As the world mourns the death of Ziggy Stardust aka David Bowie, Colombia has also lost an icon of national culture in the form of telenovela actor Carlos Muñoz Sánchez. Over six decades, the Santander native had become an icon of Colombian television, with over three dozen credits to his name, including features and TV movies.
The son of beloved radio actor José Antonio Muñoz, he got his start acting in children’s radio programs, before jumping into television in 1954 as part of the cherished costumbrist comedy program Yo y tú. Muñoz then landed a starring role in the 1968 period western Aquileo venganza by director Ciro Durán, and went on to appear in several important films by the respected Spanish filmmaker and screenwriter Luis Alcoriza. By the the 1970s, Muñoz had settled into a long and prolific career as a telenovela leading man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV60oqdVwto
Throughout the 1980s, 90s, and into the 2000s, Muñoz won a number of important national awards, including five Indias Catalina from the Cartagena Film Festival. In fact, in 2001 the festival feted his career trajectory by naming him “Best Actor of the Century,” which gives you an idea of how deeply Colombians are feeling his loss today.
He last shared his talents with the world in 2012, when he made appearances on the Colombian telenovelas Casa de reinas and ¿Dónde carajos está Umaña?, the latter of which earned him a Premios TVyNovelas Award for Best Supporting Actor.
