Paul Rodriguez is an American stand-up comedian of Mexican descent who is still very active in comedy. He is one of the most popular Latin comedy entertainer of all times.
He is also an actor and a big philanthropist which brought attention to him and his charity work. People admire him for being so generous because most people that have big careers don’t really care about small people.
Early days
He was born as Paul Rodriguez on January 19, 1955 in Culiacan, Sinaloa in Mexico. His parents were ranchers and owned a farm but they later came to California, to a town of Compton in a search of a better life. He was always connected with his parents and he never hated the way they lived.
His early childhood life was not unusual for families who live on farms – he had to work from an early age.
His parents tried to motivate him for school, hoping that Paul will decide to pursue some kind of career which demands college diploma.
Paul was a student at Manuel Dominguez High School in Compton, California. He always tried his best, but school was just never his call.
In his early high-school days he started working as a fruit-picker to help his family, especially after his father had hurt his back. It was while they lived in East L.A., before moving to Compton where he switched school.
He became a student at Long Beach Community College, and soon realized it wasn’t for him. He wasn’t interested in learning and in having a white collar career.
Paul was enlisted in US „Air Force“ there and that was an eye-opening experience for him. He learned that there is so much more to life and he was thrilled to learn new things.
He learned all about military discipline and how hard it is for the soldiers to be so far away from their families. It was fascinating and he started to become better at what he did.
His first TV appearance was in an American sitcom named „a.k.a. Pablo“ which aired on ABC in 1984.
The show lasted only for one month and was cancelled after just a few episodes, but it helped Paul to became recognized and launch his new career.
In 1988 he became the host of a TV game show called „ The Newlywed Game“ but it also ran just for one season. The point of the show was to try and break up new couples.
From 1990 until 1993, he was a host of his own show „El Show de Paul Rodriguez“ and it was aired on Univision Network. This show brought him recognition and discovered his true comedy art.
In 2010 and 2011, he was invited to host MTV video series „Mis Videos Locos“ which was a reality show featured only by Latino people. It was one kind of respecting his Latino heritage.
As an actor, Paul showed up in several films, such as „Blood Work“, „Born in East L.A.“ and „Ali“. He gave his voice to characters in „King of the Hill“ and „Dora the Explorer“.
He loved the world of movies so he decided to direct a movie titled „A Million to Juan“ in which he stoned himself. He also produced „The Original Latin Kings of Comedy“ in 2002.
In 2004, he entered the list of „100 great Standups of all time“ by Comedy Central.
He has aslo received an award for his Humanitarian work. Paul is the co-owner of „LaughFactory“ venue in Hollywood. Jeff also has farm in Central Valley in California.
He is widely known for his work as philanthropist. A lot of his attention is focused on problems of the Latino community in United States.
He is always gladly responding to invitations to Comic Relief known for „RedNose Day“.
In 1995, he made a special comedy broadcast from the prison of San Quentin. He wanted to bring attention to these problems and he was always very open about it.
Paul is especially appreciated for his work in „California Latino Water Coalition“, where he is the chairman. This group leads a campaign of awareness of California’s water issue.
He has released several comedy albums: „Comedy Rehab“, „The Here & Wow“ and „Just For the Record“. His small gigs had a great response and people really liked him for who he was.
After he left military early in his youth he came up to an idea to become an attorney but soon swaped to comedy. He wanted to reach people and work with them and he felt like he could do that better through comedy.
His begginners stand-up act was at „The Comedy Store“ in Los Angeles. He was hired as a doorman there but he soon showed his skills and was given the chance to perform on the stage.
He was discovered by Norman Lear, who created a sitcom named „Gloria“ in 1982 and who saw him at work. He was the one to make a sitcom „a.k.a. Pablo“ for Paul himself.
In 2001, he has appeared in „Crocodile Dundee“ followed by „A cinderella Story“ in 2004. In 2006, he was a part of the crew for „Cloud 9“.
His charity work isn’t only focused on water, but is involved in work of other organizations such as „Farm Aid“, „Project Literacy“ and „National Hispanic Scholarhip Fund“.
In 1996, Paul Rodriguez won a Bravo Award for „Outstanding Performance“, at „Latino Laugh Festival“. He was thrilled to hear this and it was a beautiful experience for him. He claimed that it only makes him work even harder for what he wants.
His last tour was “50 Shades of Brown tour” which was made in collaboration with his son P-Rod and will probably end in making a series with him which will air on ABC channel.
He had a role in a horror movie titled “Gravy” but he isn’t proud of his act because he knows he is not that good at it.
He has also won the Ruben Salazar Award by The National Council of La Raza, as one of the most influental Hispano- Americans.
He also appeared in a movie with Anthony Hopkins, in “The World’s Fastest Indian”. His role in this movie is considered to be his best acting role and he says he enjoyed working with Hopkins very much.
Personal life
He is a big supporter of the Republicans, and in 2010 he has openly endorsed Meg Whitman to become a governor of California, and later Mitt Romney in 2012 elections for Oval office. He has even recorded Romney’s radio promotion add in Spanish.
He is friends with Arnold Schwarzennegger, the former California governor, and they both share the same concern about the waters in California.
He was married to Laura Martinez, who is from Cuba. They were in a happy marriage and their relationship stayed private until the end. Paul did not want to share details on their love life.
He has only one son, Paul Rodriguez Jr., who is more known as P-Rod, a very succesful professional skateboarder.
Paul has won 4 gold medals at the X games and is very popular in it. He travells all around the world and is especially occupied in the summer.
Lucas Rodriguez is his second son he got in a relationship with Nelly Galan. He says that one of the most beautiful things one could to is to have children and teach them to be great humans.
Paul says that his biggest inspiration to get involved with comedy was when he watched the “Ed Sullivan Show”.
There was a comedian in the show who performed as a character Jose Jimenez, played by Bill Dana. He made him laugh very hard and he always wished that he could do the same for others.
Quick summary
Full name: Paul Rodriguez
Date of birth: January 19, 1955
Birthplace: Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico
Age: 63
Profession: stand-up comedian, actor, philanthropist
Height: NA
Weight: NA
Net Worth: $6 million