George Lopez Biography

George Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American comedian, actor, and talk show host. He is mostly known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom George Lopez. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican American culture. He was the host of the late-night talk show Lopez Tonight on TBS until its cancellation on August 12, 2011.

Early life

Lopez was born on April 23, 1961, in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California, of Mexican descent. He was deserted by his father when he was two months old and by his mother when he was 10 years old, but was raised by his maternal grandmother, Benita Gutierrez, a factory worker, and step-grandfather, Refugio Gutierrez, a construction worker. Lopez attended San Fernando High School, graduating in 1979.

Career

Radio

In 1999, Lopez hosted a major morning radio show for Clear Channel Communications in Los Angeles. He was the first Latino to have headlined the keystone morning radio slot on an English-language station in LA "? the nation's top radio market.

Television

In 2000, after several years of performing stand-up comedy, Lopez was approached by actress Sandra Bullock for Lopez to produce and star in a comedy. Bullock was concerned about the lack of Hispanic-oriented sitcoms on American television and pushed to get a sitcom on television that starred Hispanics without being exclusively about the Hispanic American community. Long criticized by Hispanic American groups for lack of Latinos on their television shows, ABC quickly picked up the television series. In 2002, Lopez became one of the few Latinos to star in a television comedy series, following in the footsteps of Desi Arnaz, Freddie Prinze, and John Leguizamo. George Lopez is an American situation comedy that originally aired on ABC from 2002"2007. Lopez is the co-creator, writer, producer, and star of the show.

On March 8, 2007, it was announced that George Lopez would join the Nick at Nite lineup. It first aired on Nick at Nite on September 10, 2007. On May 15, 2007, ABC announced that the series would be canceled after its sixth season. The show last aired on ABC September 7, 2007. The show also entered syndication in the fall of 2007. Never a big Nielsen hit in prime-time, the show became a surprise success in syndication.

Lopez was a cast member and commentator for HBO's hit sports show Inside the NFL for the 2003"2004 football season.

Lopez guest starred as the mayor of Reno, Nevada in the fifth season of Reno 911! in 2008.

On March 28, 2009, it was announced that Lopez would be hosting his own late night talk show on TBS. Lopez hosted a late-night talk show entitled Lopez Tonight on TBS Monday through Thursday at midnight Eastern Time. The show debuted in November 2009. In November 2010, the show moved back to midnight ET to accommodate a new show with former Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien. Lopez supported and even advocated for the move, making it different from the 2010 Tonight Show conflict that saw O'Brien depart NBC after a proposal to push Tonight back 30 minutes for Jay Leno to return to the 11:35 p.m. slot. On August 10, 2011 Lopez received a cancellation notice from TBS. The network decided not to renew Lopez Tonight for a third season.

On April 18, 2013, it was announced George Lopez would be starring in his own sitcom on FX called Saint George.

Film

Lopez earned praise for his performance in the HBO Films drama, Real Women Have Curves, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received the 2002 Audience Award. Previously, Lopez was featured in the drama Bread and Roses. The film, directed by British filmmaker Ken Loach, received critical acclaim after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. He recently starred in the ABC Wonderful World of Disney Christmas film Naughty or Nice. Lopez also starred in the Robert Rodríguez-directed film The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl, which opened in June 2005.

Brown is The New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream is a 2007 documentary directed and produced by Phillip Rodriguez.

In 2010, Lopez appeared in The Spy Next Door with Jackie Chan, starring as a villain named Glaze.

In 2011, Lopez reprised his role as Papi for Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2, and was the voice of a toco toucan, Rafael, in the box-office animated hit Rio, alongside Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, will.i.am, and Jamie Foxx.

Books

Lopez wrote an autobiography entitled Why You Crying, which was published by the Touchstone/Fireside division of Simon & Schuster, and placed in the New York Times Bestsellers top twenty. The book is co-written by Emmy Award winning writer and sportscaster Armen Keteyian.

Other work

In January 2009, Lopez appeared in We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.

He is a two-time host of the Latin Grammy Awards, and a co-host of the Emmy Awards.

He also hosted a Season 9 elimination episode of American Idol after donating the most money on Idol Gives Back.

Politics

On December 21, 2010, Lopez announced on Good Day L.A. that he would run for mayor of Los Angeles in about eight years.

In an interview with Piers Morgan, Lopez stated that if Sarah Palin ever becomes the President of the United States, he would emigrate to Canada.

Personal life

In 1993, Lopez married Ann Serrano. The couple have a daughter, Mayan Lopez. On September 27, 2010, Lopez announced that he and his wife had decided to end their marriage. Serrano filed for divorce on November 23, 2010, citing "irreconcilable differences." The divorce was finalized on July 1, 2011.

In 2009, the results of a DNA test read by Mariah Carey on Lopez Tonight revealed Lopez to be of 55% European, 32% Native American, 9% East Asian, and 4% African descent. However, the test's accuracy is disputed by several genealogists.

Health problems

Lopez has a genetic condition that caused his kidneys to deteriorate. His doctors had told him in April 2004 that he was going to require an organ transplant but he postponed the operation until finishing the fourth season of George Lopez. In 2005, his wife Ann donated one of her kidneys to Lopez. The transplant was successful; Lopez lost 45 lbs. after the operation due in part to the improvement in his health. He brought awareness to the issue on his show; his character's son Max was diagnosed with a similar illness.

Charity work and honors

Lopez was a featured celebrity golfer in the 2004 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the 2004 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Lopez and his pro partner finished third in the Pebble Beach event. George was the top-ranking celebrity at completion of the tournament. Since 2006, Lopez has served as host of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He is a member at Lakeside Country Club in Burbank, California, and has a 13 handicap.

A native of Los Angeles who grew up in the San Fernando Valley's Mission Hills, Lopez devotes much time to the community. He heads his own charity, The Ann & George Lopez Foundation (www.thelopezfoundation.org). He is a recipient of the Manny Mota Foundation Community Spirit Award and was named Honorary Mayor of Los Angeles for his extensive fund-raising efforts benefiting earthquake victims in El Salvador and Guatemala. In February 2004, Lopez was presented the 2004 Artist of the Year and Humanitarian Award by Harvard University, presented by its president and dean for his artistic work and charitable endeavors.

Lopez has received several honors for his work and contributions to the Latino community. In September 2004, George was honored with the "Spirit of Liberty Award," presented by People for the American Way. In August 2005, Time magazine recognized George as one of "The 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America." On October 18, 2011, Lopez's elementary school, San Fernando Elementary School, honored him for his beneficent efforts by naming their auditorium after him. Lopez has ensured through his annual toy giveaway that every child at the school receives a gift during the holidays.

Feuds

Jay Leno

Lopez criticized Jay Leno, someone he once considered a "close friend," during an interview on radio station WOMX-FM in Orlando, Florida on January 24, 2007, stating, "He's the biggest two-faced dude in TV." He also called him a back-stabber, and said he is not a proficient interviewer.

Carlos Mencia

Lopez is also known for his conflict with Carlos Mencía. In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Lopez accused Mencía of appropriating 13 minutes of his material in Mencía's HBO special. He also claimed he had a physical altercation with Mencía over the alleged appropriation.

Erik Estrada

Lopez frequently mentions his dislike for Erik Estrada. According to Lopez, he met Estrada when he was a teenager and Estrada was at the zenith of his career. Estrada refused to shake the teenager's hand, and Lopez has disliked him ever since. Lopez related the story while guest-hosting The Jim Rome Show, then saying, "Fuck that puto!" In his comedy special America's Mexican, Lopez uses this story to warn celebrities to always be good to their fans, because they never know who their fans might grow up to be.

ABC Entertainment

After receiving the news that his show was cancelled in 2007, Lopez criticized president of ABC Entertainment Steve McPherson for using racially motivated reasons for his decision. The actor told the Los Angeles Times that "TV just became really, really white again," and lashed out against ABC by saying, "So a chicano can't be on TV, but a caveman can?" in reference to the short-lived sitcom Cavemen, which was replacing George Lopez on the schedule. Cavemen garnered an sharply negative reception from critics and viewers, and was cancelled after just 13 episodes. Lopez blamed ABC for causing over a hundred of his show's staff to become jobless.

Kirstie Alley

On March 24, 2011, George Lopez called Kirstie Alley a "pig" during her stint on Dancing with the Stars. Kirstie responded on Twitter, "Don't worry about George's comments?just remember what happens to the big bad, drunk woolf?falls in a boiling pot of vodka.Piggy laughs." George later apologized on Twitter, saying, "I misjudged the joke. No malice was intended and I apologize to Kirstie." After the apology, Kirstie fired back on Twitter, "@georgelopez I don't need or want ur apology?I want your kidney dude..on behalf of ur X and all the women uv insulted?give it back."

Joe Arpaio

On July 14, 2012, during one of his HBO specials, Lopez went on a diatribe against controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, in which Lopez ranted "Sheriff Joe in Arizona, fuck you, you fucking puto! You fat motherfucker, fuck you!" Lopez took exception to Arpaio's endorsement of Arizona's anti-immigration policies, which has been widely criticized among the Hispanic community.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1990	Ski Patrol	Eddie Martinez
1993	Fatal Instinct	Murder Investigator
2001	Bread and Roses	Perez	Nominated"?ALMA Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
2002	Real Women Have Curves	Mr. Guzman
2002	Outta Time	Felix
2005	The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl	Mr. Electricidad/ Mr. Electric/Tobor
2006	Balls of Fury	Ernie Rodriguez
	Tortilla Heaven	Everardo
2008	Swing Vote	John Sweeney
	Henry Poole Is Here	Father Salizar
	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	Papi (voice)	Voice acting debut
2009	Shannon's Rainbow	Captain Martin
	Mr. Troop Mom	Eddie Serrano
2010	The Spy Next Door	Glaze	Nominated"?Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor
	Valentine's Day	Alfonso
	Marmaduke	Carlos (voice)
2011	Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2	Papi (voice)	Nominated"?Imagen Award for Best Actor in a Feature Film Nominated"?Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor
	The Smurfs	Grouchy Smurf (voice)
	Rio	Rafael (voice)	Animation debut
	April Apocalypse	Dr. Lyle
2013	Escape from Planet Earth	Thurman (voice)
2013	The Smurfs 2	Grouchy Smurf (voice)
Television
Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Fidel	Chucho Osorio
	The Brothers García	Mr. Fender	Episode "The Student Buddy"
	Curb your Enthusiasm	Himself
2002"2007	George Lopez	George Lopez	119 episodes Imagen Award for Best Actor " Television (won 2004; nominated 2005, 2006, 2007) Nominated"?ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Series Nominated"?BET Comedy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated"?Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series (nominated 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) Nominated"?Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Breakout Star " Male Nominated"?Young Artist Award for Most Popular Mom & Pop in a Television Series (shared with Constance Marie)
2004	Naughty or Nice	Henry Ramiro
2006	Freddie	George	"Freddie Gets Cross Over "
2007"2008	The Naked Brothers Band	Himself	3 episodes
2008	Reno 911	Mayor of Reno	3 episodes
2009"2011	Lopez Tonight	Himself (Host)	Nominated"?People's Choice Award for Favorite Talk Show Host
2011	America's Got Talent	Grouchy Smurf (voice)	July 27 (Season 6, Qtr Finals 3 results)
2012"present	Take Me Out (U.S.)	Himself (Host)
2013	The Funny Face Show	Armando Rodriguez (voice)	Minor Character
2013	Shake It Up	George Martinez	Episode: "In The Bag It Up"
Stand up
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Alien Nation	Himself
2001	Right Now, Right Now	Himself
2002	Team Leader	Himself
2006	Why You Crying?	Himself
	El Mas Chingon?	Himself
2007	America's Mexican	Himself	HBO Special
2009	Tall, Dark, & Chicano	Himself	HBO Special