Rubén Aguirre
| Rubén Aguirre | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Rubén Aguirre Fuentes June 15, 1934 Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico |
| Notable work | Professor Jirafales in El Chavo del Ocho |
| Home town | Monterrey, Mexico |
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) |
Rubén Aguirre Fuentes (Spanish pronunciation: [ruˈβen aˈɣire]; born June 15, 1934) is a Mexican actor. He is best remembered for his characterization of Profesor Jirafales in the Televisa's television show El Chavo del Ocho. Aguirre also participated in another well known television show of the era, El Chapulín Colorado, albeit less frequently.
Life and work
Rubén Aguirre was born in Saltillo, Coahuila. He began his acting career in Monterrey, Nuevo León, working with a character (a famous clown) named Pipo.
He went on to Mexico City, where he worked on several television scripts with Chespirito, creator and main star of both El Chavo and El Chapulín Colorado. Chespirito noticed the tall, skinny figure of Aguirre (therefore, the last name "Jirafales", derived from "jirafa", giraffe in Spanish) and asked him to play Professor Jirafales, to which Aguirre agreed. Aguirre was a personal friend of journalist Carlos Villagrán, who later played Quico in the same show and also acted in El Chapulín Colorado. During a party at Aguirre's house, he "discovered" Villagrán, recommending him for the role of "Quico".
Aguirre gained much fame across Latin America when both El Chavo and El Chapulín Colorado became major international hits. The group of actors that comprised the casts of both shows toured often, and sometimes they would venture out on their own. Aguirre was not the exception, visiting such places as Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Brazil many times.
Chespirito owns the rights to El Chavo del Ocho, El Chapulín Colorado and both shows' character names in Mexico, so after his participation in both shows was over, Aguirre moved to Argentina and opened a circus there. Since Chespirito does not have copyrights in Argentina, Aguirre was able to name his circus El circo del Profesor Jirafales.
Aguirre returned to Mexico in 2003 and started working as an announcer at game shows. He returned after gaining an unspecified amount of weight, as a result of a medical mistreatment that he suffered in South America involving cortisone, which has led to rumors from several media outlets about his health.
On August 23, 2014 Aguirre was hospitalized in Mexico City after returning from a trip. He suffered from dehydration and there the doctors revealed that he has anemia.
"I think that his 80 years have been like 160 for any other person," Arturo Aguirre son of the actor said. "Obviously he has some defects, his kidneys, but nothing too severe. He has always had medication, since 20 years ago but only to control his diabetes and his kidneys." Aguirre will remain hospitalized as he recuperates.
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