

    The Golden Girls (1988) - Fidel Santiago

    Zorro (1990-1993) - Don Alejandro de la Vega

    Time Trax (1993) - The Chief

    Star Trek: Voyager (1995-1996) - Kolopak

    Babylon 5 (1997) - Dr. William Indiri

 

Soap opera performances include:

 

    General Hospital - Ambassador Tabris (1982) / DVX-backed Colonel (1987)

    Dynasty - (1982) - Ramon

    Dallas (1983) - Garcia

    One Life to Live (1987) - Danto Medina

    Santa Barbara (1989-1992) - Rafael Castillo

    The Bold and the Beautiful (1998-2001) - Dr. Carlos Nunez

Music videos

In 1982, Darrow appeared as the prize wheel spinner in Santana's music video "Hold On", which was released as the lead single from their album Shangó. It was directed by John Mark Robinson.

Darrow also made a guest appearance in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation as a Vulcan Starfleet Admiral named Savar in the season 1 episode "Conspiracy" and two guest appearances in episodes of Star Trek: Voyager as Kolopak, the father of Chakotay in the season 2 episodes "Tattoo" and in "Basics: Part 1". In 1986, he made a cameo appearance in the horror film The Hitcher. In 1988, Darrow guest starred in a Season 4 episode of The Golden Girls ("Yes, We Have No Havanas").