Troy Kurtis
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| Troy Kurtis | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Danbury, Connecticut |
| Genre(s) | Latin music |
| Years active | 2000—present |
Troy Kurtis (born December 30, c. 1981 in Danbury, Connecticut) is an actor and singer who was the first non-Latin American to become a member of the well known group Menudo, during their MDO era. He became known as Troy Tuminelli as a member of MDO.
[edit] Biography
Kurtis as a child demonstrated interest in joining the show business world, both with his acting and singing. He spent a great amount of time going to auditions as a teenager.
Kurtis was finally discovered by Desmond Child, a well known producer with connections to Edgardo Diaz and who is the manager of fellow former Menudos Ricky Martin and Robby Rosa. Child contacted Diaz immediately; Diaz signed Kurtis to a contract in 2000, and Kurtis then changed his artistic last name to "Tuminelli".
As "Troy Tuminelli", Kurtis would record one CD with MDO, 2001's "Subir al Cielo" ("Climbing to Heaven"), which scored one major hit: "Te Quise Olvidar" spent five weeks as number one on Billboard's Latin charts.
Kurtis was replaced later in 2001 by Caleb Aviles, a Puerto Rican born in Wisconsin. Kurtis then launched a solo career. Although he has not launched a CD of his own, Kurtis toured with Martin, Christina Aguilera and Celia Cruz, among others.
In 2003, Kurtis was signed to play "Nico Castaneda" in the American soap opera, "Guiding Light". On August 24 of that year, Kurtis made his television acting debut, as Castaneda, in the aforementioned show. He left the program after Guiding Light's May 13, 2004 episode.
Kurtis continues on searching for new opportunities as an actor and singer.
