| Ramón Valdés | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ramón Gómez Valdés de Castillo September 2, 1923 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Died | August 9, 1988 (aged 64) Mexico City |
| Other names | Don Ramón, Don Moncho, Seu Madruga (Brazil) |
Ramón Gómez Valdés de Castillo (September 2, 1923 – August 9, 1988) often credited as Ramón Valdéz, was a Mexican actor. He was born in Mexico City. His nephew is Cristian Castro, Mexican pop singer.
When he was two, his family moved to Ciudad Juárez, a northern border town where he and his brothers, Tin-Tan, and El Loco Valdés, polished their acting skills. The three brothers went on to become three of Latin America's most well known comedians.
Valdés participated in more than 50 Mexican films, specializing in hyperactive underdog characters. He is most remembered, however, for playing Don Ramón in the hit television show El Chavo del Ocho. Show creator and main star Chespirito was a fan of Valdés, and he thought Valdés would make a perfect fit to play Don Ramón, who had a daughter (Chilindrina, played by María Antonieta de las Nieves), a person who had romantic interest in him (Doña Clotilde, played by Angelines Fernández) and a neighbor who slapped him across the face on every show (Doña Florinda, played by Florinda Meza). The Chavo character played by Gómez would sometimes call Valdés' character "Ron Damón", transposing the initial letter of both words, as some children would do; as a result, Valdés' character was known by both monikers.
Valdés also appeared on Chespirito's other hit show, El Chapulín Colorado, usually as Chapulín's antagonist, the famous Tripaseca ("Dry Gut"). In some episodes, he portrayed a character named Super Sam, an English-speaking, money-thirsty superhero dressed as Superman, clearly mocking Uncle Sam and the relatively wealthy situation of United States, when compared to average Latin American countries, as well as criticizing the American colonialism.
Both El Chavo and El Chapulín became major international hits across Latin America, Spain, the United States and other non-Spanish speaking countries, giving their entire cast international fame. Ramón Valdés was no exception, he would be identified as Don Ramón (or as "Ron Damón") at many different countries he visited.
In Brazil, where the beloved character/actor (as the show itself) is culted by the 80's and 90's generation as a vintage masterpiece, he was known as Seu Madruga instead (literally: Mr. Dawn, for Madruga is short for Madrugada [ dawn ]), following the Portuguese dubbing for El Chavo del Ocho, which, in that country, is called simply Chaves.
In 1979, he quit Chespirito's productions, but he returned to television a few years later, with fellow Chavo del Ocho and Chapulín Colorado cast member Carlos Villagrán in Federrico. Federrico found little success, however, and Ramón Valdés returned to work with Chespirito for a brief time in 1981. Valdés and Villagrán were replaced by Raul "Chato" Padilla, a less experimented actor who played Jaimito The Postman in the remaining Chavo del 8 episodes.
Valdés also owned a circus, participating in circus acts.
On August 9, 1988, Valdés died after a battle with stomach cancer at age 64.