Antonio Fargas is an American actor known for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation and comedy movies, as well as his portrayal as Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky & Hutch.
Antonio Fargas | |
|---|---|
 Fargas at the 2018 East Coast Comicon in Secaucus, New Jersey | |
| Born | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Known for | Huggy Bear – Starsky & Hutch |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 4, including Justin Fargas |
| Website | www.AntonioFargas.com |
Early life
editFargas was born in New York City to Mildred (née Bailey) and Manuel Fargas; he was one of 11 children.[1] His father was Puerto Rican and worked for the City of New York. His mother was from Trinidad and Tobago.[1] Raised in New York's Spanish Harlem, Fargas graduated from Fashion Industries High School in 1965.[2]
Acting career
editFargas' breakout role was in the comedy film Putney Swope (1969). After starring in a string of blaxploitation movies in the early 1970s, such as Across 110th Street (1972) and Foxy Brown (1974), he gained recognition as streetwise informant Huggy Bear in the television series Starsky & Hutch. He appeared in All My Children beginning in 1982 as Les Baxter, the upper-class lawyer who was the father of Angie Hubbard; the character of Les was killed in 1987.
As a nod to his early roles, Fargas had a part in the blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) as well as another Wayans brothers "hood" parody, Don't Be a Menace (1996). He guest-starred in the mid-1990s sitcoms Living Single, Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Steve Harvey Show. Fargas played the driver in the 1997 music video for the Backstreet Boys hit "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" and also appeared as a robot in their music video for "Larger than Life (song)" in 1999.
Some of Fargas' notable appearances on British television shows include Series 4 of the reality series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2004 and Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show in early 2006. He played the part of Toledo in a revival of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester in 2006. He had a regular role as Doc on the 2005–2009 television series Everybody Hates Chris.
In 2008, Fargas acted in the British boxing film Sucker Punch. He appeared in an episode of Fox's Lie to Me as the father of a murdered firefighter.
Personal life
editFargas' son Justin Fargas, a University of Southern California alumnus, is a former NFL running back who played seven seasons for the Oakland Raiders, amassing over 3,000 rushing yards in his career. Fargas's daughter-in-law is Nikki Caldwell, the president of the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA.[3]
Filmography
edit| † | Denotes projects that have not yet been released |
Film
edit| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Cool World | Uncredited | |
| 1967 | Ironside | T.D. Harris | TV film |
| 1969 | Putney Swope | The Arab | |
| Stiletto | Man in jazz club | Uncredited | |
| 1970 | Pound | Greyhound | |
| 1971 | Shaft | Bunky | |
| Cisco Pike | Brother Buffalo | ||
| Believe in Me | Boy | ||
| 1972 | Across 110th Street | Henry J. Jackson | |
| 1973 | Cleopatra Jones | Doodlebug | |
| 1974 | Busting | Stephen | |
| Conrack | Quickfellow | ||
| Foxy Brown | Link Brown | ||
| The Gambler | Pimp | ||
| 1975 | Huckleberry Finn | Jim | TV film |
| Cornbread, Earl and Me | One-Eye | ||
| 1976 | Next Stop, Greenwich Village | Bernstein Chandler | |
| Adventurizing with the Chopper | Leonard Jones | TV film | |
| Car Wash | Lindy | ||
| 1978 | Pretty Baby | The Professor | |
| 1979 | Milo Milo | Doc | |
| 1980 | Escape | Jamie Valdez | TV film |
| Nurse | Marshall Gripps | TV film | |
| Up the Academy | Coach | ||
| 1982 | The Ambush Murders | Vaness | TV film |
| A House Divided: Denmark Vesey's Rebellion | TV film | ||
| Paper Dolls | Oliver | TV film | |
| Model Behaviour | Mr. Henri | ||
| 1984 | A Good Sport | Clifford | TV film |
| Firestarter | Taxi Driver | ||
| P.O.P. | Frank Wilkey | TV film | |
| 1985 | Crimewave | Blind Man | |
| Streetwalkin' | Finesse | ||
| 1986 | Florida Straits | El Gato Negro | TV film |
| 1988 | Night of the Sharks | Paco | |
| Shakedown | Nicky 'N.C.' Carr | ||
| I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | Flyguy | ||
| 1991 | Howling VI: The Freaks | Bellamey | Direct-to-Video |
| The Borrower | Julius | ||
| Whore | Rasta | ||
| 1992 | Maid for Each Other | Eddie Kemper | TV film |
| 1993 | Percy & Thunder | Spider | TV film |
| 1995 | Soul Survivors | Leroy James | TV film |
| 1996 | Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood | Old School | |
| 1997 | Levitation | Otis Hill | |
| Gator King | Santos Lobilita | ||
| 1998 | Milo | Kelso | |
| 1999 | The Suburbans | Magee | |
| Unconditional Love | Bobby Chiclets | ||
| 2000 | 3 Strikes | Uncle Jim Douglas | |
| Ali: An American Hero | Elijah Muhammad | TV film | |
| The Riff | Shoop Summers | ||
| 2001 | Osmosis Jones | Chill | Voice role only |
| Extreme Honor | Willy | ||
| 2006 | Honey and Sting | The Beekeeper | Short film |
| Vengeance | Bert | ||
| Sucka Punch | Uncle G | Short film | |
| 2007 | The Caper | Lydell | |
| Fist of the Warrior | Father Riley | ||
| Sister Sonya's Prayer Group | Bishop Titus Kingston | Direct-to-Video | |
| 2008 | Bad Guys | Flappy | |
| Sucker Punch | Baz | ||
| Abduction of Jesse Bookman | Frank Bookman | ||
| 2009 | X Returns | Agent Adams | Short film |
| Murphy's Law | Diamond Specialist | ||
| The Adventures of Umbweki | Umbweki's Father | ||
| 2010 | Once Fallen | Jay | |
| Changing Hands | Carjack Victim | ||
| 2012 | Stealing Las Vegas | Mo | |
| 2013 | Silver Bells | Major Melvin Lowell | Direct-to-Video |
| 2014 | SnakeHead Swamp | William Boudreaux | TV film |
| Popovich and the Voice of the Fabled American West | Lightfoot Legrand | ||
| 2017 | Beyond Skyline | Sarge | |
| Tom Hennessy | Willie 'Pops' Hennessy | ||
| 2021 | Mister Mayfair: Shooting Paul | Charlie | |
| Mister Mayfair: Serena's Game | Charlie | ||
| 2022 | Until We Meet Again | Louie | |
| 2023 | One Year Off | Charlie Brooks | |
| TBC | Deep† | Dean Kirby | Filming |
Television
edit| Year | Series | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Bill Cosby Show | J.J. | Episode: "The Barber Shop" |
| 1973 | Police Story | Harpie | Episode: "The Ho Chi Minh Trail" |
| Ironside | T.D. Harris | Episode: "Downhill All the Way" | |
| 1974 | Sanford and Son | Sonny Cochran | Episode: "Fred Sanford, Legal Eagle" |
| Toma | Episode: "Indictment" | ||
| Police Woman | Rex | Episode: "The Beautiful Die Young" | |
| Kolchak: The Night Stalker | Sweetstick Weldon | Episode: "The Zombie" | |
| Kojak | Benny | Episode: "Loser Takes All" | |
| 1975-1979 | Starsky & Hutch | Huggy Bear | Series regular, 92 episodes |
| 1978 | The Love Boat | Lee Graham | Episode: "Pacific Princess Overtures/Gopher, the Rebel/Cabin Fever" |
| Vega$ | 'Fast' Freddie Tibbs | Episode: "Mother Mishkin" | |
| Kaz | Episode: "Which Side Are You On?" | ||
| 1979 | Sweepstakes | Episode: "Cowboy, Linda and Angie, Mark" | |
| CHiPs | Self | Episode: "Roller Disco: Part 2" | |
| 1980 | Charlie's Angels | Blackie | Episode: "Angels of the Deep" |
| 1981 | Nurse | Marshall Gripps | Episode: "Long Days Journey Into Morning" |
| 1982-1987 | All My Children | Les Baxter | Recurring role |
| 1983 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Jerry Blackmore | Episode: "Once Again with Vigorish" |
| 1988 | Miami Vice | Alejandro Gutierrez | Episode: "Mirror Image" |
| 1990 | La belle Anglaise | Caldwell | Episode: "Weekend Surprise" |
| 1991 | MacGyver | Colonel Devraux | Episode: "Walking Dead" |
| 1994 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Lamont Kelly | Episode: "Soooooooul Train" |
| 1995 | Martin | Antonio Fargas aka Huggy Bear | Episode: "All the Players Came" |
| 1996 | The Parent 'Hood | The Criminal | Episode: "We Don't Need Another Hero" |
| The Wayans Bros. | Uncle Nate | Episode: "Family Business" | |
| Homeboys in Outer Space | Dolomoth | Episode: "Super Bad Foxy Lady Killer or Ty and Morris Get the Shaft" | |
| 1997 | Living Single | Otis Jones | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | Damon | Sammy | Episode: "A Bury Special Episode" |
| 1999 | The Steve Harvey Show | Smitty Rollins | Episode: "All That Jazz" |
| L.A. Heat | Jeremy Lauren | Episode: "Obsession" | |
| 2000 | G vs E | Dutch Simms | Episode: "Renunciation" |
| 2002 | Fastlane | Jimmy Lipps | Episode: "Girls Own Juice" |
| 2003 | Holby City | Victor Garrison | Episode: "Seasons in the Sun" |
| Grease Monkeys | Tony | Episode: "The Drugs Don't Work" | |
| The District | J.T. | Episode: "In God We Trust" | |
| 2004 | Eve | Uncle Jerry | Episode: "Pimps Up, DivaStyle Down" |
| 2005 | Everybody Hates Chris | Sweet Tooth | Episode: "Everybody Hates Halloween" |
| 2006 | The Simpsons | Huggy Bear (Voice) | Episode: "Bart Has Two Mommies" |
| 2006-2009 | Everybody Hates Chris | Doc | Recurring role, 23 episodes |
| 2008 | Numb3rs | Jeffrey Knight | Episode: "Thirty-Six Hours" |
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Mr. Mitchell | Episode: "Unchained" |
| Brothers | Maurice | Episode: "Snoop Returns" | |
| 2014 | House of Lies | Mr. Zhang | Episode: "Zhang" |
| 2016 | Dark Memories | Isum | Episode: "Death at Sunrise" |
| 2017 | Mann & Wife | Lieutenant Lou | Episode: "Mann, Shut Yo Mouth" |
| 2018 | Cherif | Huggy Bear | Episode: "Quand Cherif rencontre Huggy" |
| Black Lightning | David Poe | Episode: "And Then the Devil Brought the Plague: The Book of Green Light" | |
| Code Black | Harold | Episode: "Home Stays Home" | |
| 2024 | Everybody Still Hates Chris | Doc Harris (voice role) | Episode: "Everybody Still Hates the GED" |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Antonio Fargas Interview". Memorable TV. 2008. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Reyes, Luis (2000). Hispanics in Hollywood: A Celebration of 100 Years in Film and Television. Lone Eagle. p. 464. ISBN 9781580650250.
- ^ Rabalais, Scott (7 September 2014). "LSU's Nikki Caldwell makes it official with longtime fiancé Justin Fargas". The Advocate.
External links
edit