Emilio Delgado, an actor best known for playing Luis Rodriguez, the handyman and owner of the Fix-It shop on children’s show Sesame Street, died Thursday at 81. According to his wife, Carole Delgado, he passed away from multiple myeloma, which he had been fighting since December 2020.
Delgado joined the Sesame Street cast in 1971, two years after its premiere. Luis’ employee in the shop was Maria, played by Sonia Manzano. After almost two decades in these roles, Maria and Luis had a sweet courtship for several months of programming, followed by an onscreen marriage in 1988 that was a landmark event for children’s TV at the time.
Manzano said Maria and Luis were an example of “a couple who are nice to each other and have fun together.”
Emilio Delgado was born on May 8, 1948, in Calexcico, California. He attended school in Calexico but was mostly raised in his grandparents’ house in Mexicali, Mexico, walking between the countries as a child with no problem due to his dual citizenship. “It wasn’t the border politics of today,” his wife recalled.
His family eventually moved to Glendale, California, where he attended Glendale High School. Delgado participated in drama club and played trombone in the orchestra and jazz band.
Delgado said he spent years trying to “knock doors down,” and finally became a professional actor in 1968 with a role in a summer stock play. He landed his Sesame Street role a few years later while still a student at the CalArts theater program. A role he expected to last two seasons of most ended up being a huge part of Delgado’s life, lasting from 1971 to 2016.
Between seasons of Sesame Street, the actor developed an impressive resume of appearances mostly in TV, including House of Cards, Law & Order and The Get Down. He was also a voice actor, singer and guitarist who performed with the band Pink Martini on occasion.
In addition to his wife Carole, Delgado is survived by their daughter Lauren Delgado; his son, Aram Delgado to a previous marriage; and his four siblings: Cesar Delgado, Edward Delgado, Martha Ledesam and Norma Vizcaino.
