Gregory Sierra

A TV and film character actor capable of handsome characterizations as well as "average Joes," Gregory Sierra was usually cast as Latinos, as he was in numerous TV series in the 70s and early 80s. He was Julio Fuentes on "Sanford and Son," Detective Sgt. Chano Amenguale on "Barney Miller," Dr. Tony Menzies on "A.E.S. Hudson Street" and the unnerving "El Puerco" on "SOAP." Sierra began his career with a bit as a gorilla (but so was most everyone else) in "Beneath of the Planet of the Apes" (1970) and as Garcia, in "Getting Straight" with Dustin Hoffman the same year. In 1973, he was Carlos the bartender, being sucked to his death by the flood from the broken water tower in "The Towering Inferno." But by then his work was chiefly in the TV series, which also gave him a presence in TV movies, such as "Evening in Byzantium" and "Three Hundred Miles for Stephanie." Sierra's work in the late 80s and into the 90s was mostly in TV movies and features, including the miniseries "Something Is Out There" and the TV movie "Donor," as well as the features "Deep Cover," "Honey I Blew Up the Kid," "Hot Shots! Part Deux" and "A Low Down Dirty Shame." Gregory Sierra died January 4, 2021 at the age of 83.