Miriam Colon
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Miriam Colon (born August 20, 1936 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican actress and the founder and director of the "Puerto Rican Traveling Theater" in New York City.
Colon was just a young girl in the 1940s when her recently divorced mother moved the family to a public housing project called "Residencial Las Casas" located in Barrio Obrero, San Juan. She attended the Ramon Baldorioty de Castro High School located in Old San Juan, where she was always actively participated in the school's plays. Her first drama teacher, Marcos Colon (no relation to Miriam) believed that she was very talented and with his help she was permitted to observe the students in the "Drama Department of the University of Puerto Rico". She was a good student in high school and was awarded scholarships which enable her to enroll in the "Dramatic Workshop and Technical Institude" and also in "The Lee Strasburg Acting Studio" in New York City.
In 1953, Colon debuted as "Lolita" in her first movie which was locally produced, called Peloteros (Baseball Players), starring Ramón (Diplo) Rivero.
In 1954, Colon moved to New York, where she worked in theater and later landed a role in the American soap opera "Guiding Light". On one occasion she attended a presentation of Rene Marques "La Carreta" (The Oxcart). That presentation motivated her to form the first Hispanic theater group, with the help of "La Carreta"'s producer, Roberto Rodriguez. It was called "El Circulo Dramatico" (The Drama Circuit).
From 1954 to 1974, Colon made over 250 guest appearances in television shows. She appeared mostly in westerns such as "Gunsmoke", "Bonanza", "The High Chaparral" and "Have Gun, Will Travel" where she would usually played a Mexican woman.
In 1961, Colon participated in the movie One-eyed Jack as "Redhead" starring Marlon Brando and in 1979, she starred alongside Jose Ferrer, Raul Julia and Henry Darrow in the movie Life of Sin, where she played the role of the infamous Puerto Rican female gangster "Isabel la Negra". In 1983 she played "Tony Montana's" (Al Pacino) mother in Scarface. According to Colon, her inspiration for the role of "Montana's" mother came from her own mother. She was also cast as "Maria" in the 1999 film Gloria with Sharon Stone. Some of the other movies in which she's participated are:
- Crowded Paradise (1956)
- The Outsider (1961) as Anita
- Battle at Bloody Beach (1961) as Nahni
- Thunder Island (1963) as Anita Chavez
- Harbor Lights (1963) as Gina Rosario
- Back Roads (1981) as Angel
- Scarface (1983) as Mama Montana
- Lone Star (1996) as Mercedes Cruz
- Sabrina (1995) as Rosa
- The House of the Spirits (1993) as Nana
- City of Hope (1991) as Mrs. Ramirez
- The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972) as Veronica
- The Appaloosa (1966) as Ana
- All the Pretty Horses (2000) as Doña Alfonsa
- The Blue Diner (2001) as herself
- Goal! (2005) as Mercedes
In all Colon has acted in over 34 movies.
In Broadway, she has acted in the following productions:
- The Oxcart by Rene Marques
- The Wrong Way Lightbulb
- In the Summer House
- The Innkeepers
In the late 1980s, Colon founded the "Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre", which is located on West 47th street in Manhattan, New York. This company presents Off-Broadway productions on the location and also goes on tour. She is the director of the company and she has appeared in the following of its productions:
- The Boiler Room
- Julius Caesar
- The Oxcart
- Simpson Street
- Senora Carrar's Rifles
In 1993, Miriam Colon received an "Obie Award" for "Lifetime Achievement in the Theater". A book about Miriam Colon, titled "Miriam Colon Actor and Theater" was written by the author Mayra Fernandez. Colon was cast as Mercedes once again for the film Goal! 2 which is in the post-production stages and is scheduled to be released in 2006.
