Héctor Elizondo was born on the 22nd December 1936, in New York City, USA, and is an award-winning stage, television and film actor, perhaps best known to the world as Dr. Phillip Watters in the TV series “Chicago Hope” (1994-2000), and as Ed Alzate in the TV series “Last Man Standing” (2011-2017), among numerous other appearances, now numbering over 150 film and TV titles plus havingo showcased his talents in numerous stage plays.
Have you ever wondered how rich Héctor Elizondo is, as of late 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Elizondo’s wealth is as high as $3 million, earned through his successful career in the world of entertainment, active since the early ‘60s.
Héctor Elizondo Net Worth $3 Million
Héctor is the son of a Basque father, Martín Echevarría Elizondo, a public notary and accountant, and a Puerto Rican mother, Carmen Medina Reyes. The couple lived in Puerto Rico before Héctor’s birth, then moved to the US in search of better life, settled in New York City, and soon after Héctor was born.
From an early age, he showed his talent for music, but also sports; he was a part of the Frank Murray Boys’ Choir, and enrolled at High School of the Performing Arts, in addition to attending a public high school where he played baseball and basketball. He was good enough as a baseball player that he was scouted by MLB franchises Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants, but decided not to pursue a career in sports. Instead, he enrolled at City College of New York and studied to become a history teacher, but had to drop out since he became a father and married, so needing to support the family. However, his marriage didn’t last long, and he then entered the Ballet Arts Company at Carnegie Hall, studying dance.
He made his screen debut in a minor role in the TV crime-drama series “The Edge of Night” in 1963, then in 1965 appeared in the play “Kill the One-Eyed Man”, and continued quite successfully with a career in theater in a number of successful plays, which garnered him several prestigious awards, and increased his net worth. Some of his most successful appearances on stage include as God in “Steambath”, for which he won an Obie Award, then in “Sly Fox”, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination, followed by “The Prisoner of Second Avenue”, “The Great White Hope” and “The Rose Tattoo”, among many others, which only added to his wealth.
To speak of his career on screen, Héctor had his first notable appearance in the BAFTA- nominated crime thriller “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” in 1974, as Giuseppe Benvenuto aka Grey, next to Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw and Martin Balsam, and continued his rise with the role of Abraham Rodriguez in the short-lived comedy series “Popi” (1975-1976). He started the next decade with the lead role in the TV crime-drama series “Freebie and the Bean”, and in 1982 had a double role in the comedy film “Young Doctors in Love” as Angelo / Angela Bonafett, directed by Garry Marshall – throughout Héctor’s career, he has appeared in more than 15 films directed by Marshall, including “Nothing in Common” (1986), “Pretty Woman” (1990), “Exit to Eden” (1994), “The Princess Diaries” and its sequel “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” (2004), among others. Throughout the ‘80s he made several other notable appearances, such as Captain Louis Renault in the TV drama series “Casablanca” (1893), then as D.A. Jesse Steinberg in the TV comedy series “Foley Square” (1985-1986), and as the lead star Dave Whiteman in the short-lived comedy series “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” (1987), further increasing his net worth.
Hector used the momentum from the ‘80s, and continued successfully into the next decade; he portrayed Coach Ed Gennero in the box office comedy hit “Necessary Roughness”, with Scott Bakula and Robert Loggia, then starred in the Golden Globe Award-nominated romantic comedy “Frankie and Johnny” (1991), and had the lead role in the drama “The Burden of Proof” in 1992. In 1994 he was cast in one of his most prominent roles as Dr. Phillip Watters in the TV series “Chicago Hope”, and until 2000 appeared in 141 episodes of the highly-acclaimed series, winning several prestigious awards including Emmy and ALMA, while also receiving Satellite and SAG Award nominations. His career continued to improve even in the 2000s, as he starred in the romantic comedy “Tortilla Soup” in 2001, then in 2007 featured in the biopic about Richard Pimentel, entitled “Music Within”, starring Ron Livingston, Melissa George and Michael Sheen, and in 2008 started portraying Dr. Neven Bell, new psychiatrist of Adrian Monk in the TV series “Monk”, replacing Stanley Kamel after the latter’s death. Three years later he was chosen for the role of Ed Alzate in the TV comedy series “Last Man Standing” (2011-2017), appearing in 130 episodes of the Primetime Emmy Award-nominated series.
Hector has also tried himself as a voice actor, and so far has given his voice to such characters as Bane in the animated film “Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman” (2003), then Jim Gordon in “The LEGO Batman Movie” (2017), among other productions.
Regarding his personal life, Héctor has been married to Carolee Campbell since 1969. He was briefly married in 1956 and later 1962, but further information of those marriages has remained unavailable to the media. He has a child from his first marriage, Rodd, of whom he obtained full custody.
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Obie Award for Performance, ALMA Award for Favorite TV Actor, ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Made-for-Television Movie or Mini-Series
Nominations
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Ma...
Movies
The Princess Diaries, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Runaway Bride, New Year's Eve, Mother's Day, Frankie and Johnny, The Flamingo Kid, Nothing in Common, Georgia Rule, Necessary Roughness, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, American Gigolo, Young Doctors in Love, Raising H...
TV Shows
Last Man Standing, Chicago Hope, a.k.a. Pablo, Kate Brasher, Cane, The Pirates of Dark Water, The Edge of Night, Foley Square, Century City, Miracles, Fish Police, Casablanca, Popi, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Invincible, Freebie and the Bean
I guess I work well with others I handle younger actors well.
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I never learned to cook; I was a little spoiled as far as that's concerned.
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I started in radio, again accidentally. I wasn't looking for this kind of work at all.
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I've dodged bullets but there's no scandal in my life.
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I work with Garry no matter what. What I wanted to keep going was the streak.
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On those, I've said it before, I work free. It's the waiting they pay me for.
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You're at the top of your game if you do comedy.
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Yes, and it's my third movie with Richard. American Gigolo was my first.
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You can trust a Neil Simon script. Every dot. Every dash; that pause means something. He takes all the jokes out, practically.
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You know, a low budget, you have to work harder. You have to plan well; you don't have much time to rehearse.
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Food is a passion. Food is love.
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Pretty Woman was the easiest job I've ever done. I just wore the right toupee.
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Which reminds me of a fortune cookie: you often find your destiny on the path you take to avoid it.
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I love the fact that it starts from there, and you don't know where it's gonna go. Wait long enough - love will find you. Everything's a surprise. When you think you've got it all figured out... as Emerson said, the dice of God are always loaded.
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The fact that that's the difference between Mexicans and Cubans is pronounced. It's so immediately recognizable, the way a Cuban speaks, the way a Cuban moves the hands.
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I'm a parent, especially when you've had the intense parenting the way I had. It's all in the bank. It's all in the great experience bank. Those are your secrets. That's the stuff that makes your work rich, that's what you dip into.
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I'm attracted to pathos, because life is mostly pathos. I've had a lot of it in my life.
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I think you can tell the human condition better through comedy.
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Sometimes I just walk through; I just show up, as in The Other Sister.
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Definitely not a sitcom, that's my first condition. No sitcoms.
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I used to work, part time, in a deli, in those days when your parents made you work just so you should know what work was like. And you'd make 4, 5, 6, ten dollars.
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I started in 1946 in radio. I was ten years old. I was discovered singing in a school play. Someone was in the audience and it's six degrees of separation.
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Fact
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Is the only actor to appear in every episode of Chicago Hope (1994).
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Best known by the public for his starring role as Dr. Phillip Watters on Chicago Hope (1994).
Got the role in Pretty Woman after Al Pacino turned it down.
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Turned down the role of Arturo in Sliders (1995) because it was being filmed in Canada.
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He has played the same character (Dr. Phillip Watters) on three different television series: Picket Fences (1992), Chicago Hope (1994) and Early Edition (1996).
Considered by director/producer Garry Marshall to be his "good luck charm", and as such is offered a role in each of his movies. Appears in so many Garry Marshall films that his credit in the beginning of Exit to Eden (1994) was "As Usual... Hector Elizondo".
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Hector is a fine guitarist and singer. Wife Carolee Campbell is a noted bookbinder, photographer and actress.
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Hector received a Tony for his role in Bruce Jay Friedman's "Steambath".
$3 Million
