Profiles: Frank Ramírez | Proimágenes Colombia

Frank Ramírez was born in Aguazul, Casanare, on February 12, 1950, and died in Bogota in 2015. From a young age, Ramírez knew he wanted to act, and he eventually starred in some of the best known films in the history of Colombian cinema. Although he enrolled in the Escuela Nacional de Arte Dramático in Bogota, he moved to the United States when he was 20 to study at the Gene Frankel Theater Academy and the Actors Studio in New York. He began doing theater in New York before travelling to Los Angeles to work in television and film, where he became the first Colombian actor to perform in major Hollywood productions. His acting debut in the US, where he lived for a total of 25 years, came in the 1967 series The Flying Nun.
 
During his acting career, Ramírez’s talent won him numerous Colombian and international awards. These include the Gloria de la TV and Placa Caracol special prizes, as well as Golden Precolombinos for best actor at the second, sixth, and seventh edition of the Bogota Film Festival, for his performances in the films A Man of Principle (1984), A Matter of Honor (1989), and Maria Cano (1990). His role in the film A Man of Principle also won him the Hugo award for best actor at the 20th Chicago Film Festival, the Golden Colon for best actor at the Huelva Film Festival (Spain), and the Golden Bochica at the First Film Bienniale in Bogota.
 
In 1968, he acted in one of the episodes of the TV series El gran Chaparral, in which he played Santos. From then on, Ramírez played a wide range of characters in numerous other TV shows: Los atrevidos (1969); La chica de la tele (1971); La ley del revólver (1973); Barnaby Jones (1974); Harry O (1974); Serpico (1977); El gallo de oro (1982), as Dionisio Pinzón; Riptide (1984); St. Elsewhere (1985); La Vorágine (1990); Candela (1996); Perro amor (1998), as Pedro Brando; ¿Por qué diablos? (1999), as Boris Mondragón; Isabel me la veló (2001); Pecados capitales (2002-2004), as Evaristo Salinas/Cándido Paz; La saga, negocio de familia (2004); En los tacones de Eva (2006), as Jesús; La ruta blanca (2012), as “El Jefe” Gustavo Encinales; and Metástasis (2015), as Héctor Salamanca, his last role as an actor.
 
He was also well respected in the film industry for his participation in films such as Sospechoso del asesinato (1969); Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972); Miracle in Rome (1989); Black River (1991); The Strategy of the Snail (1993); and Eagles Don't Hunt Flies (1994).
 
Last updated: February 2015.