JOSÉ FERRER
José Ferrer (born José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón; January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor, theatre and film director. He was the first Puerto Rican actor, as well as the first Hispanic actor, to win an Academy Award (in 1950, for Cyrano de Bergerac). Ferrer’s contributions to American theatre were recognized in 1981, when he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 1985 he received the National Medal of Arts from Ronald Reagan, becoming the first actor to receive that honor. (More from Wikipedia)
Sadly, Rosemary Clooney is mostly remembered today not so much for her formidable powers as a performer, but rather for the members of her extended family. The eldest son from her marriage to Puerto-Rico-born movie star José Ferrer – the first Hispanic to win an Academy Award – is another movie and television star, Miguel Ferrer. Her nephew George Clooney is one of the biggest movie stars of our time and has two Oscars of his own.
(June 2013/1)
