Early life

Rodriguez was born in Mazatlan, Mexico to Mexican agriculture ranchers. His family migrated to East Los Angeles, California, where Rodriguez enlisted in the United States Air Force and was subsequently stationed in Uruguay and Duluth, Minnesota, U.S. Rodriguez considered becoming a lawyer, but instead ventured into the field of comedy.

Career

Television

He first appeared in a.k.a. Pablo, a sitcom produced by ABC, but the show was canceled after seven episodes. In 1988 Rodriguez replaced Bob Eubanks as host of The Newlywed Game and lasted one season before cancellation. During his tenure as host, the show began using the 1958 song "Book of Love", by The Monotones, as a theme song. He later hosted a Friday nighttime television show called El Show de Paul Rodriguez that was broadcast on Univision from March 2, 1990 to January 1, 1993.

From 2010 to 2011, Rodriguez hosted two seasons of the MTV Tr3́s comedy home video series Mis Videos Locos. The reality show features video footage of Latino people from various countries who are filmed by devices such as surveillance cameras and mobile phones.

Film

Rodriguez has appeared in several feature films, such as Blood Work with Clint Eastwood, D.C. Cab, Born in East L.A., Tortilla Soup, Rat Race, and Ali, and has also performed voiceover roles for King of the Hill, Dora the Explorer, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Rodriguez has also undertaken other roles in the film industry: He directed and starred in the film A Million to Juan, and he produced and appeared in the 2002 comedy film The Original Latin Kings of Comedy.

In 2009 the Paul Rodriguez: Comedy Rehab movie featured a night of Latino comedy that is hosted by Rodriguez and Paul Rodriguez: Just for the Record, which documents a live performance by the comedian, was released in 2011.

Awards

In 2004 Comedy Central ranked him at #74 on its list of the "100 Greatest Standups of all Time." Rodriguez was acknowledged with the "Humanitarian of the Year Award" by the City of Fresno for his work in the area of water conservation.

Company owner

Rodriguez is a part-owner of the Laugh Factory comedy venue in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., where comedian/actor Michael Richards was filmed as he engaged in a highly publicized on-stage rant against two black male hecklers. Of Richards' repeated use of the word "nigger", Rodriguez said, "Once the word comes out of your mouth and you don't happen to be African American, then you have a whole lot of explaining to do." Rodriguez also has an interest in farming and owns operations in California's Central Valley.

Charity work

Rodriguez is known for his charity work and many of Rodriguez's comedy specials cover serious issues that are of concern to the Latino community. He has performed for several Comic Relief charity specials and, in 1995, he performed a comedy television special that was broadcast live from San Quentin State Prison. He is the chairman of the California Latino Water Coalition, a group that campaigns to draw attention to California's dire water situation, and was influential in the enactment of the California Water Bond Measure.

Politics

Rodriguez has been a vocal and active supporter of the Republican Party. In 2010 Rodriguez endorsed Republican Meg Whitman during her campaign against Jerry Brown to become governor of California. Rodriguez then endorsed Republican Candidate Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential election and recorded a radio promotion in Spanish for Romney's campaign. Rodriguez also collaborated with former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of his work with the California Latino Water Coalition.

Personal life

Rodriguez's son Paul Rodriguez Jr. is a professional skateboarder (also known as "P-Rod").

Discography

• 1986: You're in America now, speak Spanish
• 1997: Cheese 'n' macaroni

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1983	D.C. Cab	Xavier
1986	Quicksilver	Hector Rodriguez
	The Whoopee Boys	Barney Benar
	Miracles	Juan
1987	Born in East L.A.	Javier
1993	Made in America	Jose
1994	A Million to Juan	Juan Lopez	Director
	Rhythm Thief	Eladio
1995	Rough Magic	Diego
1998	Melting Pot	Gustavo Alvarez
2000	Price of Glory	Pepe
	Mambo Café	Gustavo Alvarez
	G-Men From Hell	Winiford 'Weenie Man'
2001	Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles	Diego
	Tortilla Soup	Orlando Castillo
	Rat Race	Gus the Cabbie
	The Shipment	Jose Garcia
	Ali	Dr. Ferdie Pacheco
2002	Blood Work	Det. Ronaldo Arrango
	Back by Midnight	Next Week
	Time Changer	Eddie Martinez
2003	Chasing Papi	Costas Delgado	Uncredited Role
	Baadasssss!	Jose Garcia
2004	A Cinderella Story	Bobby
2005	The World's Fastest Indian	Fernando
2006	Cloud 9	Mr. Wong
	Swap Meet	Councilmen Gonzales
	Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen	Cupid	Voice Role Direct-to-Video Release
2007	One Long Night	Poncho
2008	Vicious Circle	Professor
	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	Chico	Voice Role
2009	Lonely Street	Det. Romero
	Porndogs: The Adventures of Sadie	Bato	Voice Role
	The Deported	Ernesto
2010	Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore	Crazy Carlito
2016	El Americano: The Movie	El Divino	Voice Role Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Gloria	Jerry	Episode: An Uncredited Woman
1984	a.k.a. Pablo	Paul Rivera	6 episodes
1986	Hardesty House
	Tall Tales & Legends	Julio	Episode: Ponce de Leon
	The Golden Girls	Ramone	Episode: Vacation
1988-1989	Trial and Error	Tony Rivera	8 episodes
1988-1989	The Newlywed Game	Himself
1990	Grand Slam	Pedro Gomez	8 episodes
1991	Hi Honey - I'm Dead	Ralph (The Angel)	TV-Movie
	Great Performances	Satanas	Episode: La Pastorela
1995	Live in San Quentin, Paul Rodriguez	Himself	Live TV-Special
	The Eddie Files	Construction Worker	Episode: Geometry - Invasion of the Polygons
	Touched by an Angel	Ben Rivera	Episode: Trust
1996	Latino Laugh Festival	Himself	Live TV-Special
1998	King of the Hill	Jacinto	Episode: Three Days of the Kahndo
2000	Ready to Run	T.J.	Voice Role TV-Movie
2000-2001	Resurrection Blvd.	Paulie	4 episodes
2002	American Family	Flaco	Episode: Mexican Revolution
2003	The Twilight Zone	Rosas	Episode: Tagged
	The Proud Family	Limo Driver	Voice Role Episode: Adventures in BeBe-Sitting
	Dora the Explorer	Leon, the Circus Lion	Voice Role Episode: Leon, the Circus Lion
2005	The Buzz on Maggie	Julio's Father	Voice Role Episode: Lunchlady
2005	Zatch Bell	Teenager, Various Voices	1 episode
2010-2012	Mis Videos Locos	Himself	40 episodes for MTV Tr3s

Awards and nominations

ALMA Award

• 1999: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Individual or Act in a Variety or Comedy Special" - Comic Relief VIII
• 2002: Nominated, "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture" - Tortilla Soup

Imagen Awards

• 2009: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor/Feature Film" - Beverly Hills Chihuahua

NCLR Bravo Awards

• 1996: Won, "Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Variety or Music Series/Special" - Latino Laugh Festival

Charities

Paul Rodriguez supports the following charitable causes: Education, Music Education.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]