Tommy Muniz

Tommy Muñiz
Born	Lucas Tomás Muñiz Ramírez 4 February 1922 Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died	15 January 2009 Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Known for	Actor, Comedian, Host, Businessman

Lucas Tomás Muñiz Ramírez (February 4, 1922 – January 15, 2009), better known as Tommy Muñiz, was a Puerto Rican comedy and drama actor, media producer, businessman and network owner. He is considered to be one of the pioneering figures of the television business in Puerto Rico.

Muñiz Ramírez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on February 4, 1922, to Don Tomás Muñíz Souffront and Monserrate "Nena" Ramírez. His father, Don Tomás, was a marketing executive who later became the administrator (and eventual owner) of various radio stations, as well as a radio producer.

Although Muñíz was born in Ponce, he was raised in the capital city of San Juan where he studied. Muñíz developed an interest in the entertainment business thanks to his father and to his uncle and godfather Félix Muñíz, who also produced radio programs. He started by being the messenger of the marketing firm where his father and uncle used to work, and eventually became a radio scriptwriter.

Muñiz was a very successful radio producer in Puerto Rico during the mid- to late 1940s. Five of his radio programs -comedies for which he was often the scriptwriter, sometimes with the assistance of Sylvia Rexach- would consistently earn a strong following, as judged by the attendance to personal presentations of the artists featured in them. He was responsible for introducing more than a dozen new artists to the media. He bought Radio Luz 1600 (WLUZ-AM) a radio station at Bayamon, Puerto Rico

During the first years of commercial television in Puerto Rico, and after a brief period during which revenues from his radio productions trickled down, Muñiz opted to start producing television programs as well. He was producer or executive producer for dozens of television programs and specials between 1955 and 1995. At one time in the early 1960s, five programs produced by Muñiz were in the top five television rankings in local audience surveys. One of the programs even spawned a 1967 film, "La Criada Malcriada", starring Velda González, Shorty Castro and Muñiz, among others.

He is credited for producing most of José Miguel Agrelot's television programs during his career. He is also credited with discovering and promoting other television artists as well, particularly Otilio Warrington.

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