Paul Rodriguez

Revered as one of the first Latin Kings of Comedy, as an actor and comedian Paul Rodriguez’s career spans over two decades and includes starring roles and featured appearances in over 4 0 films and countless television series and comedy specials.

Voted one of the most influential Hispanics in America and awarded the Ruben Salazar Award by The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, Rodriguez has remained a constant force in his community and the world of comedy.

As an accomplished writer, director and producer for television, motion pictures and feature shows, Rodriguez has several hit projects to his credit including the comedy concert film The Original Latin Kings of Comedy, which he executive-produced and starred in along with Cheech Marin, George Lopez and Carlos Mencia; Rodriguez also wrote, directed and starred in the comedy, A Million to Juan ; six comedy specials for HBO including Loco Slam ,Live in San Quentin and Idiots and Armadillos , which he also executive produced.

Rodriguez strikes comedy gold again with his latest stand-up concert DVD Comedy Rehab (released nationwide February 2010).As executive producer, Rodriguez once again introduces America to some of the hottest comedians in Latino comedy. As seen on Comedy Central, the hit comedy special features performances by Rodriguez, Gene Pompa, Shayla Rivera and Manny Maldonado. For the DVD release, Rodriguez teamed with up with Award-winning producer David Valdés (Book of Eli, Unforgiven) and Image Entertainment to feature never-before-seen footage including bonus performances and behind-the-scene interviews with the comedians.

Most recently Rodriguez is starring in the upcoming summer movie Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore , with Chris O’Donnell and can also be seen in the upcoming independent films The Deported and I’m Not Like That No More ,with comedian Felipe Esparza. Past film credits include Disney’s blockbuster hit Beverly Hills Chihuahua ,The World’s Fastest Indian ,A Cinderella Story ,How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass , Ali ,Tortilla Soup ,Crocodile Dundee in LA ,Rat Race ,Bloodwork ,Chasing Papi and D.C. Cab –among others.

Rodriguez has served as host for El Show de Paul Rodriguez, an entertainment talk show for the Spanish-language Univision Network , which reached over 50 markets throughout the United States and an in ternational audience including over 17 countries in Central and South America. He has also hosted The NCLR ALMA Awards and Showtime’s Latino Laugh Festival, as well as his own television specials for the Fox Broadcasting Company (Back to School, Behind Bars). In addition to the specials, Rodriguez has made guest appearances on several Late Night Shows including The Wanda Sykes Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Last Call with Carson Daley, Politically Incorrect and has guest starred in several television series including Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List , Shaken Not Stirred , Supreme Court of Comedy,S howtime's original series Resurrection Boulevardand American Family.

He has also lent his voice to popular animated series including King of the Hill, Dora the Explorer and The Proud Family.

Rodriguez ’s first big break came while doing comedy warm-ups for Norman Lear's show Gloria.Lear ultimately wrote and developed a weekly series for Rodriguez entitled a.k.a. Pablo, which is enshrined at the Smithsonian and holds the honor for being the first television show about a Mexican American Family on mainstream American television.

Throughout his career Rodriguez has remained involved with various charitable, civic and educational organizations including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and TheLeukemia Society. In addition, as part owner of the world famous Laugh Factory, Rodriguez has participated in the club’s annual free Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for the underprivileged for over 25 years.

Rodriguez was recently honored with the Humanitarian of the Year Award by the City of Fresno for his tireless work on behalf of water conservation. As Chairman of the California Latino Water Coalition, Paul has been the driving force behind the recently signed Water Bond Measure that will have a great impact on the citizens of California. Governor Schwarzenegger and Mayor Villaraigosa thanked Rodriguez and the Coalition, among others, for being instrumental in this landmark bill finally coming to fruition—a bill that many organizations have been trying to make happen for over 40 years.
In addition to writing, directing, producing and performing, Rodriguez enjoys spending time with his two sons: Paul Rodriguez, Jr., who is a professional skateboarder and gold medal winner (a.k.a. P-Rod), and his younger son, Lukas. Hide