Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez

Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez was a character actor in movies from the 1950s right through the 1990s. He provided comedic relief in those movies as well as many tv shows.

Mr. Gonzalez-Gonzalez was a guest contestant in 1953 on the tv quiz show "You Bet Your Life", hosted by Groucho Marx. His banter with Mr. Marx attracted attention - the audience loved it, as well as some people in the movie industry. This led to the start of his acting career. Actor John Wayne saw Pedro's appearance on the tv show, and signed him to appear in some of his features, and from there on, Pedro continued to work steadily.

I wrote to Mr. Gonzalez-Gonzalez in 1982. I didn't have any photos to send, so I requested one, and I enclosed a large stamped return envelope. A few weeks later, I was surprised to receive the envelope stuffed with two photos (you can see them here and here) and a large poster which had been folded into quarters so it would fit inside the envelope. The poster had several photos of various sizes, but the front section had this photo of Pedro with Groucho.

He also enclosed this handwritten note, and even paid the additional postage required.

As for his PS question about how I got his address, it was passed around from one collector to another, and was really not a secret because Pedro was known for his appreciative and friendly attitude towards his fans.

Here is a video montage of clips featuring Pedro, including his appearance on Groucho's show.