Freddie Prinze
| Freddie Prinze | |
|---|---|
Prinze in 1975
|
|
| Born |
Frederick Karl Pruetzel June 22, 1954 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 29, 1977 (aged 22) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Self Inflicted gunshot wound |
| Occupation | Actor, stand-up comedian |
| Years active | 1973–1977 |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine Prinze (m. 1975; his death 1977) |
| Children | Freddie Prinze Jr. |
| Comedy career | |
| Medium | Stand-up, television |
| Genres | Observational comedy |
| Subject(s) | Race relations, racism, recreational drug use |
| Notable works and roles | Francisco "Chico" Rodriguez in Chico and the Man |
Freddie James Prinze (/ˈprɪnz/born Frederick Karl Pruetzel; June 22, 1954 – January 29, 1977) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. Prinze was the star of 1970s NBC-TV sitcom Chico and the Man. He was the father of the actor Freddie Prinze Jr.
Prinze was born Frederick Karl Pruetzel in New York City, the son of Edward Karl Pruetzel (1914-1979) and his wife Maria Graniela Pruetzel (1918-1994). His mother was Puerto Rican and his father was a Hungarian immigrant who had arrived in the U.S. as a youth in 1934.
Prinze was raised in a mixed neighborhood in Washington Heights, New York City. 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.
Prinze worked at several comedy clubs 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 and sobriquet, so he would be the Prince of comedy instead.
...
Wikipedia