Lillian Hurst

{{short description|Puerto Rican actress and comedian}}

Lillian Hurst (born August 13, 1943) is a Puerto Rican actress and comedian. She made her debut as a television comedian in the early-1960s. She has worked in film, stage and television productions in the United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.primerahora.com/entretenimiento/cine/nota/veteranaactrizlillianhursttienepalabrasdehalagoparasucolegajohannarosaly-527736/|title=Veterana actriz Lillian Hurst tiene palabras de halago para su colega Johanna Rosaly|date=July 20, 2011|website=Primera Hora|language=es}}

Early life

Hurst was born in the Villa Palmeras neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her father owned the "Farmacia Imperial" ("Imperial Pharmacy"), located in Barrio Obrero, Santurce. She received her primary and secondary education in San Juan, the capital.[http://www.prpop.org/biografias/l_bios/lilliam_hurst.shtml Profile], prpop.org; accessed July 11, 2016. At an early age, she informed her parents that she wanted to be an actress. They soon enrolled her in Ana Santisteban's modeling academy. In 1960, when she was 17 years old, she was discovered by producer Gaspar Pumarejo.

Career

In 1960, Hurst was contracted and she starred in the television comedy Pompilia y su Familia (Pompilia and her Family), which was broadcast on WAPA-TV. Later, she hosted La Hora del Niño (The Children's Hour) on Channel 6.

Some of the other comedies in which she participated in the 1960s were Casos y Cosas de la Casa (Cases and Things of the House) with actor Braulio Castillo{{Cite web|url=https://lacallerevista.com/comunidad/actor-braulio-castillo-padre-un-puertorriqueno-para-la-historia/23811|title=Actor Braulio Castillo (padre): Un puertorriqueño para la historia|first=Julio Victor|last=Ramirez-Torres|website=La Calle Digital|language=es}} and Matrimonio y Algo Más (Marriage and Something More). In 1969, Hurst was contracted by Panamericana de Television of Lima, Peru to work in the program El Hit del Momento (The Hit of the Moment), for one year.

When Hurst returned to Puerto Rico, she went to work in some of the programs produced by her cousin, Tommy Muñiz.{{Cite web|url=https://www.primerahora.com/entretenimiento/farandula/blog/edgardo-huertas/posts/lillianhurstactrizconangel-1189118/|title=Lillian Hurst: actriz con "ángel"|date=November 19, 2016|website=Primera Hora|language=es}} She also participated in various theater productions for the first time. Among them were La Casa de las Hojas Azules (The House with the Blue Leaves) and La Verdadera Historia de Pedro Navaja (The True Story of Pedro Navaja). In 1980, Hurst wrote and produced a stage show which she presented at the Condado Beach Hotel in San Juan.

= Career in the United States =

Hurst went to New York City where she worked for a short time on some Off-Broadway productions. In 1989, she moved to Los Angeles, California. She also enrolled at Santa Monica College and majored in psychology. Hurst was able to work in both Spanish and English language productions. She landed a role as "Mrs. Maris" in Windows (1991), which was presented at the Taper Forum Theater, and as "Lola" in La Balada de Tina Juarez (The Ballad of Tina Juarez; 1992). She founded an acting school for Hispanic children.[https://archive.today/20120721232915/http://www.blockbuster.com/movies/lillian-hurst.html Profile]. Blockbuster.com; accessed July 11, 2016.

= Later years =

Hurst has participated in twenty movies, including the 2005 film English as a Second Language. She has also made over thirty television guest appearances in programs such as JAG, NYPD Blue, The King of Queens, The X-Files, ER, Lost, True Blood and a recurring role in Dharma & Greg, where she played the role of "Celia" in sixteen episodes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lillian-hurst/credits/190419/100119|title=Lillian Hurst | TV Guide - Dharma & Greg|website=TVGuide.com}} She also appeared in the Ugly Betty episode "A Tree Grows in Guadalajara" as Yolanda Salazar, the grandmother of Betty Suarez. In 2009, she appeared on Nip/Tuck as Liz Cruz's mother, Mariela.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lillian-hurst/credits/190419|title=Lillian Hurst | TV Guide - Lillian Hurst Credits|website=TVGuide.com}}

In 2016, she returned to Los Angeles and appeared in The Comeback and Fear the Walking Dead.{{Cite web|url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/entretenimiento/tv/nota/lillianhurstparticipaendosserieseningles-2194836/|title=Lillian Hurst participa en dos series en inglés|date=May 4, 2016|website=El Nuevo Dia|language=es}}

In March 2023 she joined the production of Getting Lost, an upcoming documentary about the TV show Lost.

Filmography

= Film =

class="wikitable sortable"

|+

!Year

!Title

!Role

!Notes

1962

|Romance in Puerto Rico

|Celia

|

1985

|Amigos

|Mirta

|

1991

|The Doctor

|Mrs. Maris

|

1994

|A Million to Juan

|Nosey Neighbor

|

1995

|Private Obsession

|Estella

|

1995

|Sleepstalker

|Old Woman

|

1996

|Brittle Glory

|Mrs. Bell

|

1998

|Folle d'elle

|Gradiosa

|

1998

|Melting Pot

|Grandma Álvarez

|

1999

|Things I Forgot to Remember

|Consuelo

|

1999

|Candyman 3: Day of the Dead

|Flower Woman

|

2000

|Bread and Roses

|Anna

|

2001

|Shooting LA

|Grandma

|

2002

|Orange County

|Lupe

|

2002

|Nightstalker

|Thelma Martinez

|

2004

|Criminal

|Mrs. Ochoa

|

2005

|English as a Second Language

|Juanita

|

2009

|Not Forgotten

|Hotel Manager

|

2012

|I Am a Director

|Lillian

|

2016

|Yo Soy Un Político

|Eneida

|

= Television =

class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Title

!Role

!Notes

1982

|Fue sin querer

|Fue sin querer

|3 episodes

1988

|Sesame Street

|Mrs. Figueroa

|2 episodes

1991

|The Summer My Father Grew Up

|Mrs. Gonzales

| rowspan="2" |Television film

1992

|From the Files of Joseph

Wambaugh: A Jury of One

|Mrs. Madrid

1993

|Nurses

|Mother

|Episode: "Bring Me, the Head of Hank Kaplan"

1995

|JAG

|Sra. Escamilla

|Episode: "War Crimes"

1996

|NYPD Blue

|Mrs. Marquez

|Episode: "Hollie and the Blowfish"

1996

|The Pretender

|Bartender

|Episode: "The Fly"

1997

|The X-Files

|Flakita

|Episode: "El Mundo Gira"

1997

|ER

|Mrs. Landeta

|Episode: "When the Bough Breaks"

1997–2001

|Dharma & Greg

|Celia

|18 episodes

1999

|Profiler

|Mrs. Alvarez

|Episode: "Heads, You Lose"

1999

|L.A. Doctors

|Maria Sandoval

|Episode: "Immaculate Deception"

1999

|Cracker

|Housekeeper

|Episode: "The Club"

1999

|Mad About You

|Phyllis

|Episode: "The Final Frontier"

1999

|The King of Queens

|Maria

|Episode: "Assaulted Nuts"

1999

|My Little Assassin

|Distraught Woman

|Television film

2000

|Seven Days

|Teo's Mom

|Episode: "The Cuban Missile"

2000

|Ready to Run

|Lourdes Ortiz

|Television film

2001

|Spyder Games

|Grandmother

|Episode #1.49

2002

|George Lopez

|Mrs. Cardenas

|Episode: "Who's Your Daddy?"

2003

|Cold Case

|Bonita Rafael

|Episode: "Look Again"

2003

|Dragnet

|Maria Ramos

|Episode: "Coyote"

2003

|Arrested Development

|Luz

|Episode: "Top Banana"

2004

|Cracking Up

|Dorsa

|4 episodes

2005

|Girlfriends

|Concepcion Immaculata

|2 episodes

2005–2010

|Lost

|Carmen Reyes

|6 episodes

2005–2015

|The Comeback

|Esperanza

|11 episodes

2006

|Huff

|Fellata

|Episode: "Sweet Release"

2006

|The Unit

|Senora Berenguer

|Episode: "Report by Exception"

2006–2007

|The Nine

|Consuela Hernandez

|4 episodes

2007

|Ugly Betty

|Yolanda Salazar

|Episode: "A Tree Grows in Guadalajara"

2007

|Side Order of Life

|Mathilda

|2 episodes

2007

|Reaper

|Ben's Grandmother

|Episode: "Ashes to Ashes"

2008

|Azucar Morena

|Mima

|Television film

2009

|Nip/Tuck

|Mariela Cruz

|Episode: "Allegra Caldarello"

2009

|Lost: The Story of the Oceanic 6

|Carmen Reyes

|Television film

2010

|True Blood

|Great Aunt Cecilia

|Episode: "I Smell a Rat"

See also

{{Portal|Puerto Rico}}

References

{{Reflist}}