Big Apple Con - New York, New York October 16 - 18
"What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave. What will matter is not your success, but your significance.What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught"
from a poem by Michael Josephson
EJO has been nominated for both a Tony and an Academy Award. He has won an Emmy, the People's Choice Award, the Golden Globe, the ALMA and the Imagen Award among others.
At the "TV Guide" shoot.
"I was not born in Puerto Rico, but Puerto Rico has been born in me,"
EJO August 26,2001
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico --Edward James Olmos criticized the United States and Puerto Rico on Tuesday for not moving faster to clean up the site of a former bombing range on Vieques Island. [Officials] "have done nothing" to restore an area that environmentalists say is tainted by dangerous pollutants nearly four years after the departure of the U.S. Navy."We are not going to stop until we make them see that a (cleanup) is necessary," Olmos said at a news conference in the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan. Olmos also urged Puerto Rican legislators to block the construction of large tourist resorts on undeveloped beaches in the U.S. Caribbean territory.
In 2001 EJO became very involved and concerned with the US Navy using Vieques Island as a practice bombing range. The 9,000 citizens of the island were tired of the ordinance exploded in their waters, the damage to the environment the bombing had caused, and the illnesses among them linked to the aftermath of the bombing.
Edward James Olmos, Robert Kennedy, Jr., Dennis Rivera, Al Sharpton, and nearly 180 other people were arrested for trespassing in an effort to stop a scheduled Navy bombing practice on the island. Over the next several months all were given prison sentences as punishment. None has been shaken in his belief that their sacrifice was worth the effort because it brought so much attention to the problem.
Edward was sentenced to twenty days. After serving his sentence at a detention facility in San Juan, he was released on August 24th, 2001.
On April 30, 2003 the Navy announced that it was leaving Vieques Island.
"I am thankful that the navy has decided to leave Vieques...My only concern is that they take the time to clean it and try to leave it in a condition that the community can use." EJO May 1, 2003
solidarity with Puerto Rico
Working as a voice actor for an animated film such as Beverly Hills Chihuahua is always fun.
Congratulations to EJO for winning the Saturn Award for Best Actor in a TV series for his work on "Battlestar Galactica."
Theatre. Television. Feature films. Documentaries. Actor. Director. Producer. Public Speaker. Film festival. Book Fairs. Gang intervention. Emmy winner. Golden Globe winner. Academy Award nominee. Tony Award nominee. People's Choice winner. ALMA Award winner. Imagen Award winner. Advocate. Activist. Community service.
What these words have in common is that they are all words that can accurately be attributed to Edward James Olmos.
Acting, producing, and too many community activist projects to mention keep Mr. Olmos one of the busiest men in the country. He likes it that way. Considered by many to be the voice of Latin America in Hollywood and around the country, he uses his own voice to express the concerns and needs of those no one else hears. It's hard to remember a time when he was not front and center in American culture.
A man with great social awareness, Edward James Olmos has become extremely active in many causes. He visits reservations, prisons, high schools, and colleges giving motivational speeches. For his efforts after the 1992 L.A. riot, he was awarded the John Anson Ford Award by the Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations. The NAACP has honored him for his leadership towards racial unity.
Photo by Jay Silverman taken when EJO contributed to the Sierra Club video for President Obama.
Born of an immigrant father and a Mexican-American mother, he grew up in East L.A. Baseball was his first love, but by the time he was fifteen, he had his own rock and roll band, ThePacificOcean. In 1975 Eddie decided to try his hand at acting and won a role in the movie aloha,bobbieandrose. Credited as EddieOlmoswith a character name of ChicanoOne, it was the first step in what was to become a remarkable career.
A Tony Award nomination for Zoot Suit was one of the first honors to come his way. He won several awards including an Emmy for his work on "Miami Vice." He was nominated for an Academy Award for his 1987 appearance as Jaime Escalante in the critically acclaimed movie, Stand and Deliver.The only major award missing is a Grammy, and Edward says with a grin, "Inevercouldsing."
In 1982 Edward starred in the Robert Young masterpiece, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. It was the second time these two men joined their efforts, and they have gone on to make several more movies together including Caught and Talent for the Game.
1984 was a banner year for him. Although he had already made many movies including Blade Runner with Harrison Ford and Wolfenwith Albert Finney, as well as appearing on television shows such as "Kojak," "Hawaii Five-O," "Starsky and Hutch," and "Hill Street Blues," it wasn't until he accepted the role of Lieutenant Martin Castillo on the ultra cool "Miami Vice" that he was catapulted into America's consciousness. Once he was thrust center stage, Edward James Olmos decided to use his voice for many causes beyond his own career.
Talent for the Game
Miami Vice
The July 11, 1988 cover of Time magazine.
The photos on this site are used with the permission of Edward James Olmos. If you are the photographer of any photo on the site and would like it removed, please contact his web mistress. If you are the photographer and would like to have your name added as such, please contact the web mistress.
