Alberto Olmedo was an Argentinecomedian and actor, popularly regarded as one of the most important comedians in the history of his country, for his outstanding work intelevision, cinema and theater. Olmedo was born in the city ofRosario. In his teens, he was a gifted gymnast, and an aspiring actor who tried his luck with several amateur theater companies, and enjoyed some local success. Olmedo moved to Buenos Aires in 1954. One year later, while working as a technician in Canal 7, Argentina's first television station, his improvisation skills caught the attention of the management, who gave him acting jobs in several TV shows. While Olmedo had a string of successful children's programs during the 1960s, he gained the most notoriety when given the opportunity to mix slapstick, nonsense, and adult-oriented entertainment.
Film career
Starting with Gringalet in 1959, Olmedo starred in 49 movies, including: Los Doctores las Prefieren Desnudas, in 1973, Maridos en Vacaciones,, Fotógrafo de Señoras, Las Mujeres Son Cosas de Guapos, Los Fierecillos Indomables, Sálvese Quien Pueda, and Rambito y Rambón, Primera Misión. His last movie was Atracción Peculiar, released shortly after his death. Los Fierecillos Indomables had a sequel in 1983. Many of Olmedo's movies in the 1980s were adult-oriented comedies featuring Jorge Porcel and vedettesMoria Casán and Susana Giménez. Conservative Argentine authorities rated these movies as PM-18, save for a few tamer films aimed at family audiences. The "Olmedo and Porcel" movies are considered to be the pinnacle of Argentina's sexploitationmovie genre. Most of these movies were directed by Gerardo Sofovich or his brother Hugo, who also directed Olmedo's TV shows El Chupete and No Toca Botón!.
TV career
Olmedo's Capitán Piluso show was a hit with children in the 1960s, but he preferred working for adult audiences. After acting in the successful Operación Ja Ja weekly show, Olmedo landed his first leading role in El Chupete. In 1976, shortly after the beginning of the military dictatorship known as the National Reorganization Process, Olmedo had his own death announced on the show. Once the truth was revealed, the actor was punished for his prank and banished from the airwaves for two years. In the 1980s, No Toca Botón! was the highest-rated show in Argentina. In fits of improvisation, Olmedo would stray from script, tear down props, dash past the cameras, and verbally abuse his fellow actors. He created popular characters such as General González, Rucucu the Ukrainian magician, the dictator of Costa Pobre, and above all el Manosanta, a multi-level parody on charlatans of all stripes and Argentines' reckless pursuit of sex and money. Those years saw the blooming of a partnership with character actorJavier Portales, who provided a counterweight to Olmedo's wild improvising. Olmedo, who was nicknamed el Negro, would evoke his Rosario background by using Rosario slang and narrating implausible stories about his childhood exploits.
