Manuel “El Loco” Valdés
passed away today at 89 years old. The Mexican actor had experienced serious health conditions such as skin and brain cancer and water in the lungs. He had undergone several surgeries with general anesthesia, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and implants.
Marcos Valdés, son of the late comedian, informed journalist Javier Poza that “El Loco” died at his home at 3:40.
The Valdés legacy includes famous names such as Germán Valdés “Tin Tan” and Ramón Valdés “Don Ramón,” however, “El Loco” earned his place in the history of Mexican comedy thanks to his own merit and due to his bullet-proof sense of humor, even in sickness.
Fernando Manuel Valdés Castillo, the real name of “El Loco” Valdés, was born on January 21, 1931 in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. His parents were Rafael Gómez-Valdés Angellii and Guadalupe Castillo; he had eight siblings Rafael, Germán, Guadalupe, Pedro, Armando, Ramón, Cristobal,and Antonio.
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He left his hometown at seven years old due to his father’s job as a customs officials, something that forced him to move several times throughout the Mexican Republic. When they finally moved to Nuevo Laredo, his brother “Tin Tan” was already a success at the border and although he tried to keep them there for he wanted to buy them a house, his father did not accept and they moved to Mexico City.
“El Loco” Valdés
did not complete his junior high school studies but entered a topography school because he wanted to start working right away.
When “Tin Tan” made his movie “El hijo desobediente” (The disobedient son) in 1945, Manuel worked as an extra and earned MXN $12 when he was only 13 years old; that was his first contact with the show business. As time went by, he began dancing as an amateur, and then he studied classic and modern ballet for five years. Therefore, at 19 years old, he became part of the Televicentro ballet in addition to working with some vedettes as part of their dancers.
He got his first opportunity as a comedian in Variedades de medio día (1955.1957) with Héctor Lechuga, where the audience met unforgettable characters like Las hermanitas Mibanco. This show was followed by “Operación Ja-Ja” (1966), “Ensalada de locos” (1970-1973) and “La hora del Loco” (1982-1986). He is considered as the first comedian born from TV.
However, his film career was much more prolific. It includes approximately 62 movies such as “Dos fantasmas y una muchacha” (1959) with his brother Tin Tan, and “Dos tontos y un loco” (1961) with comedians Marco Antonio Campos “Viruta” and Gaspar Henaine “Capulina.”
He also stood out in dubbing working in the Spanish versions of “Peter Pan” (2002) where he gave life to Captain Hook or the two movies “Buza Caperuza” (2005 and 2011) where he came back as the Fierce Wolf from the 1960 film “The Red Riding Hood,” He also worked for Anima Estudios at the 2007 film “Legend Quest: The Legend of La Nahuala.”
His work in theater was modest but with important projects like “Don Juan Tenorio” which broke down the preconceptions of José Zorrilla’s classic, and of course “El Tenorio Cómico” with Los Mascabrothers and finally “Aeroplanos” where he shared the stage with Mexican first actor Ignacio López Tarso.
He practiced American football from an early age as a quarterback. He was a fan of the Pumas football team and the Dallas Cowboys; but his great passion was soccer as he was a great fan of the Águilas del América soccer club up to the point of making funny bets with his friend Sergio Corona, who is a fan of the rival team, Chivas; every time both teams played against each other.
His artistic activity began slowing down in 2017 when he was diagnosed with cancerous myeloma in the forehead which, despite being removed, had made metastasis to the lungs, so he received immunotherapy. A year later, he was diagnosed with a new tumor behind the right eye, which was successfully removed. 2019 was a complicated year for the actor who did not fully recover and had to face the death of his son Alejandro Valdés “El Pupi” which directly affected his mood.
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There are several stories about the origin of the nickname that followed him since the beginning of his career. One says it was given to him due to his improvising skills that made people laugh and thus his colleagues gave it to him in 1955; however, it is also said that Emilio Azcárraga Milmo was who called him “El loco” when he said, “Is Valdés crazy?”
The crazy stories of a crazy man
He presented a monolog at the show “Otro rollo,” a famous section presented by Adal Ramones at the beginning of each show.
He fell asleep at his show “Variedades de medianoche” due to excess work and Emilio Azcárraga Milmo suspended him for three days.
In 1983 at his TV show “La hora del loco” he made the Parchis group sing the hymn of his favorite soccer team.
Wearing the Fierce Wolf costume gave him a bad time due to how hot it was inside up to the point where he had to buy salt pills in the U.S. to avoid dehydration.
A documentary and a series about his life are on the making to show his prime years.
Unforgettable acting
“Calabacitas tiernas” (Tender Pumpkins) (1949) where he acts with his brothers Tin Tan and Ramón Valdés.
“El campeón ciclista” (The Champion Rider) (1956) was the first movie where he appeared as a secondary carácter, with name and history, once again with Tin Tan.
“Viaje a la Luna” (Trip to the Moon) (1958) by Fernando Cortés gathered the best comedians of the time; a Young “El Loco” worked with Vitola, Tin Tan, Chabelo, Viruta and Capulina, and Los Xochimilcas, among others.
“Música de siempre” (Timeless Music) (1958) where he starred for the first time as a theater janitor that tries to persuade two filmmakers to make a movie about his music.
“Dos fantasmas y una muchacha” (Two Ghosts and a Young Lady) (1958) where he starred along with Tin Tan as two ghosts trapped inside a theater. “El Loco” has a scene that has become a classic, a musical number where special effects were an innovation.
“La caperucita roja” (The Red Riding Hood) (1960): Here, he acted as one of the most beloved characters in Mexican film, the Fierce Wolf, which he brought to life again in 1961, 1962, and 2011, the first three times wearing the costume and the last in animation.
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