Raúl Juliá
Birthday: Born in 1940-03-09 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Deathday: 1994-10-24
Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. His film career peaked in the US in the early 1990s. Born in San Juan, he gained interest in acting while still in school. Upon completing his studies, Juliá decided to pursue a career in acting. After performing in the local scene for some time, he was convinced by entertainment personality Orson Bean to move and work in New York City. Juliá, who had been bilingual since his childhood, soon gained interest in Broadway and "Off Broadway" plays. He performed in mobile projects, including the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. Juliá was eventually noticed by Joseph Papp, who offered him work in the New York Shakespeare Festival. After gaining notoriety, he received roles in two television series, Love of Life and Sesame Street. For his performance in Two Gentlemen of Verona, he received a nomination for the Tony Award and won a Drama Desk Award. Between 1974 and 1982, Juliá received Tony Award nominations for Where's Charley?, The Threepenny Opera and Nine. During the 1980s, he worked in several films, receiving nominations for the Golden Globe Awards, for his performance in Tempest, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, winning the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for the latter. In 1991 and 1993, Juliá portrayed "Gomez Addams" in two film adaptations of The Addams Family. In 1994, he filmed The Burning Season and a film adaptation of the Street Fighter video games. Later that year, Juliá suffered several health afflictions, eventually dying after suffering a stroke. His funeral was held in Puerto Rico, being attended by thousands. For his work in The Burning Season, Juliá won a posthumous Golden Globe and Emmy Award.
TV Credits
The Bob Newhart Show
Character:
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers. The show was filmed before a live audience....
The Oscars
Character: Self
An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar....
McCloud
Character: Father Augusto Nieves
Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud of the small western town of Taos, New Mexico is assigned to the metropolitan New York City Police Department (NYPD) as a special investigator....
Reading Rainbow
Character: Himself - Narrator (voice)
Journey to exciting places and build a lasting connection with your favorite books. Each episode centers on a theme from a book, or other children's literature, which is explored through a number of segments or stories....
Mussolini: The Untold Story
Character: Count Galeazzo Ciano
The rise and fall of Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Recounting his life with his wife, children and mistress, this biography (based on the recollections of Mussolini's eldest son, Vittorio) chronicles Il Duce's tyranny as he plunges Italy into the dark days of World War II....
Great Performances
Character: Edmund
The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries....
Movie Credits
Frankenstein Unbound
Character: Dr. Victor Frankenstein
The ultimate weapon, claimed to be safe for mankind, produces global side-effects including time slides and disappearances. The scientist behind the project and his car are zapped from the year 2031 to 1817 in Switzerland where he meets Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and others....
Tequila Sunrise
Character: Commandante Xavier Escalante
In a seaside California town, best friends Mac and Nick are on opposite sides of the law. Mac is a former drug dealer trying to clean up his act, while Nick is a high-profile detective trying to take down a Mexican drug lord named Carlos. Soon Nick's loyalties are put to the test when he begins an affair with restaurateur Jo Ann -- a love interest of Mac's -- unwittingly leading his friend into a police-orchestrated trap....
Addams Family Values
Character: Gomez Addams
Siblings Wednesday and Pugsley Addams will stop at nothing to get rid of Pubert, the new baby boy adored by parents Gomez and Morticia. Things go from bad to worse when the new "black widow" nanny, Debbie Jellinsky, launches her plan to add Fester to her collection of dead husbands....
The Addams Family
Character: Gomez Addams
When a man claiming to be long-lost Uncle Fester reappears after 25 years lost, the family plans a celebration to wake the dead. But the kids barely have time to warm up the electric chair before Morticia begins to suspect Fester is fraud when he can't recall any of the details of Fester's life....
Presumed Innocent
Character: Sandy Stern
Rusty Sabich is a deputy prosecutor engaged in an obsessive affair with a coworker who is murdered. Soon after, he's accused of the crime. And his fight to clear his name becomes a whirlpool of lies and hidden passions....
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Character: Valentin Arregui
The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies....
The Rookie
Character: Strom
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope....
Street Fighter
Character: Bison
Col. Guile and various other martial arts heroes fight against the tyranny of Dictator M. Bison and his cohorts....
The Morning After
Character: Joaquin "Jackie" Manero
Failed actress Alex Sternbergen wakes up hungover one morning in an apartment she does not recognize, unable to remember the previous evening -- and with a dead body in bed next to her. As she tries to piece together the events of the night, Alex cannot totally rely on friends or her estranged husband, Joaquin, for assistance. Only a single ally, loner ex-policeman Turner Kendall, can help her escape her predicament and find the true killer....
The Gumball Rally
Character: Franco
A group of people from different backgrounds have one thing in common: when they hear the world "gumball" whispered by one of the others, they know that it's time for the Gumball Rally: a no-holds barred, secret, winner-take-all rally across the USA....
Moon Over Parador
Character: Roberto Strausmann
Little known actor, Jack Noah, is working on location in the dictatorship of Parador at the time the dictator dies. The dictator's right hand man, Roberto, makes Jack an offer he cannot refuse.. to play the dictator. Jack's acting skills fool the masses but not close friends and employees of the dictator....
Romero
Character: Archbishop Oscar Romero
Romero is a compelling and deeply moving look at the life of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who made the ultimate sacrifice in a passionate stand against social injustice and oppression in his county. This film chronicles the transformation of Romero from an apolitical, complacent priest to a committed leader of the Salvadoran people....
The Panic in Needle Park
Character: Marco
A stark portrayal of life among a group of heroin addicts who hang out in Needle Park in New York City. Played against this setting is a low-key love story between Bobby, a young addict and small-time hustler, and Helen, a homeless girl who finds in her relationship with Bobby the stability she craves....
Eyes of Laura Mars
Character: Michael Reisler
A famous fashion photographer develops a disturbing ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer....
One from the Heart
Character: Ray
The five-year romance of a window dresser and her boyfriend breaks up, as each of them finds a more interesting partner....
The Plague
Character: Cottard
In a city in South America an outbreak of bubonic plague occurs. While people try to flee and the military close the city, an idealistic doctor decides to stay and help the sick. In the ever-changing circumstances, he puts up a brave fight, being helped by others but also involving them without being able to control the situation....
Strong Medicine
Character:
Adaptation of an avant-garde play about Rhoda, a hysterical heroine who feels oppressed by the people around her. She suffers through her birthday party, goes to see a doctor, plans a vacation, argues a lot and even breaks the fourth wall....
Tempest
Character: Kalibanos
A sobering mid-life crisis fuels dissatisfaction in Philip Dimitrius, to the extent where the successful architect trades his marriage and career in for a spiritual exile on a remote Greek island where he hopes to conjure meaning into his life - trying the patience of his new girlfriend and angst-ridden teenage daughter....
Mack the Knife
Character: MacHeath
In the 19th century London, a young girl falls for a famous womanizing criminal and they decide to get married. Her family strongly disapproves so her father "the king of thieves" gets the gangster arrested....
The Organization
Character: Juan Mendoza
After a group of young revolutionaries break into a company's corporate headquarters and steal $5,000,000 worth of heroin to keep it off the street, they call on San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs for assistance....
The Escape Artist
Character: Stu Quiñones
The young and self-confident Danny bluffs at the local police-station that he will escape from prison within an hour. What follows is a flashback showing his childhood with his uncle and aunt, who are 'vaudeville'-artists themselves....
Florida Straits
Character: Carlos Jayne
A man who spent 20 years in Cuban prison after the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion and a boat captain and his crew go covertly to Cuba to find a cache of gold buried during the invasion. But can they trust each other?...
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me
Character: Juan Carlos Rosenbloom
Free-thinking student tries to put up with life at a straight-laced college in 1958....
Down Came a Blackbird
Character: Tomas Ramirez
A woman struggles with the death of her lover. He was killed by South-American fascists....
Onassis: The Richest Man in the World
Character: Aristotle Onassis
Biography of the life of Aristotle Onassis, a Greek who rose to become one of the world's most wealthiest men, detailing his rise to power and unhappy marriages....
Compromising Positions
Character: David Suarez
An ex-newspaper woman who is now a suburban housewife can't resist getting involved in an investigation of the murder of a philandering dentist who had been having affairs with several of her neighbors....
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank
Character: Aram Fingal / Rick Blaine
A futuristic rebel becomes a Humphrey Bogart character after watching repeated reruns of Casablanca....
The Burning Season
Character: Chico Mendes
Based on the true story of a Brazilian rubber tapper who leads his people in protest against government and developers, who want to cut down their part of the rainforest for a new road and ranch land. The rich and the powerful will stop at nothing, and frequently resort to murder...
Death Scream
Character: Detective Nick Rodriguez
Loosely based on the true story of the killing of Kitty Genovese: A young woman's murder is witnessed by fifteen of her neighbors who do nothing to help and refuse to cooperate with the police....
Disclosure
Character: Valentin Arregui (archive footage)
An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves....
The Dream Studio
Character: self
A documentary about the making of Francis Ford Coppola's 'One From the Heart'....
La gran fiesta
Character: Adolfo
In 1942, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a casino is organizing a farewell party for its patrons, since it's about to be turned into a US military base. The guests drink, seduce and gossip, but some also plot against each other....
Life of Sin
Character: Paulo
The film dramatizes the life of Isabel "la Negra" Luberza Oppenheimer. Pablo, a Caribbean peasant, and Isabel, a politician's mistress, open a brothel that becomes internationally famous. Though they gain wealth and power, the one thing that Isabel seeks continues to elude her....
Havana
Character: Arturo Duran (uncredited)
During the revolution, a high-stakes gambler arrives in Cuba seeking to win big in poker games. Along the way, he meets and falls in love with the wife of a Communist revolutionary....
The Penitent
Character: Ramon Guerola
Tension between a jealous husband, his wife who's attracted to his friend and the friend is rising as their small, deeply catholic, Mexican village is deciding who will be Christ during the possibly dangerous reenactment of the Crucifixion....
Kiss Me, Petruchio
Character: Petruchio
A documentary about the 1978 stage production of The Taming of the Shrew by the New York City Shakespeare company at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Includes scenes from the production, interviews with Meryl Streep (Kate) and Raul Julia (Petruchio) as well as an introduction by producer Joseph Papp and audience commentary....
Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
Character: Self (archive footage)
Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage is a warm and revealing portrait of the charismatic, groundbreaking actor’s journey from his native Puerto Rico to the creative hotbed of 1960s New York City, to prominence on Broadway and in Hollywood. Filled with passion, determination and joy, Juliá’s brilliant and daring career was tragically cut short by his untimely death at age 54....
Trading Hearts
Character: Vinnie Iacona
A baseball-loving small girl decides to hook up her favorite down-on-his-luck baseball player and her mom, a down-on-her-luck lounge singer. Then her controlling rich granddad tries to force her mother to send the girl to live with him....
The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory
Character: General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Against orders and with no help of relief Texas patriots led by William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett defend the Alamo against overwhelming Mexican forces....
Stiletto
Character: Party Guest (Uncredited)
A rich, jet-setting playboy has a secret life: he's also a professional Mafia hitman. When he decides it's time to retire from that life, he finds that his former employers don't like the idea that someone who knows so much about them won't be under their control anymore, and decide to send their own hitmen to eliminate him....
Tangled Web: Making Kiss of the Spider Woman
Character: Self
Rare documents and details of the film's story. From its initial option to its critical reception and legacy. Director David Weisman, who also produced "Kiss of the Spider Woman", comes off as rightful creative force behind the production, as it was his true passion. Very detailed comments from all the participants, from the author of the book to the lawyer for the production company, the actors, director, writers, producer, and crew members....
King Lear
Character: Edmund
James Earl Jones delivers a riveting performance as paranoid patriarch King Lear, an aging monarch who insists that his three daughters prove their love for him, only to learn he's exalted the two who seek to destroy him. This live performance recording of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival production deftly envisions the bard's haunting tragedy with a fine supporting cast, including Raul Julia, Paul Sorvino and Rene Auberjonois....
The Making of 'One from the Heart'
Character: Self
A short documentary on the Francis Ford Coppola musical One From the Heart....
Babenco: Tell Me When I Die
Character: Self (archive footage)
Besieged by cancer and nearing the end, the genius Argentine-Brazilian filmmaker Héctor Babenco (1946-2016) asks Bárbara Paz, his wife, for one last wish: to be the protagonist of his own death....
The Monkey People
Character: Narrator (voice)
Read by Raul Julia...