Freddie James Prinze, Sr. was an American actor and stand-up comedian.
Prinze was the star of 1970s sitcom Chico and the Man.
He also was the father of the actor Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Early life Prinze was born Frederick Karl Pruetzel in
New York City, the son of Edward Karl Pruetzel and his wife Maria Graniela Pruetzel.
His mother was Puerto Rican and his father was a Hungarian immigrant who had arrived
in the U.S. in 1934.
Prinze was raised in a mixed neighborhood in Washington Heights, New York City.
When Prinze was a small child, his mother enrolled him in ballet classes to deal with
a weight problem.
Without telling his parents, Prinze successfully auditioned for the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High
School of Performing Arts, where he was introduced to drama and continued ballet — and where
he discovered his gift for comedy while entertaining crowds in the boys restroom.
He dropped out of school in his senior year to become a stand-up comedian.
Career Prinze worked at several comedy clubs in New
York City, including The Improv and Catch a Rising Star, where he introduced himself
to audiences as a "Hungarican".
For the sake of his budding comedic career, he changed his surname to "Prinze", which
he chose because, according to his friend, David Brenner, he originally wanted to be
known as the King of comedy.
But Alan King already had that last name, so he would be the Prince of comedy instead.
During 1973 he made his first television appearance on one of the last episodes of Jack Paar Tonite.
In December 1973 his biggest break came with an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring
Johnny Carson.
Prinze was the first young comedian to be asked to have a sit-down chat with Carson
on his first appearance..
He also appeared on The Midnight Special to perform his comic routine.
From 1974 until his death in 1977, Prinze starred as Francisco "Chico" Rodriguez in
the NBC TV series Chico and the Man with Jack Albertson.
The show was an instant hit.
Prinze made several appearances on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, most notably at the
roasts for Sammy Davis Jr. and Muhammad Ali.
In 1975, he released a comedy album that was taped live at Mr. Kelly's in Chicago titled
Looking Good—his catch phrase from Chico and the Man.
In 1976, he starred in a made-for-TV movie, The Million Dollar Rip-Off.
Prinze had a little-known talent for singing, examples of which could be heard in the background
of the title song of the Tony Orlando and Dawn album To Be With You, in his appearances
on their variety show, and on rare occasions on his own sitcom.
About four months before his death, Prinze had signed a multi-year deal with NBC worth
US$6 million over five years.
Becoming wealthy, Prinze took martial arts lessons from Robert Wall, a student of Bruce
Lee, who appeared in Enter the Dragon and Return of the Dragon.
Soon after, Wall became godfather to Prinze's newborn son Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Personal life Prinze married Kathy Elaine Cochran in October
1975, with whom he had one son, Freddie Prinze, Jr.
On November 16, 1976, Prinze was arrested for driving under the influence of Quaaludes.
A few weeks later his wife filed for divorce on the grounds that his escalating drug dependence
was endangering their infant son.
Death Prinze suffered from depression, which deepened
in the weeks following his divorce.
On the night of January 28, 1977, after talking on the telephone with his estranged wife,
Prinze received a visit from his business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder.
With his manager looking on, Prinze put a gun to his head and shot himself.
He was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center to be placed on life support following emergency
surgery.
Prinze's family removed him from life support and he died at 1 p.m. on January 29.
In 1977, the death was ruled a suicide.
In a civil case brought years later, a jury found that his death was accidental.
Prinze had a history of playing Russian roulette to frighten his friends for his amusement.
However, Prinze had left a note stating that he had decided to take his life.
Legacy Prinze's mother wrote a book about her son,
The Freddie Prinze Story, which was published in 1978.
In September 1979, the TV movie, Can You Hear the Laughter?
- The Story of Freddie Prinze, was premiered.
Prinze's life and death were a focal point of one of the storylines in the movie Fame
set in Prinze's alma mater, LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts.
The character Ralph Garcy, played by Barry Miller, speaks often of growing up with Prinze
and seeing him as the local neighborhood hero.
Prinze's death affects him profoundly, and Garcy credits Prinze with inspiring his own
career; he says he is doing it "for Freddie".
Later, as Garcy's stand-up career shows similar promise, he falls into a depression and drug
use as Prinze had, nearly destroying himself.
The character Doris Finsecker in one scene screams at Garcy that he is not Freddie, and
he does not have to be self-destructive just because Freddie was.
Prinze also received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame a few decades after his death.
Actor/Comedian George Lopez has acknowledged that he personally paid for the $10,000 induction
fee for Prinze's Star.
In 2001, TV Land began showing reruns of Chico and the Man.
See also
List of Puerto Ricans German immigration to Puerto Rico
References
External links Freddie Prinze Sr
Freddie Prinze at the Internet Movie Database Freddie Prinze at Find a Grave