Antonio Fargas
{{short description|American actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Antonio Fargas
| image = 4.29.18AntonioFargasByLuigiNovi1.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Fargas at the 2018 East Coast Comicon
in Secaucus, New Jersey
| birthname =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=y|1946|08|14}}{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CD3CqWQFQUY/?igsh=MW15d3I0NzZ5c3ZhMg==|title=officialantoniofargas|date=14 August 2020|access-date=21 January 2025}}
| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
| known_for = Huggy Bear – Starsky & Hutch
| occupation = Actor
| spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Taylor Hastie|1979|1988|reason=divorce}}|{{marriage|Sandra Reed|1989}} }}
| children = 4, including Justin Fargas
| yearsactive = 1963–present
| website = [http://www.antoniofargas.com www.AntonioFargas.com]
}}
Antonio Fargas (born August 14, 1946{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CD3CqWQFQUY/?igsh=MW15d3I0NzZ5c3ZhMg==|title=officialantoniofargas|date=14 August 2020|access-date=21 January 2025}}) 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.
Early life
Fargas was born in New York City to Mildred (née Bailey) and Manuel Fargas; he was one of 11 children.{{cite web | title=Antonio Fargas Interview | url=http://www.memorabletv.com/onthebox/interviews/antoniofargas.htm |website=Memorable TV | year=2008 | access-date=January 19, 2017| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080721022549/http://www.memorabletv.com/onthebox/interviews/antoniofargas.htm| archive-date=July 21, 2008 |url-status=unfit}} His father was Puerto Rican and worked for the City of New York. His mother was from Trinidad and Tobago. Raised in New York's Spanish Harlem, Fargas graduated from Fashion Industries High School in 1965.{{Cite book|title=Hispanics in Hollywood: A Celebration of 100 Years in Film and Television|last=Reyes|first=Luis|publisher=Lone Eagle|year=2000|isbn=9781580650250|pages=464}}
Acting career
Fargas' 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
Fargas' 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.{{cite news |url=http://theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/10192440-171/lsus-nikki-caldwell-makes-it |title=LSU's Nikki Caldwell makes it official with longtime fiancé Justin Fargas |first=Scott |last=Rabalais |newspaper=The Advocate |date=September 7, 2014}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable"
|+Key | style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Denotes projects that have not yet been released}} | Denotes projects that have not yet been released |
=Film=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Film ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1963
| | Uncredited |
| 1967
| Ironside | T.D. Harris | TV film |
| rowspan="2"|1969
| The Arab | |
| Stiletto
| Man in jazz club | Uncredited |
| 1970
| Pound | Greyhound | |
| rowspan="3"|1971
| Shaft | Bunky | |
| Cisco Pike
| Brother Buffalo | |
| Believe in Me
| Boy | |
| 1972
| Henry J. Jackson | |
| 1973
| Doodlebug | |
| rowspan="4"|1974
| Busting | Stephen | |
| Conrack
| Quickfellow | |
| Foxy Brown
| Link Brown | |
| The Gambler
| Pimp | |
| rowspan="2"|1975
| Jim | TV film |
| Cornbread, Earl and Me
| One-Eye | |
| rowspan="3"|1976
| Next Stop, Greenwich Village | Bernstein Chandler | |
| Adventurizing with the Chopper
| Leonard Jones | TV film |
| Car Wash
| Lindy | |
| 1978
| The Professor | |
| 1979
| {{ill|Milo Milo|de}} | Doc | |
| rowspan="3"|1980
| Escape | Jamie Valdez | TV film |
| Nurse
| Marshall Gripps | TV film |
| Up the Academy
| Coach | |
| rowspan="4"|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 | |
| rowspan="3"|1984
| A Good Sport | Clifford | TV film |
| Firestarter
| Taxi Driver | |
| P.O.P.
| Frank Wilkey | TV film |
| rowspan="2"|1985
| Blind Man | |
| Streetwalkin'
| Finesse | |
| 1986
| El Gato Negro | TV film |
| rowspan="3"|1988
| Paco | |
| Shakedown
| Nicky 'N.C.' Carr | |
| I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
| Flyguy | |
| rowspan="3"|1991
| Bellamey | Direct-to-Video |
| The Borrower
| Julius | |
| Whore
| Rasta | |
| 1992
| Eddie Kemper | TV film |
| 1993
| 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 | |
| rowspan="2"|1997
| Otis Hill | |
| Gator King
| Santos Lobilita | |
| 1998
| Milo | Kelso | |
| rowspan="2"|1999
| Magee | |
| Unconditional Love
| Bobby Chiclets | |
| rowspan="3"|2000
| Uncle Jim Douglas | |
| Ali: An American Hero
| TV film |
| The Riff
| Shoop Summers | |
| rowspan="2"|2001
| Chill | Voice role only |
| Extreme Honor
| Willy | |
| rowspan="3"|2006
| Honey and Sting | The Beekeeper | Short film |
| Vengeance
| Bert | |
| Sucka Punch
| Uncle G | Short film |
| rowspan="3"|2007
| The Caper | Lydell | |
| Fist of the Warrior
| Father Riley | |
| Sister Sonya's Prayer Group
| Bishop Titus Kingston | Direct-to-Video |
| rowspan="3"|2008
| Bad Guys | Flappy | |
| Sucker Punch
| Baz | |
| Abduction of Jesse Bookman
| Frank Bookman | |
| rowspan="3"|2009
| X Returns | Agent Adams | Short film |
| Murphy's Law
| Diamond Specialist | |
| The Adventures of Umbweki
| Umbweki's Father | |
| rowspan="2"|2010
| Jay | |
| Changing Hands
| Carjack Victim | |
| 2012
| Mo | |
| 2013
| Silver Bells | Major Melvin Lowell | Direct-to-Video |
| rowspan="2"|2014
| SnakeHead Swamp | William Boudreaux | TV film |
| Popovich and the Voice of the Fabled American West
| Lightfoot Legrand | |
| rowspan="2"|2017
| Sarge | |
| Tom Hennessy
| Willie 'Pops' Hennessy | |
| rowspan="2"|2021
| Mister Mayfair: Shooting Paul | Charlie | |
| Mister Mayfair: Serena's Game
| Charlie | |
| 2022
| Until We Meet Again | Louie | |
| 2023
| Charlie Brooks | |
| TBC
| style="background:#FFFFCC;"|Deep{{dagger|alt=Projects that have not yet been released}} | Dean Kirby | | {{font color|red|Filming}} |
=Television=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Series ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1971
| J.J. | Episode: "The Barber Shop" |
| rowspan="2"|1973
| Harpie | Episode: "The Ho Chi Minh Trail" |
| Ironside
| T.D. Harris | Episode: "Downhill All the Way" |
| rowspan="5"|1974
| 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
| Huggy Bear | Series regular, 92 episodes |
| rowspan="3"|1978
| 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?" |
| rowspan="2"|1979
| | Episode: "Cowboy, Linda and Angie, Mark" |
| CHiPs
| Self | Episode: "Roller Disco: Part 2" |
| 1980
| Blackie | Episode: "Angels of the Deep" |
| 1981
| Nurse | Marshall Gripps | Episode: "Long Days Journey Into Morning" |
| 1982–1987
| Les Baxter | Recurring role |
| 1983
| Jerry Blackmore | Episode: "Once Again with Vigorish" |
| 1988
| Alejandro Gutierrez | Episode: "Mirror Image" |
| 1990
| Caldwell | Episode: "Weekend Surprise" |
| 1991
| MacGyver | Colonel Devraux | Episode: "Walking Dead" |
| 1994
| Lamont Kelly | Episode: "Soooooooul Train" |
| 1995
| Martin | Antonio Fargas aka Huggy Bear | Episode: "All the Players Came" |
| rowspan="3"|1996
| 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
| Otis Jones | 2 episodes |
| 1998
| Damon | Sammy | Episode: "A Bury Special Episode" |
| rowspan="2"|1999
| 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" |
| rowspan="3"|2003
| 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
| Sweet Tooth | Episode: "Everybody Hates Halloween" |
| 2006
| Huggy Bear (Voice) | Episode: "Bart Has Two Mommies" |
| 2006-2009
| Doc | Recurring role, 23 episodes |
| 2008
| Numb3rs | Jeffrey Knight | Episode: "Thirty-Six Hours" |
| rowspan="2"|2009
| Mr. Mitchell | Episode: "Unchained" |
| Brothers
| Maurice | Episode: "Snoop Returns" |
| 2014
| Mr. Zhang | Episode: "Zhang" |
| 2016
| Dark Memories | Isum | Episode: "Death at Sunrise" |
| 2017
| Lieutenant Lou | Episode: "Mann, Shut Yo Mouth" |
| rowspan="3"|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
| Doc Harris (voice role) | Episode: "Everybody Still Hates the GED" |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [http://www.antoniofargas.com/ Official Website]
- {{IMDb name|0267279}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fargas, Antonio}}
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American actors of Puerto Rican descent
Category:American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent