Freddie Prinze
Encyclopedia
Freddie Prinze was an American actor
and stand-up comedian
. He was known as the star of Chico and the Man
. He is the father of actor Freddie Prinze, Jr.
, son of Edward Karl Pruetzel and his wife Maria Graniela Pruetzel. His mother was Puerto Rican
, and his father was a Hungarian immigrant who had arrived in the U.S. in 1934. Prinze identified himself as Puerto Rican
, and for comedic purposes called himself a "Hungarican."
Prinze was raised in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood in Washington Heights
, New York City
. He began his education at a private Lutheran school, in a religious compromise by his parents (his mother took him to Catholic
Mass on Sundays). When Prinze was a small child, his mother enrolled him in ballet classes to deal with a weight problem. Without telling his parents, Prinze successfully auditioned for the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts
, where he was introduced to drama and continued ballet—and where he discovered his gift for comedy while entertaining crowds in the boys restroom. He dropped out of school in his senior year to become a stand-up comedian.
s in New York City
, including The Improv
and Catch a Rising Star
where he introduced himself to audiences as a "Hungarican" (part Hungarian, part Puerto Rican). For the sake of his budding comedic career
, he changed his surname to "Prinze", which he chose because, according to his friend David Brenner
, he originally wanted to be known as the King of comedy, but Alan King
already had that last name, so he would be the Prince of comedy instead.
During 1973, he made his first television appearance on one of the last episodes of The Jack Paar Show. In December 1973, his biggest break came with an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
. Prinze was the first young comedian to be asked to have a sit-down chat with Carson on his first appearance. (Prinze appeared on and guest hosted The Tonight Show on several other occasions). He also appeared on the Midnight Special show to perform his comic routine. From 1974 to 1977, Prinze starred as Francisco "Chico" Rodriguez in the NBC
TV series Chico and the Man
with Jack Albertson
. The show was an instant hit.
Prinze made several appearances on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
s, most notably at the roasts for Sammy Davis Jr. and Muhammad Ali
. In 1975, he released a comedy album that was taped live at Mr. Kelly's in Chicago
titled Looking Good—his catch phrase from Chico and the Man. In 1976, he starred in a made-for-TV movie
, The Million Dollar Rip-Off.
Prinze had a little-known talent for singing, examples of which could be heard in the background of the title song of the Tony Orlando and Dawn
album To Be With You, in his appearances on their variety show, and on rare occasions on his own sitcom
.
About four months prior to his death, Prinze had signed a multi-year deal with NBC
worth US$
6 million over five years.
Upon becoming wealthy, Prinze took martial arts lessons from Robert Wall
, a student of Bruce Lee
who appeared in Enter the Dragon
and Return of the Dragon
. Soon after, Wall became godfather to Prinze's newborn son Freddie Prinze, Jr.
In 1976, after his arrest for driving under the influence
of quaaludes
, his wife filed for divorce
on the grounds that his escalating drug dependence was endangering their son.
, and on January 28, 1977, shot himself with a small semi-automatic pistol after talking on the telephone with his estranged wife. His business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder, tried to intervene, but Prinze shot himself in the head, and was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center to be placed on life support
following emergency surgery. Prinze's family removed him from life support, and he died at 1 p.m. on January 29. He was 22.
In 1977, the death was ruled a suicide
. In a civil case brought years later, a jury found that his death was accidental. Prinze had a history of playing with guns, faking suicide attempts to frighten his friends for his amusement. He had left a note stating that the decision to take his life was his alone.
Prinze's life and death were a focal point of one of the storylines in the movie Fame set in Prinze's alma mater Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
. The character Ralph Garcy (stage name for Raul Garcia) played by Barry Miller
speaks often of growing up with Prinze and seeing him as the local neighborhood hero. Prinze's death affects him profoundly, and Garcy credits Prinze with inspiring his own career; he says he is doing it "for Freddie." Later, as Garcy's stand-up career shows similar promise, he falls into a depression and drug use as Prinze had, nearly destroying himself. The character Doris Finsecker (Maureen Teefy
) in one scene screams at Garcy that he is not Freddie, and he does not have to be self-destructive just because Freddie was.
Prinze also received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
a few decades after his death. In 2001, TV Land
began showing rerun
s of Chico and the Man.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and stand-up comedian
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
. He was known as the star of Chico and the Man
Chico and the Man
Chico and the Man is an American sitcom which ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974 to July 21, 1978. It stars Jack Albertson as Ed Brown , the cantankerous owner of a run down garage in an East Los Angeles barrio, and Freddie Prinze as Chico Rodriguez, an upbeat, optimistic Chicano...
. He is the father of actor Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Freddie James Prinze, Jr. is an American actor. He rose to fame during the late 1990s and early 2000s, after starring in several Hollywood films aimed at teenage audiences, I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer , as well as She's All That , Summer...
Early life
Prinze was born Frederick Karl Pruetzel at St. Clair's Hospital in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, son of Edward Karl Pruetzel and his wife Maria Graniela Pruetzel. His mother was Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
, and his father was a Hungarian immigrant who had arrived in the U.S. in 1934. Prinze identified himself as Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
, and for comedic purposes called himself a "Hungarican."
Prinze was raised in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood in Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He began his education at a private Lutheran school, in a religious compromise by his parents (his mother took him to Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Mass on Sundays). When Prinze was a small child, his mother enrolled him in ballet classes to deal with a weight problem. Without telling his parents, Prinze successfully auditioned for the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue...
, where he was introduced to drama and continued ballet—and where he discovered his gift for comedy while entertaining crowds in the boys restroom. He dropped out of school in his senior year to become a stand-up comedian.
Career
Prinze worked at several comedy clubComedy club
A comedy club is a venue, typically a nightclub, bar, or restaurant where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, magicians, ventriloquists and other comedy acts...
s in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, including The Improv
The Improv
The Improv is a comedy club franchise. Originally, it was a single venue founded in 1963 by Budd Friedman and located in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City on West 44th near the SE corner of 9th Ave. A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District...
and Catch a Rising Star
Catch a Rising Star
Catch a Rising Star is a chain of comedy clubs, founded in New York City in December 1972 and owned by Rick Newman. It has since spread to other areas, such as Las Vegas and New Jersey....
where he introduced himself to audiences as a "Hungarican" (part Hungarian, part Puerto Rican). For the sake of his budding comedic career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
, he changed his surname to "Prinze", which he chose because, according to his friend David Brenner
David Brenner
David Brenner is an American standup comedian, actor, author, and filmmaker.-Career:Born and raised in poor areas of Philadelphia, Brenner found comedy a major source of relief from the daily trials and tribulations he faced in his youth. His neighborhood has been one of the top-ranked crime...
, he originally wanted to be known as the King of comedy, but Alan King
Alan King (comedian)
Alan King was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious actor who appeared in a number of movies and television shows. King wrote several books, produced films, and...
already had that last name, so he would be the Prince of comedy instead.
During 1973, he made his first television appearance on one of the last episodes of The Jack Paar Show. In December 1973, his biggest break came with an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
. Prinze was the first young comedian to be asked to have a sit-down chat with Carson on his first appearance. (Prinze appeared on and guest hosted The Tonight Show on several other occasions). He also appeared on the Midnight Special show to perform his comic routine. From 1974 to 1977, Prinze starred as Francisco "Chico" Rodriguez in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
TV series Chico and the Man
Chico and the Man
Chico and the Man is an American sitcom which ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974 to July 21, 1978. It stars Jack Albertson as Ed Brown , the cantankerous owner of a run down garage in an East Los Angeles barrio, and Freddie Prinze as Chico Rodriguez, an upbeat, optimistic Chicano...
with Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson was an American character actor dating to vaudeville. A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure , Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Amos Slade in the 1981 animated film The Fox...
. The show was an instant hit.
Prinze made several appearances on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast is a NBC television special show hosted by entertainer Dean Martin from 1974 to 1984. For a series of 54 specials and shows, Martin would periodically “roast” a celebrity. These roasts were patterned after the roasts held at the New York Friars' Club in New York City...
s, most notably at the roasts for Sammy Davis Jr. and Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
. In 1975, he released a comedy album that was taped live at Mr. Kelly's in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
titled Looking Good—his catch phrase from Chico and the Man. In 1976, he starred in a made-for-TV movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
, The Million Dollar Rip-Off.
Prinze had a little-known talent for singing, examples of which could be heard in the background of the title song of the Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn was a pop music group that was popular in the 1970s. Their signature hits include "Candida", "Knock Three Times", "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", and "He Don't Love You ".-History:...
album To Be With You, in his appearances on their variety show, and on rare occasions on his own sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
.
About four months prior to his death, Prinze had signed a multi-year deal with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
worth US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
6 million over five years.
Upon becoming wealthy, Prinze took martial arts lessons from Robert Wall
Robert Wall
Robert Alan "Bob" Wall is an American actor and martial artist.- Biography :Wall is a former heavyweight world-champion kickboxer. He is featured in a number of films, most notably three appearances with martial arts master Bruce Lee. Bob Wall appeared in the film Way of the Dragon with Lee,...
, a student of Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
who appeared in Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...
and Return of the Dragon
Way of the Dragon
The Way of the Dragon is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts film written, produced, directed by and starring Bruce Lee.- Plot :Tang Lung is sent from Hong Kong to Rome to help his friend's niece Chen Ching Hua, and family friends, whose restaurant is being targeted by the local Mafia, which has been...
. Soon after, Wall became godfather to Prinze's newborn son Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Freddie James Prinze, Jr. is an American actor. He rose to fame during the late 1990s and early 2000s, after starring in several Hollywood films aimed at teenage audiences, I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer , as well as She's All That , Summer...
Personal life
Prinze married Katherine Cochran in October 1975, with whom he had one son, future actor Freddie Prinze, Jr.Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Freddie James Prinze, Jr. is an American actor. He rose to fame during the late 1990s and early 2000s, after starring in several Hollywood films aimed at teenage audiences, I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer , as well as She's All That , Summer...
In 1976, after his arrest for driving under the influence
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
of quaaludes
Methaqualone
Methaqualone is a sedative-hypnotic drug that is similar in effect to barbiturates, a general central nervous system depressant. The sedative-hypnotic activity was first noted by Indian researchers in the 1950s and in 1962 methaqualone itself was patented in the US by Wallace and Tiernan...
, his wife filed for divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
on the grounds that his escalating drug dependence was endangering their son.
Death
Prinze suffered from depressionDepression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, and on January 28, 1977, shot himself with a small semi-automatic pistol after talking on the telephone with his estranged wife. His business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder, tried to intervene, but Prinze shot himself in the head, and was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center to be placed on life support
Life support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
following emergency surgery. Prinze's family removed him from life support, and he died at 1 p.m. on January 29. He was 22.
In 1977, the death was ruled a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. In a civil case brought years later, a jury found that his death was accidental. Prinze had a history of playing with guns, faking suicide attempts to frighten his friends for his amusement. He had left a note stating that the decision to take his life was his alone.
Legacy
Prinze's mother wrote a book about her son, The Freddie Prinze Story, which was published in 1978. In September 1979, the TV movie Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze, premiered.Prinze's life and death were a focal point of one of the storylines in the movie Fame set in Prinze's alma mater Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue...
. The character Ralph Garcy (stage name for Raul Garcia) played by Barry Miller
Barry Miller (actor)
Barry L. Miller is an American actor. He won Broadway's 1985 Tony Award as Best Actor for his performance as 'Arnold Epstein' in Biloxi Blues....
speaks often of growing up with Prinze and seeing him as the local neighborhood hero. Prinze's death affects him profoundly, and Garcy credits Prinze with inspiring his own career; he says he is doing it "for Freddie." Later, as Garcy's stand-up career shows similar promise, he falls into a depression and drug use as Prinze had, nearly destroying himself. The character Doris Finsecker (Maureen Teefy
Maureen Teefy
Maureen Jane Teefy is an American actress. Her films include Fame , Grease 2 and Supergirl .-Life and career:...
) in one scene screams at Garcy that he is not Freddie, and he does not have to be self-destructive just because Freddie was.
Prinze also received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
a few decades after his death. In 2001, TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
began showing rerun
Rerun
A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...
s of Chico and the Man.
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans
- German immigration to Puerto RicoGerman immigration to Puerto RicoGerman immigration to Puerto Rico increased when German businessmen immigrated to Puerto Rico during the early part of the 19th century. However, it was the economic and political situation in Europe during the early 19th century plus, the fact that the Spanish Crown issued the Royal Decree of...