Roberto G mez Bola os better known among his fans as Chespirito died on Friday in Canc n the Mexican news media reports. He was 85.
Mexican broadcaster Televisa for whom G mez Bola os worked first reported the news. The cause of death had yet to be disclosed at the time of writing.
UPDATE 11/29/14 2 03 a.m. Univision reports Bola os suffered a cardiac arrest around 2 p.m. in his home. The star died accompanied by his wife and former co star Florinda Meza.
A writer actor and producer for television film and theater G mez Bola os was perhaps best known as the star of El Chavo del Ocho and El Chapul n Colorado television shows broadcasted across Latin America. Aimed at children yet enjoyed by adults the shows earned a status across the region s pop culture something akin to The Simpsons in the United States.
The cultural comparison however doesn t capture how overwhelmingly popular G mez Bola os creation became. More than 111 million viewers continue to tune into El Chavo del Ocho which first aired in 1971 on a daily basis. That figure that tops the number of viewers who watched the Super Bowl in 2013 let alone the 33.6 million viewers The Simpsons reeled in at its peak in 1990.
Born in Mexico City on Feb. 21 1929 G mez Bola os originally studied engineering. But instead he launched an entertainment career when he answered a newspaper ad announcing a television and radio apprenticeship at an advertising agency according to The Associated Press.
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His two most famous characters were El Chavo del Ocho who lived in the homes of Latin America and beyond with his barrel freckles striped shirt and frayed cap and the naive superhero El Chapulin Colorado or The Crimson Grasshopper. His morning show was a staple for preschoolers much like Captain Kangaroo in the United States.
He warmed the hearts of millions with a clean comedy style far removed from the sexual innuendo and obscenity laced jokes popular today. In a career that started in the 1950s he wrote hundreds of television episodes 20 films and theater productions that drew record breaking audiences.
His prolific output earned him the nickname Chespirito. It came from the Spanish phonetic pronunciation of Shakespeare Chespir combined with ito a diminutive commonly used in Mexico that seemed natural for Gomez Bolanos because of his short stature.
Nicknames are the most essential in life more valuable than names the actor said in 2011.
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Talented both on the screen and behind it he achieved smashing success in 1970 with the creation of Chespirito a television show that included segments about The Crimson Grasshopper.
The goofy superhero dressed in a red bodysuit and hood with antennae that helped him detect danger miles away. He completed the outfit with yellow shorts and boots giving him the look of a red bumblebee. The character whose superpowers included shrinking to the size of a pill and dodging enemies constantly repeated his signature phrases You didn't count on my cleverness and All the good people follow me.
In 1971 Gomez Bolanos wrote and acted as El Chavo del Ocho ( The Boy from the Eight ) a reference to the channel that broadcast the show.
El Chavo proved so popular that reruns are still shown in multiple countries in Latin American and on Spanish language television in the United States. Many Latin Americans living under dictatorships during the height of the show found his underdog triumphs heroic in the face of authority.
In a 2005 interview with the Mexican newspaper La Jornada Gomez Bolano said he always wrote with working class people in mind.
There are writers who pour out words concepts that sound really important but that basically say nothing he said. I always tried to be as concise as possible all to try and reach everyone but especially the simple people those who needed to be reached more than anyone else.
He also delved successfully in theater for adults. In 1992 he produced directed and acted in 11 and 12 the story of a man who loses his genitals in an accident and wants to impregnate his wife. The play set a record in Mexico surpassing 3 200 performances.
Proof of his wide popularity came when he opened a Twitter account in 2011 with a simple message Hello. I'm Chespirito. I'm 82 years old and this is the first time I tweet. This is my debut. All the good people follow me
In less than two months he had 1 million followers. By the time of his death there were 6.6 million.
Gomez Bolanos is survived by his second wife actress Florinda Meza as well as six children from his first marriage and 12 grandchildren.
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