Henry Darrow Award ALMA Lifetime Achievement Award

ALMA Awards Honor Wilmington Resident Henry Darrow

            Respected veteran actor Henry Darrow received the prestigious Ricardo Montalbán Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) gala ALMA Awards on September 16, 2012 the in Pasadena, California. The star-studded packed house at the Pasadena Civic Center gave Darrow a standing ovation.

            Darrow has thrilled TV, stage and movie audiences while breaking ground for Latinos throughout his career of over fifty years. In a time when most TV and film Latinos were stereotyped as comic foils or bandidos, Darrow blazed a new trail as the handsome vaquero Manolito Montoya in the landmark western The High Chaparral (1967-1971). As Manolito, he was the first Latino star in a dramatic series. Manhatten-born Darrow (given name Enrique Tomas Delgado) was also the first actor of Puerto Rican descent to star in a network series. The role of Manolito catapulted him to international fame.

            Of Manolito, Darrow said in his recently published biography, “I am happy to have given Latin Americans a hero they can identify with.”

            In 1970, he joined with Ricardo Montalbán and others to form NOSOTROS, the first Latino entertainment and arts advocacy organization in the nation. Darrow served as the organization’s first vice-president. As a leader of NOSOTROS, Darrow encouraged the networks to create realistic portrayals of Latinos on screen and to hire more Latinos both in front of the cameras and on production crews. His activism continued in the years after NOSOTROS as he worked to enhance the visibility of Latino actors through the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) and other Los Angeles area community organizations. A strong promoter for his beloved Puerto Rico, he was instrumental in establishing SAG in Puerto Rico.

            Darrow’s monumental body of work encompasses starring roles and continued firsts as a Latino actor. For his portrayal of suave Rafael Castillo in the daytime drama Santa Barbara, he received an Emmy Award; he was the first Latino to be so honored. He was also the first Latino to portray Zorro and starred in a record-breaking three TV Zorro series – twice as Zorro and once as the father of Zorro.

            While in California to receive his ALMA award, Henry Darrow was the guest of honor at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles where he signed copies of his critically acclaimed biography, “Henry Darrow: Lightning in the Bottle.” A second book signing took place at Kumaras Center for the Arts in Burbank.

            Henry Darrow and his wife Lauren Levian have lived in Wilmington since 2002.

[Photo caption: ALMA Awards Red Carpet – Lauren Levian, Lifetime Achievement honoree Henry Darrow, Jan Pippins (author, “Henry Darrow: Lightning in the Bottle”)]

[Photo credit: Arlynda Reyes]