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Though never considered a major star, supporting and occasionally leading man, Raul Julia was well respected on-stage and in cinema. Born Raul Rafael Julia y Arcelay to an upper-class Puerto Rican family, Julia emigrated to New York in 1964 and studied drama with Wynn Handman. That same year, Julia appeared in a Spanish-language play. Julia hooked up with theater impresario Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1966 and made his film debut five years later starring opposite Sidney Poitier in The Organization (1971). During the '60s and '70s, Julia often appeared on television, notably on Sesame Street. In the early '80s, Julia was invited to join Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope Studios stock company and appeared in One From the Heart (1982). Julia is best remembered for three films: Hector Babenco's Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) and the two Addams Family comedies in which he played the dashing love-struck Gomez. He won a Tony Award for playing MacHeath in the Broadway production of The Three Penny Opera. Julia died of complications from a stroke while working on the production of Streetfighter (1994). Between 1977 and the time of his death, Julia was a devoted and active force behind The Hunger Project, an organization created to help end starvation and the diseases associated with it. He always made sure the organization was mentioned in his biographies and always talked about it during interviews. Julia also provided narrations for English and Spanish videos programs for the cause, testified before Congress, and spoke at conferences the world over. Shortly after his death, the Hunger Project created the Raul Julia Ending Hunger Fund to honor his commitment. |
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