Who is Gregory Sierra? Is he dead or still alive? Wiki Bio
Gregory Sierra was born in New York City, USA, on 25 January 1937, so his zodiac sign is Aquarius and he holds American nationality. He is an actor who gained recognition after portraying Detective Sergeant Chano Amenguale in the comedy drama series “Barney Miller”, which aired from 1975 to 1982 and starred Hal Linden, Abe Vigoda and Max Gall. It follows a Police Captain and his staff as they deal with the problems in New York. The show won two Golden Globe Awards, seven other awards, and was nominated for 43 overall.
Gregory retired from acting in 1998, but came back for his final role in 2018.
There has been a rumor circulating the internet that the popular actor has died, but this hasn’t been confirmed.
Childhood and education
Gregory was raised as a single child in New York City by his father who was a theatre actor, and his mother who was a dentist – he fell in love with acting at the age of five when he saw his father perform. His parents are of Puerto Rican descent, and Gregory was bullied because of it while attending elementary school.
While studying at a public high school, Gregory was a member of the school’s drama club appearing in most of the plays performed there, and he was also physically active as he played football and soccer. Upon matriculation in 1955, he decided to focus on his acting and didn’t enroll at a college.
Roles in TV series
Gregory worked at several jobs to financially support himself, while malking many uncredited appearances in movies and TV series during the next 14 years, before being credited with his portrayal of Fletcher in the action adventure series “It Takes a Thief”. After being praised for his performance, he was invited to guest star in episodes of three series – “Mission: Impossible”, “McCloud”, and “Mod Squad” in 1970.
He went on to portray the recurring character Julio Fuentes in the sitcom “Sanford and Son” from 1972 to 1975, while he was simultaneously shooting for other series such as “All in the Family”, “The Waltons”, and “Hawaii Five-O” in 1973.
In 1974, he was cast to play Lou D’Allessandro in the crime drama series “Columbo”, while the following years saw him win roles in “Hunter” in 1977, “A. E. S. Hudson Street” in 1978, and “The Greatest American Hero” in 1981. Some of the roles which followed were in “Hart to Hart” in 1981, “Quincy M. E” in 1982, and “Zorro and Son” in 1983.
His next notable role was his portrayal of the recurring character Lt. Lou Rodriguez in the crime drama series “Miami Vice”, starring Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, and which follows two undercover detectives as they solve crimes in Miami, Florida. Some of Gregory’s next roles were in single episodes of “The Paper Chase” in 1984, “Simon & Simon” in 1985, and “MacGyver” in 1985, among over 10 others series.
Up until 1995, Gregory made appearances in single episodes of over 20 series, with some of the latest being “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” both in 1994, and “Walker, Texas Ranger” in 1995.
Roles in movies
Gregory made his debut film appearance portraying Verger in the science fiction movie “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” in 1970, followed by his portrayals of supporting characters in “Getting Straight”, “Weekend of Terror” and “Red Sky at Morning” in 1971. He was also invited to play a supporting role in “Machismo: 40 Graves for 40 Guns”.
Some of his following roles were as Chavarin in “Pocket Money”, One-Eyes Horsethief in “The Culpepper Cattle Co.”, and Jurado in “The Wrath of God” in 1972.
The year 1973 saw him appear in “The Thief Who Came to Dinner” and “The Clones”, and star in the historical drama prison movie “Papillon”, which also starred Dustin Hoffman and Steven McQueen. After that, Gregory was cast in “The Castaway Cowboy” in 1974, “The Towering Inferno” in 1975, and in “The Night They Took Miss Beautiful” in 1977. In 1979, he portrayed The Count in the adventure drama film “The Prisoner of Zenda”, which starred Ronald Colman and Madeleine Carroll and which is about a man who has to impersonate his king after the latter is kidnapped. Gregory also appeared in “The Night the Bridge Fell Down” in 1983, “Let’s Get Harry” in 1986, and “The Trouble with Spies” in 1987.
In 1992, Gregory portrayed Barbosa in the action thriller movie “Deep Cover”, and then appeared in “Honey I Blew Up the Kid” and “Hot Shots! Part Deux” in 1993. Some of his latest roles in movies have been in the neo-western action horror movie “Vampires”, in which he portrayed Father Giovanni in 1998, in the comedy movie “Jane Austen’s Mafia!” as Bonifacio in 1998 as well, and in the experimental movie “The Other Side of the Wind” as Jack Simon in 2018.
Love life and relationships
Gregory has been keeping his private matters away from the media’s attention, but on 9 April 1978, the newspaper “The Blade” published an article about him and his wife.
According to the article, Gregory was steadily becoming famous in the US, and he and his wife were already living separately for a few months as she requested. They married in 1972 in a small ceremony attended by their closest friends and family, but after six years of being together, she committed suicide. It is widely believed that Gregory remarried several years after his wife’s death, and that he and his second wife have been together to this day, residing in Laguna Woods, California.
Gregory doesn’t have any children, but it’s said that his second wife has two sons from her first marriage, and that the boys grew up with her and Gregory.
Hobbies and other interests
Gregory was interested in becoming a famous singer during his teenage years, and was a big fan of jazz and blues music. He grew up spending most of his free time outdoors playing sports with his peers such as soccer and baseball, while he was also interested in reading books and telling jokes to make his friends laugh. Gregory also planned on doing stand-up comedy, but eventually settled with straight acting.
He is a lover of animals, and has had numerous pets including dogs, cats, and hamsters.
Some of his favorite actors and actresses are Mark Harmon, Diana Scarwid and Donnelly Rhodes, while some of his favorite movies are “After the Promise”, “Gone with the Wind”, and “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”.
One of Gregory’s main hobbies during his 30s and 40s was travelling, and he’s been to every US state, and also visited many European and Asian countries including Norway, England and Spain (Europe), and India (Asia).
Appearance and net worth
Gregory is 83 years old. He has short brown hair and brown eyes, is 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall, and weighs around 172lbs (78kgs). As of May 2020, his net worth is estimated at over $2 million.