American Masters (1985–…): Season 33, Episode 10 - Raul Julia: The World's a Stage - full transcript

The line is forming right here.

If you're here to see "Taming
of the Shrew" this evening,

please join the end of the line
right here in front of me.

Thank you.

The feeling in the park
is that you're playing

with and for your family.

You are putting on a play
for these 2,000 relatives

that came to see you.

And here I am, putting on a play
for you and okay,

you dig it,
you don't dig it, we'll argue.

You want to argue,
we'll argue, fine.



If you want to boo me, great,
and I might boo you back,

but it's all done
within a context of love.

That's the beauty of it,
you see?

"All the world's the stage,

and all the men
and women merely players."

"They have their exits
and entrances."

"And one man
in his time plays many parts."

Showtime!

My name is Gomez Addams,
and I have seen evil!

Not since Jose Ferrer
has Puerto Rico

produced such a talent
as Raúl Juliá.

She moves me not,

or not removes at least
affection's edge in me,

were she as rough as are
the swelling Adriatic seas.



The first time I saw
Raúl's Shakespeare in the Park

was just absolutely...
Mesmerized.

He knocked my socks off.

Why brand they us with base?

With baseness?
Bastardy?

Base, base?

Raúl was one of the greatest

American stage actors

of the last part
of the 20th century.

He was extraordinarily magnetic.

What was also true is that,

as he put it,
he spoke in his proud

Puerto Rican accent.
- Uno...

As a Latino actor myself,

he was the one that gave me
the courage to go ahead

and keep getting rejected
and keep your chin up.

I've never seen an actor
like Raúl.

It was art in front of you.

It was like a gift
that he would give.

Yeah!

I never felt
that he was restricted

by any notions of decorum

or trying to do it
the right way.

He did it the way
he felt it instinctually.

The world is getting
smaller and smaller.

It's no longer you or I.

It's you and I.

He spoke about things
that were not just specific

to Puerto Rican culture.

It is now clear that
if people were given a chance,

they could develop
the economic resources

to feed themselves
and bring hunger to an end.

He was undeniable,
and that's the key.

When you have that kind of
talent and discipline,

success couldn't be avoided.

"His acts being seven ages.

At first the infant, mewling
and puking in the nurse's arms."

♪ Yo nací en Puerto Rico

Raúl was of
a high middle-class family.

He started at the best schools.

First Espíritu Santo Santo...
Holy Spirt...

And then San Ignacio,

which is the most famous
prep school in San Juan.

And Raúl had started
to do serious theater here

in Puerto Rico.

Who's had
the most influence on you?

As an actor?
Yeah.

Oh, well, originally, of course,

I remember Jose Ferrer...
Really?

Really?
Jose Ferrer?

Who was
from Puerto Rico.

He was a role model for me
when I was a kid, you know,

dreaming about being an actor.

I always loved Shakespeare
from the time

that I learned about it
in high school.

Every time I was on stage
saying Shakespeare, I just...

You could tell that I loved it.

It was like I loved being
in front of an audience,

reciting this beautiful poetry.

I was in the midst,
I think, of a two-year

run of a hit Broadway
play called "Never Too Late."

I got a few days off and went
with my girlfriend to San Juan

and checked
into a little hotel...

Saw Raúl Juliá
doing a little show.

He blew me away.

I remember that you can
hear his voice

and then he would start singing.

♪ A cumba cumba cumba ♪

♪ Cumbanchero ♪

And everybody was, "Where is he?"

Where is he?"
And he was hiding,

and then he would come out.

♪ Riquiti que va
sonando Cumbanchero ♪

♪ Bongocero que se va ♪

After the show, I went up

and introduced myself and said,

"You've got to come
to New York."

And I gave him my phone number.

I didn't know if I'd ever hear
from him,

but I really felt
it was important

that the world be exposed
to Raúl Juliá.

I looked inside myself,

and I saw that what I liked
to do the most was acting.

No matter what,
I'll take my chances,

and this is what I want to do.

I want to spend the rest
of my life

doing what I really like to do
and not what I should do

in order
to have so-called security.

His folks didn't want him
to leave home, and I knew that.

I said, "Don't listen
to your folks."

Mama knows best up to a point.

"You got to go."

"Then the whining school-boy,"

with his satchel
and shining morning face,

"creeping like snail
unwillingly to school."

I came here in the winter.

I remember it was my first
really big snow storm.

But right away, I started
making the rounds

and going to auditions
and calls.

Alright, well, now here
is the singing college junior

majoring in literature
and history

at the University
of Puerto Rico.

It's good to see you again,
Raúl.

Good to see you...
Well, you know,

if you win this big one,

there's a big check
that goes along with it.

What do you think your friends
will be saying about that?

Well, I think they would
say, "Where is your money?"

Suppose you explain
the song you're going to do.

Yes, well, this is
the story about a man.

He is eating peanuts,

and he swallows
a marble by mistake.

Go to it.

♪ Oigan, atento señores

♪ Lo que me ha pasado a mi

♪ Me trague una bolita

♪ Creyendo que era un maní

♪ Yo tengo una bolita
que me sube y me baja, ay ♪

♪ Que me sube y me baja,
yo tengo una bolita ♪

♪ Que me sube y me baja, ay

♪ Que me sube y me baja,
me sube y me baja ♪

♪ Y me vuelva a subir, ay

♪ Me sube y me baja,
me sube y me baja ♪

♪ Y me vuelve a subir, ay

♪ Que me sube y me baja

I started working
with an acting teacher...

I first came to hear
about Raúl Juliá

from an actor named Orson Bean.

He said, "He's a singer
but he really wants to act."

And I said, "Okay, yeah,
Puerto Rico, singer..."

I forgot all about it.

When Raúl came to my studio,
charm came to my studio.

He quickly absorbed
what I was teaching

'cause he was very talented...

Had a natural appetite
for the work.

That acting class
that he was in,

Christopher Walken was in it.

He was very present,
and then, you know, of course,

his humor
and his intelligence and...

He was just great company.

He had a lot going for him.

And it looked like
everything

was gonna turn out
for the better,

but then it wasn't that easy.

Latino actors were not
finding much work in those days.

You have to remember that.

They would produce film,
television.

I would stay with
"Chiquita the Banana."

♪ I'm Chiquita Banana
and I come to say ♪

♪ I come from Little Island
down Equator Way ♪

That we all were electric...

Electric Blacks
and electric Hispanics.

Were there many roles?

No.

At the time he arrived here,

we're talking about the time
of "West Side Story."

Anita: ♪ Life can be bright
in America ♪

Boys: ♪ If you can fight
in America

Girls: ♪ Life is all right
in America ♪

Boys: ♪ If you're all white
in America ♪

Puerto Ricans coming
to New York City

were not Puerto Ricans
who were doing Shakespeare.

They were the Sharks
and the Jets.

Whatever the reasons,
there were no jobs.

You were either
with a gang member

or you were a waiter or...

You know, only parts
where you were playing

someone who did menial work.

At that time, there was
a lot of discrimination

of Puerto Ricans.

They were a minority.

They were also in a ghetto,
which was El Barrio.

We were not considered

part of the American
citizenship.

They thought of us as the Other.

Now, back in Puerto Rico,

how would you
pronounce your name.

Raúl Juliá.

And when you came
to this country,

is it true that you did not
speak very much English?

I spoke English, yeah.

I spoke English.

I don't know, that's been going
around, but I spoke English.

I learned it
in elementary school.

I went to a private school
with American nuns, so I...

There's a great ignorance
in this country

about what a Hispanic person
is, period,

and it translates
into show business

by an idea that people have
of the Hispanic as a stereotype.

It's just a generality that
doesn't really contribute

to the human being that
is the Hispanic.

He's this human being
that happens to have been born

in a Hispanic country,

But this human being can be as
versatile as any non-Hispanic.

He was always very,
very clear and vocal

about the fact of
the very few opportunities

that we were getting.

We weren't getting
as many opportunities

as we should've.

We never saved the day,
we weren't intelligent.

"Oh, you're gonna be an actor."

Great.
What are you gonna do?

"Who are you gonna rape
and rob and mug?"

I mean, either that
or be the victim.

Once you start speaking
about who are the storytellers,

you always find out
that the European-based cultures

tend to be able to tell
their stories much easier

than non-European-based
cultures.

And a lot of actors
probably that

were of Hispanic heritage

that ended up
changing their name

out of absolute necessity
to get work

so they wouldn't get typecast.

Anthony Quinn, it took me
forever to find out

that he was Latino.

But Raúl, you know,

set an example of not
having to do that.

He was fiercely,
fiercely Puerto Rican.

Proud of being puertorriqueño.

Yeah, I'd like to ask...

What are the steps that came
in between

all the years of working
and being seen

and then finally getting
to the point where

someone calls you and says,
"Would you like to do the part?"

It isn't that simple.

Well, I'll tell you,
but first...

I don't think anybody should...

After I say
what I went through...

Say, "Well, you know, that's
what's gonna happen to me,"

or anything like that
because you cannot

really make rules
out of this game.

Some people come from,
I don't know,

Milwaukee or some place
like that,

they're here a year,
they're starring on Broadway.

Comparing doesn't work.

Anyway, I don't remember
what happened.

I was going to auditions,
slowly getting in,

doing theater in the streets...

You know, putting a platform
on the sidewalk

and doing theater,
free theater for everybody.

I had worked in a mobile unit

that the Shakespeare Festival
had in those days.

It was a Spanish version of
"Macbeth," and I played Macduff.

I remember coming
to East New York...

Where I grew up, in Brooklyn...

And you thought
it was a block party,

but it wound up being
productions of Shakespeare.

He became a member
of Theater in the Street,

of Phoebe Brand
and Patricia Reynolds,

and they produced plays
in Spanish by the classics,

of which Raúl Juliá
and I co-starred in.

The communities that we'd visit
and we performed,

they never saw theater before.

And we used to go
to different boroughs,

put up a platform
in the sidewalk,

and do plays, do Molière
and do farces

in Spanish and in English.

So, that was my second
experience in New York

and it was great.

Playing to just people
and mostly children

was a great experience.

Once in a while, we got eggs
thrown at us from the roofs.

But in general, it was
a very rewarding experience,

and that's how it started.

He used to try to get
a part on Broadway,

but it was very hard.

We always heard about...

He had an audition,
he had an audition,

but he never got anything.

I tried other jobs
outside of the theater,

selling pans and selling
magazine subscriptions,

and then I'd get fired
all the time.

It was an exciting time, though.

It was an exciting time,
talking about the work,

looking for work...

When you're hungry that way,
it's an exciting time.

And New York was exciting,

and everything was happening.

This is a pleasure I
promised myself for a long time.

What pleasure's that, man?

I should explain, of course.

This was his first movie...

"Been Down So Long It Looks
Like Up to Me."

At the tail-end
of the hippy period,

and he played
Juan Carlos Rosenbloom,

a Cuban Jew who takes me
to fight with Castro.

No matter what you say,
I am Rosenbloom, Juan Carlos.

Okay.
Good to meet you.

We will meet many times
from now on.

I have great respect for you,
so I will be your friend.

Just like that?
Of course.

I first met Raúl
in a play called "Indians"

by Arthur Kopit
in Washington, D.C.

They were using a Jewish kid
and a Puerto Rican

to play these Indians,
and he was playing, like,

a Russian count or something
in the circus of Buffalo Bill,

played by Stacy Keach.

So when the time for him
to do his part,

he started talking
Russian gibberish.

It was all gibberish,
but he was phenomenal at it.

And Khrushchev had done
his thing in the U.N.

Raúl took off his shoe
at one point to make a point,

starting banging it on the table
just like Khrushchev, you know.

And, of course,
I noticed him right away.

People talk in
different languages,

but usually the feelings
are the same.

There's a few people
that can honestly

understand the full perspective
of performance.

♪ "Estoy triste"...
That means "I'm sad" ♪

Whether it be telling
a story to a child...

♪ "Tengo coraje"...
That means I'm angry ♪

Or holding court
in a theater,

but I'd never run
into anyone like Raúl.

Okay.
Hey, wait a minute.

What?

You gotta cover your head.

Oh, yeah, thanks.

That's good.
That's for the rain.

Okay.
Right.

And, uh, you gotta cover
your body, too.

Take this raincoat.
Okay.

He gave more than he received.

He got a lot in return

because people really
appreciated his art form.

Okay, I'll see you later.

Your feet! Your feet!
Oh? Oh.

I first saw Raúl in a play

by Jack Gelber
called "The Cuban Thing."

What year was that, Raúl?

1968 or something.

Was that the first play?
I don't really...

Was that the first play
you did in New York?

It was my first Broadway play.

The play didn't do so well,
but it was very good for me.

Wonderful for you.

One saw in Raúl the makings of a
very important Broadway actor...

Motion picture, television,
and all the rest of it.

One recognizes talent.

No, but even then,
"The Cuban Thing"

was the sort of play
they would've offered him.

When they needed a Spanish actor
or a Cuban actor,

they'd call Raúl.

Raúl Juliá, with his name,
would immediately...

In the minds of agents,
producers, directors...

Conjure up the Latin and a
Spanish role or a foreign role.

After "The Cuban Thing,"
I did a soap opera,

and then nothing happened
after that, and I was...

There was nothing happening.

And finally, after pacing up
and down my apartment

for about half an hour

to gather the courage
to call Joe Papp.

And I said, "Hello, Mr. Papp."

This is Raúl Juliá."

And he had remembered me from...
He said, "Oh!"

Oh, yes!
Raúl, how are you?"

I was like, "Wow.
He remembered me..."

And I said, "Listen,
I need a job."

I don't care what kind of a job.

It doesn't even
have to be acting.

I just want to be
in the theater...

Somewhere in the theater.

"Give me a job."

And, you know, I kid and kid.

I was kidding and I said,
"I'm ready to kill myself,

to commit suicide!"

So he said, "Well, don't do that"

because you're gonna
make a mess."

"Call me back in 10 minutes."

I called him back in 10 minutes,

and he had a job for me
as a house manager

for a production
of "Hamlet" that he was doing...

That pop "Hamlet"
that he was doing at that time.

And I was house manager.

I'm Joseph Papp.

This is the Delacorte Theatre
in Central Park

in New York City.

Joe was a radical.

He believed in a society
of equality and brotherhood.

And what that meant
in the theater

was that Shakespeare
belonged to everybody.

What means your lordship?

Hamlet: For if you be
honest and fair,

your honesty should admit
no discourse to your beauty.

So, he did what later we called

"colorblind casting,"

later we called
"multicultural casting."

He saw his role as being
a nurturing,

fostering parent
to an awful lot of artists,

and Raúl was one of them.

Villain, what hast thou done?

That which thou canst not undo.

Thou hast undone our mother.

Villain, I have done thy mother.

And therein, hellish dog,
thou hast undone her.

Woe to her chance,
and damn'd her loathed choice!

Accursed the offspring
of so foul a fiend!

Raúl Juliá.

He was able to appreciate
what I could do

and gave me the opportunity
to play a whole variety of roles

that otherwise I wouldn't have
a chance to play.

I like to plant seeds
and see them grow.

When the tree starts
to bear fruit,

you want that fruit
to be consumed

in some way
and properly distributed.

Again, here the difference
is also that I feel

that more people
should partake of that fruit.

Thou, nature, art my goddess;

to thy law my services
are bound.

Wherefore should I stand
in the plague of custom,

and permit the curiosity
of nations to deprive me,

for that I am some 12 or 14
moon-shines lag of a brother?

Why bastard?

Wherefore base?

When my dimensions are as well
compact, my mind as generous,

and my shape as true,
as honest madam's issue?

Why brand they us with base?

With baseness?

Bastardy?
Base, base?

Who, in the lusty stealth
of nature,

take more composition
and fierce quality than doth,

within a dull, stale, tired bed,

go to the creating
a whole tribe of fops...

Let me say right off...
He was hot.

Got 'tween asleep and wake.

He was playing
the role of Edmund,

who was King Lear's nephew,
I guess.

But because he was a bastard son
of a royal, he had a problem.

You know, people didn't
treat him very well,

and he was in protest,

and that's the way
Raúl played it.

It's one of his speeches

about what it's like
to be an underdog.

Fine word... legitimate.

Well, my legitimate,

if this letter speed
and my invention thrive,

Edmund the base shall top
the leg-it-i-mate.

I grow; I prosper.

Now, gods,
stand up for bastards.

I just arrived to New York

in must've been late '70s.

I lived on the Upper West Side,

and I found out
that there was a theater

that was a free theater
in the park,

and I love free things,

and we had no money
in those days.

If she deny to wed,
I'll crave the day

when I shall ask the banns
and when be married.

Yes!

But here she comes;
and now, Petruchio, speak.

Raúl did a number of absolutely

unforgettable performances
for us,

but the one that nobody
who saw it will ever forget

was the Petruchio he played
opposite Meryl Streep

in "Taming of the Shrew."

My super-dainty Kate,
for dainties are all Kates,

and therefore, Kate,
take this of me, Kate...

What you're watching
is two of our greatest actors

at the height of their powers
fighting with each other

because that's what
Petruchio and Kate do.

Farewell!

What, with my tongue
in your tail?

Nay, come again, Good Kate;
I am a gentleman.

That I'll try.

She's gonna meet her match.

She's gonna meet someone
that is just like her.

That's why I love her.

She's just like me.

What we're talking about
is a story of a relationship...

Two people that don't...
They just don't come together

kind of quietly
in a little café.

They run, smash into each other.

I care not.
Nay, hear you, Kate.

In sooth you scape not so.

I chafe you, if I tarry!

Let me go!

No, not a whit.

I find you passing gentle.

'Twas told me you were rough
and coy and sullen,

and now I find report
a very liar;

for thou art pleasant,
gamesome, passing courteous,

but slow in speech...
Yes, well, I...

yet sweet
as spring-time flowers...

You... Thou canst not frown,

thou canst not look askance,

nor bite the lip,
as angry wenches will,

nor hast thou pleasure
to be cross in talk...

Streep:
but thou with mildness

entertain'st thy wooers...

To watch Meryl
be matched by an actor

who is as strong as her,
as smart as her,

as funny as her,
as winning as her,

as cunning as her
is spectacular.

Kate!

Like a hazel-twig

is straight and slender

and as brown in hue as hazelnuts

and sweeter than the kernels.

The energy
between them is extraordinary,

and you watch that and you go,
"Unmistakably, just as Meryl"

is the greatest actress
in the last century,

"Raúl is right up
there with her."

Streep:

Meryl Streep...

There's a moment
when she turns around

and she spits in Raúl's face.

We will have rings
and things and fine array;

- and kiss me, Kate...
- Streep:

Ooh!

My first reaction was,
"How dare she do that?

Me, as the actor, you know?"

But then as Petruchio, I said,

"Wait a minute,
what would Petruchio do?"

We will be married at Sundaaay!

Some people think the only way
to do Shakespeare

is to do it
like the British do it

because the British have
the answer to Shakespeare.

So I would imitate
all the British, "Tush!"

Never tell me; I take it much
unkindly that thou..."

you know, and all that.

And I would do it like that.

But then afterwards,
I started realizing

that I didn't
have to do it just like that.

I could bring myself to it.

I could bring my own culture,
my own Puerto Rican background,

my own Spanish culture,
my own rhythms,

my own feelings to Shakespeare
because Shakespeare is too big.

Shakespeare is too big
to be put into one

little way of doing him.

That sound of Raúl
doing Shakespeare was,

in a way, I think, for Joe,

the perfect role model
of what he thought

Shakespeare should be.

We didn't have to sound
like white Americans.

Puerto Ricans made
Shakespeare sound beautiful,

and Raúl was
living proof of that.

And I think as a result,
he really became sort of an icon

for what the theater stood for.

♪ Yeah!

♪ I'm very happy
for my best friend ♪

♪ He found a wonderful girl

♪ She's a calla lily lady

The place that Raúl
made his mark

was in the original production
of "Two Gentlemen of Verona,"

which was the musical that
Galt MacDermot and John Guare

created out of
Shakespeare's play.

In that, he played Proteus.

It toured through
all of the parks of New York,

then played the Delacorte,
then moved to Broadway.

The broadest theater
audience exists on Broadway.

I'm interested
in that audience, too.

When we did
"Two Gentlemen of Verona,"

we were getting
that kind of people.

The word was,
"This is a phenomenal show."

Shakespearean rock musical.

It never had happened before.

♪ I'm very happy
for my best friend ♪

♪ You're looking at
the picture of glee ♪

Davis:
Raúl taught me to just be me

because Raúl was
a Puerto Rican Proteus,

and he was unabashedly
Puerto Rican.

♪ I like brocco-lily,
carrots and peas ♪

♪ I want to swoon
between her knees ♪

♪ Yeah!

He knocked my socks off.

He was just a terrific actor,
and he was hilarious,

and he was saucy,
and he was full of...

As we say in Puerto Rico...
Salero.

But it just means he was spicy,

and sexy, and tall!

♪ Once again! So what if
he's happier than me ♪

♪ Up the mountain! So what if
he's happier than me ♪

Following
"Two Gentlemen of Verona,"

he was offered many,
many roles to do in television,

film, and theater, and why not.

He was so wonderful.

At the time that
he was at the top of his game

in New York City,

he was on the poster
everywhere, and it was so...

so inspiring to see

that everywhere
in every train station.

Every bus ad had his face
on "The Threepenny Opera."

As the organ grinder sang
"The Ballad of Mack the Knife,"

Raúl emerged from the pit,

so he was almost coming
out of the ground

in front of the stage

and with this bowler hat
and monocle and cane,

walking in this toe-heel,
feline stalking thing,

just walked toward the wall.

I was his understudy

in "Threepenny Opera"
at Lincoln Center.

He said, "By the way,
you will never go on for me"

because the only reason I would
miss this show is if I'm dead."

Okay.
And he never did miss a show,

and he would go on
with a 103 fever...

Nothing stopped him.

♪ There was a time
now very far away ♪

♪ When we set up together

♪ I and she

♪ I had...
He did this strange tango

with Jenny Diver

where she was sort of bent
over like this

with her arms around his waist,

and he had his cane
over her backside.

Bizarre, dominant
animalistic tango.

The whole thing was infused
with a kind of darkness

and rage.

♪ The time's gone past

♪ But what would I not give

♪ To see that whore house

♪ Where we used to live

That flexibility,
particularly in an actor

who, in certain ways, was
a conventional leading man...

He was tall and dark
and good-looking.

But the ability to move
between the clown

and the tragic hero
was spectacular.

"And then the lover,
sighing like furnace,

with a woeful ballad
made to his mistress' eyebrow."

He met this young lady
who suddenly,

he wanted to spend
all his time with... Merel.

And so, we, being single guys
who wanted him

to come and party with us,
were like,

"Hey, man,
let her just be your girlfriend

and just come on
and hang out with us."

He was like, "Eh."

No.

"I'm treating this
one different."

I met Raúl on my very
first professional job

as a dancer, and Raúl
was one of the principals.

And at one moment,
I turned my head,

and I saw Raúl

coming down the aisle
of the music fair tent.

I said to Raúl, "Hmm, you know,
I can't really see"

your eyes very well
with those sunglasses."

He took off his sunglasses
and looked at me

with those gigantic eyes,
and I was like, "Wow."

Raúl got this apartment in 1966,
and I moved here in 1971.

I have so many memories,
being a young dancer

and being here and Raúl
working in the theater

and sharing our single life
together.

I think he liked to be
around people,

or certain people.

He loved to talk, he loved
to have big conversations.

You know, he'd have,
like, big dinners.

Whether it was a glass
of wine in his hand

or a cigar or people
showing up at the apartment

singing at 2:00
in the morning...

Raúl used to sing opera.

As far as Raúl was concerned,
it was the Met.

Raúl had the capacity
to party, make no mistake.

This was the way he relaxed.

This is a part of the culture
that he was raised in.

We'd go to his house,

and we would start talking
and smoking a little grass,

and we would talk a lot
about Puerto Rico

and the Independentistas...
Some were his friends...

I think they were in the house.

We would order pizzas at 3:00
in the morning.

All the talk was...

heavily spiritual, was always
about spiritual things

and the Dalai Lama and...

You know, he was a seeker,
and I guess I was, too.

And that's what
brought us together.

We had just come from
Walter Reed Hospital,

it was during the Vietnam War,

and we were talking about,
you know...

the immensity of the problem

and where we had just been
to the hospital

with all these guys
who were sick and hurt.

And we talked about it,
and I asked him

certain questions about himself.

He turned to me and said,

"Well, no one's ever really
asked me those questions, but..."

you're gonna be my brother,
okay.

"I lost my brother," he said.

"I lost my brother
in an automobile accident."

That was really all he said
about it,

but obviously was a,
you know, very painful thing

for him, you know...

Rafa.

I remember that he stayed
in his room forever.

He wouldn't come out.

He wouldn't talk to anybody.

He mourned for him fully
and completely,

and when he talked, he talked a
lot about living in the moment.

Be in the moment because
this could be your last moment.

He was very,
very conscious of that.

"Then a soldier,
full of strange oaths"

and bearded like the pard,
jealous in honor,

sudden and quick in quarrel,

"seeking the bubble reputation,
even in the cannon's mouth."

The late '60s, the early '70s...

It was a time, a great time
of looking and seeking, of,

"What is out there
that I don't know about"

that maybe if I knew about it,

would inform my life in such
a way to add more freedom,

"more love, more possibility
for being in the here and now?"

I think that's what
he was searching for.

A friend of ours called us

and said
that he had done this thing

and it was great
and we should do it and sign up.

And, "What was it?"
"Can't explain it.

It's so different.

Just do it."
And so we did.

And Raúl met Werner there.

What is EST?
What's the essence of EST?

Barbara, it's a course
for people

who are getting along
in life successfully

and who are willing to expand
their experience

of aliveness and satisfaction.

I want you to start to make that
sound and on that sound,

create the people, the world
the way you want to create it.

When I first took part
in the programs

of Werner Erhard
and Associates in 1974,

I was hoping for some
practical answers or tips

on how to improve my talents.

And he was always in the search

of becoming a better
human being himself

and being more
and more spiritual.

What Raúl had been
discovering about himself

fit perfectly
with the EST trainings

and about the power
of the individual

in every situation
to be responsible,

to live well, to uphold your
commitments to other people,

to make commitments.

Raúl came
from a Catholic family.

I came from a Jewish family.

We did not want to cause
any problems.

When we met Swami Muktananda,
we fell in love with him,

and we thought, "Wow,
wouldn't it be wonderful"

to take out the religions
that we grew up with

"and have an Indian
religious ceremony?"

And just a couple months later,

Raúl found out that you were
going on a trip to India.

Yes, yes.

He knew that going on this trip

with you would be
an experience of a lifetime,

and it was,
and it was incredible.

So I always kidded Raúl about,

"Raúl, remember,
I was on your honeymoon."

The first place
we went to was Darjeeling.

While we met with some
great spiritual leaders,

and it was quite extraordinary,

what really stands out
in my mind

was Raúl singing Gregorian
chants in Tibetan monasteries.

What we saw were
people who were pretty much...

By any Western standard,
were living in poverty.

But at that point,
I think about 40% of all hunger

in the world existed in India.

And so we saw a lot of it.

We saw a different
take on spirituality.

The point of everything they
were teaching is compassion,

to feel your own suffering
and the suffering of others...

Having both a tragic view
of life and a view where,

"Yes, it's tragic,
and let's live."

And I think this fit for Raúl's
own nature very, very well

because he had discovered
himself in relation

to the world...

Both his ambitions
and his humility.

And as he unwound that,

his connection
to the world grew.

He was a person who was
very appreciative

of the opportunities
that he had,

and he was acutely aware

when people did not
have opportunities.

And the most basic opportunity,
of course,

is to have food and water.

In 1977,
The Hunger Project was created.

This is a project which
allows people to experience

their own personal and innate
sense of responsibility

for making the world work
for the end of starvation.

They realized hunger
doesn't need to exist.

It's not that we don't
have enough food.

It's that we don't have
enough commitment

to one another as a human family

to make sure that everybody
has what they need

and want to have a healthy
and productive life.

It wasn't as popular
in those days for people

to have causes
or to espouse a charity.

So, Raúl was really quite
innovative when it came to that.

Once a month for 24
hours, I don't eat anything.

I do it as an expression
of my commitment

to making the end
of starvation a reality

by the end of the century.

Every time you go
to see a Raúl Juliá play,

in the playbill,
a couple lines was,

"Raúl Juliá is dedicated
to ending world hunger."

This went on for 15 years.

The other 90%
of the 35,000 to 40,000 people

that die every day
as a consequence of hunger

are people who are living
in chronic, persistent hunger

that don't emaciated like we
used to think of starvation.

All they have is malnutrition.

But out of malnutrition,

these people get all kinds
of curable diseases,

and this is the majority
of the people

that are dying
constantly every day.

Raúl, who works on
the power the politics

and gets the trucks
and the people

to get the food
where it's going,

as we now know is not happening?

Well, we do.

We can't just say,
"There's nothing I can do."

They're human beings
like we are.

Not only that, we're responsible
for whatever government policies

supporting certain governments

that weren't doing
the correct job.

The world is getting smaller
and smaller.

It's no longer you orl.

It's you and I.

♪ I would like to be here,
I would like to be there ♪

♪ I would like to be
everywhere at once ♪

♪ I know that's a contradiction
in terms, and it's a problem ♪

♪ Especially when
my body's clearing forty ♪

♪ As my mind is nearing ten

"Nine" was a vehicle for
him, and he was astonishing.

It was based on an Italian movie
called "8 1/2."

He loved to play

Marcello Mastroianni's
main role in film.

And Raúl was the star of it,

and he just cavorted across
that stage, and all the women...

I think there was 24
or 26 actresses.

That was only Raúl could do it
that way, you know.

That was his kind of
Don Giovanni,

the Don Juan aspect of it.

Raúl grew up
with a gaggle of women.

I don't think he really
had to prepare

much for that role.

♪ After all, there's
nothing at stake here, only me ♪

♪ I want to be young,
and I want to be old ♪

♪ I would like to be wise
before my time ♪

♪ And yet be foolish and brash
and bold ♪

♪ I would like the universe to
get down on its knees and say ♪

♪ "Guido,
whatever you please"... ♪

When he sang,
it came from deep within,

and it had a kind of warmth
and volume.

♪ Top of the morning
to you, Guido ♪

♪ Guido, Guido...

I thought, "Oh, my gosh."

Here is a guy who absolutely is
in control of his instrument."

My instrument,
I mean his entire body.

He understood how to use
his entire body

as a communication device.

♪ Being just me
is so easy to be ♪

♪ When I'm only with you

Del Toro:
I saw a matinée of "Nine."

There's something about him
that is always...

He's like a lamp post of sorts.

He's always standing strong.

♪ From your view

♪ Seems long ago
I was destined to know ♪

♪ And the moment I saw you
I knew ♪

During the workshop when
we're trying to raise money,

a certain amount of financial
support was withdrawn

by a major motion
picture company.

Paramount.
Yes.

Hey, eat your hearts out.

Because the smart guy

didn't think you were
strong enough

to carry this show,
and I want to know...

What'd you feel like then
and what do you feel like now?

Well, the first time
I heard this was in

The New York Times
the other day.

And it was the first time
I heard it. Nobody...

Well,
that was opening morning...

I mean, Sunday morning.

Sunday morning.

Over Sun... I read in the times

that one of
the considerations was me,

that I wasn't strong enough.

And it also said that they were
afraid that I wouldn't cut it

because I had never done
a musical before.

So, first, I've done
four musicals,

at least, that I remember.

I'd say there was
a little singing

in "Threepenny Opera."

And "Threepenny Opera"
requires incredible singing...

I mean, these dissonant notes
and things like that.

So, I was surprised.

I guess the only thing is that
I guess they didn't know that.

♪ I wouldn't be lonely
if I could be only... ♪

Yeah, "Nine" was a big hit,

so that really put him in
another level of consideration,

that he could really lead

and, you know,
be above the title, as we say.

He told me about
"Kiss of the Spider Woman"

that was a project...

"El Beso de la Mujer Araña"
by Manuel Puig.

The protagonist, the homosexual,
and a revolutionary.

You know I'm a faggot.

Well, congratulations.

You know I corrupted a minor.

Well, that's even on TV.

That script was so beautiful.

You got into the characters
of these two people.

They were just people...
Human beings...

That were thrown in jail for
actually being who they were.

The director called me.

He was in Hollywood, trying
to get money for the film,

which he never did

'cause they didn't think
it was commercial.

As it turned out,
it was a huge box-office hit.

Héctor Babenco.
Héctor Babenco.

And he called me and told me
about the project,

and I said, "Send me the script.
I'd like to read it."

I read the script, and I said,
"This is fantastic."

So, we decided to go to Brazil
for four months

and work on it for no money
except our expenses.

Babenco: Raúl lost, like,
so many pounds,

and we were afraid
that he would die

because he really was into the
project fully... fully immersed.

I met people that had
been in that kind of business

and I read books,
and in my research,

the things that these people
are totally dedicated to...

The cause,
to serving the cause...

So they're very scrupulous

and always self-examining
themselves

about every moment
of their lives.

Have some.
It's delicious.

No, thanks.
What's a matter?

You don't like it?
Sure, I like it.

No, thanks.

Oh.

Then go ahead and have some.

It's a long time till lunch.

Can't afford to get spoiled.

Do you really think
that eating this avocado

will make you spoiled and weak?

Enjoy what life offers you.

What life offers me
is the struggle.

I've never seen an actor
like Raúl.

In the movies, he was, like,
very intense...

Shut up!

You damn faggot!

Where the voice
could go...

Don't be stupid.

You see how you react?

Tch, there's just no talking
about a guy with another guy

without getting into a fuss.

Look, just keep it
at a certain level, okay,

or let's not talk at all.

Okay, you tell me
what a real man is.

I don't know.
Sure you do.

During rehearsal one day,
we said,

"Why don't we just switch roles
and see how it turns out,

what we think, how it looks."

As a matter of fact, I find that
it's a very good technique

for learning about your role

when you have the other actor
playing it.

Where does it hurt you?
In my neck and shoulders.

Why does the sadness always
jam up in the same spot?

Bill, being the humble
person that he is,

he went to Babenco,
our director, and he said,

"Did you see that?!"

I think he should play Molina

"and I should play Valentin."

And for a short while,
he was like,

"I think we're making a mistake,
you know.

It should be
the other way around."

But, of course, when you see
the film

there's no question that that's
the way it should've been.

Do what you want with me
because it's what I want.

Bill and I, we wanted
to play it with dignity

and play it with compassion.

We had to go through a process
of getting rid

of whatever prejudices we might
have and work through it.

We had discussions and sometimes
we even had arguments,

and it was all about
that part of the movie

that is the most difficult,
which is the love scene.

"Kiss of the Spider Woman"

was a film that was made
a difference in filmmaking.

It was a film that was created
by Hispanics,

directed by Hispanics, and...

Except for William Hurt that was
the co-protagonist with Raúl.

The rest, all of them...
Sônia Braga...

Everybody was Hispanic.

It was very well received
precisely

because it was completely
different to everything.

Critics are saying
that he's done

perhaps his best work ever.

In "Kiss of the Spider Woman,"

Juliá's portrayal of a
pessimistic political prisoner

brought him rave reviews,

and critics foresee an Academy
Award nomination for this role.

I'll be there
if it happens, you know,

and it'll be exciting

and it'll be fun
and it'll be nice.

So, let's see.

Maybe what they're
thinking is right.

I was really upset,
and I still am,

that he did not get
a nomination for that role.

I thought he was superb.

Raúl Juliá
should've been nominated...

'cause he's excellent
in that film.

Do you feel slighted
by the Academy and from others

by not recognizing
that that was an equal role

in the
"Kiss of the Spider Woman"?

No, I don't because
if there was a logic to it,

you know, a reasonable way
of going about it

and doing it that way,
then I would feel slighted.

But it happens in such
a haphazard way

and the voting and...
I don't know.

You really don't know
what's gonna happen.

As a prisoner
whose stories help him

and his cellmate escape
to a world of fantasy.

The winner is William Hurt,
"Kiss of the Spider Woman."

I share this with Raúl.

"And then the justice,
in fair round belly

with good capon lined..."

"with eyes severe
and beard of formal cut,"

full of wise saws
and modern instances;

"and so he plays his part."

I have some news for you.

Please sit down, monsignor.

I think you may need
to sit down.

You have been
appointed Archbishop.

When he was offered
to play Romero,

for him was very important
because, you know,

Romero was the Archbishop
of El Salvador

that was killed for supporting
the poor people.

Martinez!

El Salvador was going
through a lot of upheaval.

It was something that was
happening in our time.

It's a film about a human being,

a human being that developed
from an ordinary,

timid man
into a champion of the people.

That role affected
him deeply, I would say.

Father Kieser was
producing it...

He was a Catholic priest...

And Father Kieser provided Raúl

with the tapes of Romero's
speeches and his masses,

and Raúl listened to them
over and over again.

Each one of you is one of us.

We are the same people.

The farmers and peasants
that you kill

are your own brothers
and sisters.

Raúl was kind of
a renegade Catholic,

I think,
you know, at some point.

I don't want anyone to call him
a renegade,

but he was not
a part of anything.

But when the priests began to be
in liberation like Romero

that he played so beautifully...

Stop!
then he was very...

Stop in the name of God!

Happy
to embrace his religion.

Stooooop!

Romero became
so important to him.

He started going to church
again.

It was very meaningful,
and you'd see him on stage

and go, "Oh, there's Romero."

I beg you.

I order you!

Stop the repression!

Raúl wanted a house
in the country

because he wanted to create
for himself

this idyllic time in his life

when his father had built
a house in the country

and they all moved
to the country.

And there, he had a horse
and he had a dog

and they lived
very happily there.

And the house was just
a little retreat

where you'd go
and be yourself again.

And when the kids came along,

they would go
and have the kids there.

He was in love with Raúl Jr.

Before he was born.

He was so excited
about having a child,

and then, when he had him,
he became fatherly.

He would say,
"Now that my children are born,

I see what's
most important to me."

And...

Yeah.

And so, to provide for them
became very important for him.

Mama, I'm running with Daddy!

Yes, you are!

Who won?
I won.

Estamos en el campo.

Estamos en el campo.

He really made a point
to be there with us

as much as he could and...

I remember
a lot of these moments.

These were the moments
that I was able to really spend

with my father...
Just lounging around the house,

and he's laying down
exactly like this.

Laying on his chest
and really just hanging out.

You know, we got
to travel a lot as kids

and go to film sets and
locations where he was filming.

It was... It was cool.

One of my favorite
scenes of my father

is in the movie
"Tequila Sunrise"...

The scene with Mel Gibson.

He plays, like, a crooked cop,

and he's laying
on a kitchen table...

Like, lounging, you know,
really lounging pretty hard...

And having a drink
and he's smoking a joint,

and he starts singing opera,

which is something
that he would do.

♪ Venite all'agile

♪ Barchetta mia

♪ Santa Lucia!

♪ Santa

♪ Lucia!

Ford: Sandy.

You had to go to the
producers of "Presumed Innocent"

and get them to give you
an audition

'cause they didn't see you
in the role.

Right.
You know, it took a while for me

to have conversations with them.

Because you wanted it?
Because you like the role?

I loved the role.
Yeah.

Dreyfuss: We must dream...

the impossible dream.

We must fight...

the unbeatable foe.

Oh,
"Moon Over Parador" was great.

My dad broke out
of the stereotypes of the time,

played a South American guy,
but he's of German ancestry

because, you know, a lot of
Germans went to South America.

And, "You know, I'm gonna play
a guy who's..."

Yeah, 'cause he's the head of
this dictator's secret police,

and it's hilarious.

That last part,
"Man of La Mancha"...

Dreyfuss: Yeah, I thought
you didn't mind.

I thought the speech
needed a good close.

You know, like a solid...
A solid...

Do you think
I should take another bow?

No.
Always leave them wanting more.

Dreyfuss: You're right!
You're right.

You're absolutely right.

You'd make a very good director,
you know?

I always hate it when they take
too many curtain calls.

That's right.
Thank you.

Thank you so much.
Thank you.

Well, I grew up
with "Don Quixote."

Cervantes, who wrote the novel
of "Don Quixote,"

is to Spanish-speaking countries
like Shakespeare

is to English-speaking
countries.

I used to dream in those days
to do it,

and in those days,
it was an impossible dream.

So the impossible dream
became possible,

and now I'm able to play it.

In the play, Cervantes is
the character, the author.

He's brought to prison.

He starts telling the story
of Don Quixote

to keep the prisoners
entertained

so that they don't
burn his novel.

So, he starts becoming

the character of Don Quixote,
and he's serving...

Being retired, he has much time
for books.

He reads them from morn
till night

and often through the night,
as well.

And all he reads oppresses him.

Fills him with indignation.

For a person whose
native language is Spanish,

you know, Don Quixote
de la Mancha

is the like your birthright,

and everything that
this character stood for

were things that were very
meaningful for him personally.

It appeals to people
because we all have

Don Quixote inside of us.

We all are dreamers.

We all would like to see
a better world.

We all would like
to make a difference.

Eugenia The dream,
the impossible dream.

♪ This is my quest

♪ To follow that star

♪ No matter how hopeless

♪ No matter how far

♪ To fight for the right

♪ Without question or pause

♪ To be willing
to march into hell ♪

♪ For a heavenly cause

They say a man
who represents himself

has a fool for a client.

Well, with God as my witness,
I am that fool.

They sent him the script,
he read it, he liked it,

he thought, "Hmm, do
I want to do Gomez Addams"

because if it's successful,
this is a role, you know,

"that I will probably
be remembered for."

For 25 years,
we've attempted to contact

Fester in the great beyond,
and for 25 years, nothing.

Snonnenfeld: He was Gomez.

From the opening shot of
the first "Addams Family"

where he's standing there
sadly in this beautiful robe,

talking to Thing
about missing Fester,

he's joyful in his sadness.

Unhappy, darling?

Oh, yes.

Yes, completely.

And then he sees Morticia

and wakes her up and...
The sun.

And has
this sword fight

with this beam of light

because it's hurting
his beautiful wife's eyes.

That was Raúl.

That was Gomez.

Dirty pool, old man.

He had that wonderful
debonair approach to Gomez,

and everything was sort of,
"Hail, fellow.

Well met."

You were so beautiful.

Pale and mysterious.

No one even looked
at the corpse.

I don't think you could
bring yourself

to that variety of... of play...

Fester.
Gomez.

Without bringing
your whole self.

That's what Raúl did.

He definitely infused
my impressions and opinions

of what an actor should be
with a lot of nobility

and pride and responsibility.

We weren't props,
and we weren't models,

and we weren't machines.

We were artists.

Mamushka!

We had Raúl Juliá,

so how do you not do a song
and dance number

when you've got Raúl Juliá
in your movie?

So we had Marc Shaiman write
this fantastic song

called the Mamushka.

And now, Fester Addams,

this mamushka is for you.

You know,
Chris Lloyd is not a singer

or a dancer.

Neither is Anjelica.

But Raúl brings everyone up
to his level

of energy and perfection.

You could take
the tango sequence

in "The Addams Family"...

And see that he was able
to kind of, like, amp stuff up.

And have these bursts that
really scare you or put you back

because he knew how to punctuate
or make a point.

The tango's not just a dance.

It's everything.
It's poetry.

It's a way of expressing your
feelings towards each other.

Excuse me.

I know you're doing
a lot of these today.

Yeah.
Yeah.

Um, so, yeah, the, um,
tango is not just a dance...

And as it happened,
Raúl was sick,

not so that he would have told
anyone at the time,

not that he would have
shared that with anyone,

but he was very sick.

"The sixth age shifts
into the lean"

and slippered pantaloon

"with spectacles on nose
and pouch on side."

"His youthful hose, well saved,"

a world too wide
for his shrunk shank,

"and his big, manly voice."

It's time, Chico.

It's time we had
a school in Cazuela.

That's what's time.

I keep on telling him,
what good's an education

without an organization?

And I keep telling him what good

is organization
without education?

Raúl and I did
our final piece of work,

and we did it together.

It was "Burning Season."

"The Burning Season"
was about an incredible activist

who was murdered for his work

protecting the rainforests
of Brazil.

It's about a guy
at the end of his life

trying to do something
important,

trying to help people.

Chico Mendes was
one of the first people

to really stand up

for indigenous peoples
of the Amazon.

So your children are hungry,

and you take any work you can,

and here you are,
making the rich man richer.

And when you've burned and when
you've cut down the trees,

then we'll all be
hungry together.

And all that
for 20 cruzeiros a day?

If the land is used
for grassland...

I saw that my dad

really felt that he could
create change in the world

and be an activist as an actor

and through the roles
that he played.

I think Raúl found,

you know, his place, you know,
in this character.

When we did that film,
it became real evident

that things had gotten worse.

After dinner, you know,

sometimes people
would pull out a guitar,

and I had just learned
or was in the process

of learning the chords
to a Puerto Rican classic,

"En mi Viejo San Juan."

And I started playing it to see
if he could hear it,

and, immediately, he heard
and he started singing.

At the end,
I give him a huge hug,

and everybody's like,
"No, no, no."

And I felt he had, like, a box.

There was something
attached to him.

It was like a pump
for medication or something.

♪ Hacia a extraña nación

We both knew that
where we were going

and how close it was,

it was very, very close
to the end.

And yet, we were both very alive
and very much

willing to understand
ourselves to the fullest.

"Last scene of all
that ends this strange,

eventful history
is second childishness."

Tell us about
the dinner that we had.

We had a wonderful
Thanksgiving dinner,

and, um,
Susie cooked the turkey.

It was delicious.

And, uh, now we've washed
all the dishes

and are resting.

And... And, um,
we're lighting a fire.

Maria The interesting thing is,

whowashed all the dishes?

Not the guy with the cigar,
mind you.

He called me
and he told me that, uh,

he had something wrong
with his stomach

and that they had
to operate him.

And look at me,
"Well, it's polyps.

You have polyps
in your stomach."

No.

"Do you mean to
tell me that it's... "

"Yes, it's cancer."

That was a good ride,
Raúl boys, huh?

Yep.
There you are.

Papa.

That's great.

Very good.

Look at it this way, guys.

It's better than being
on an airplane.

Hey!

We'd see him getting
treatments at home

and things like that.

We knew something was going on,
but, um,

he never explicitly talked
about it or dwelled on it.

'Cause I genuinely think that he
thought he was gonna be okay.

Yeah, I think that would
be nice for your birthday,

wouldn't it?

11 is a very special...
Are you taping me?

Yes, I am.
Two very special numbers.

7, 11.

But those are lucky numbers.

Raúl continued working.

He did "Street Fighter,"
"Down Came A Blackbird,"

and he was getting ready

to go do "Desperado"
with Robert Rodriguez.

And in New York today,
the actor Raúl Juliá has died.

Actor Raúl Juliá
died today in New York

a week after suffering a stroke.

It's so hard to believe.

We had talked about this stuff
about death,

and now, suddenly,
there was this thing there.

You know, death.

To this day, 20 years later,

it's just been one of
the most difficult realities

that I've faced.

We always talked about going
back to Puerto Rico together.

This is the tragedy.

We did.
We went back.

First time I ever set foot
on Puerto Rican soil

was with Raúl.

Thousands of people
turned out Thursday

as actor Raúl Juliá,
the stage and screen actor

hailed as Puerto Rico's
brightest star,

was buried in his native land.

The best thing to do
to honor Raúl was to party,

and we partied.

And to sing and dance.

If he was there,
he would have said,

"Why all the crying?
Come on.

Let's dance, let's sing.
Wait, I want to sing a song."

♪ This is my quest
to follow that star ♪

♪ No matter how hopeless,
no matter how far ♪

♪ To fight for the right

I think he broke...
Continued to break new ground

as an actor, as an artist,
as a human, you know.

I think he made his mark
on an industry, on the world.

His success was the
lighthouse that kept me going.

And there are artists
who we work with today...

Folks like John Leguizamo
or Lin-Manuel Miranda...

Who are Latino artists
who are inspired by Raúl

and who now claim their place
at the center

of the American theatrical
experience.

The future progress, I think,

has to do with the process.

It has to do with what the
artist himself decides to do.

He has to take responsibility
for his art

and be willing to expand,

and I think the progress
will come the more

we show ourselves out there,

the more we put ourselves
into the media

and into the public,
showing our own souls,

our own individual cultures,
the more enriching will be

the general artistic atmosphere
of the country.

It's that simple.

That's what he tried to be,

an example of what's possible,
of what could be.

"Here I am.
I'm doing what I can,"

I'm choosing the best parts,

but let's say
something else was possible.

Let's say we created the parts,

"we told our own stories,
we produced things."

I think that's in the direction

that he would have loved
to have gone.

Just, well, ran out of time.

♪ Y por eso hoy regreso
a ti ♪

♪ Puerto Rico precioso
te adoro ♪

♪ Y sin ti

♪ Ya no puedo vivir