Edward James Olmos

Olmos was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California, the son of Eleanor (née Huizar) and Pedro Olmos, who was a welder and mail carrier.[6] His father was a Mexican immigrant who moved to California in 1945 and his mother was an American of Mexican descent.[1][7] His parents divorced when he was seven years old, and he was primarily raised by his great-grandparents as his parents worked.[1] He grew up wanting to be a professional baseball player, and at age 13 joined the Los Angeles Dodgers' farm system, playing as a catcher. He left baseball at age 15 to join a rock and roll band, which caused a rift with his father, who was hurt by the decision.[1][8]

He graduated from Montebello High School in 1964. While at Montebello High School, he lost a race for Student Body President to future California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres. In his teen years, he was the lead singer for a band he named Pacific Ocean, so called because it was to be "the biggest thing on the West Coast".[9] For several years, Pacific Ocean performed at various clubs in and around Los Angeles, and released their only record, Purgatory, in 1968. At the same time, he attended classes at East Los Angeles College, including courses in acting.[10]

Olmos in 2009

Olmos has often been involved in social activism, especially that affecting the U.S. Hispanic community. During the 1992 Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles, Olmos went out with a broom[17] and worked to get communities cleaned up and rebuilt.[18][19][20] He also attended an Oprah episode relating to the L.A. riots as an audience member. In 1997, he co-founded the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival[21] with Marlene Dermer, George Hernandez and Kirk Whisler. That same year, he co-founded with Kirk Whisler the non-profit organization, Latino Literacy Now, that has produced Latino Book & Festivals[22] around the US, attended by over 700,000 people.

Westlake Theatre building, side wall mural of Jaime Escalante and Edward James Olmos.

In 1998, he founded Latino Public Broadcasting and currently serves as its chairman. Latino Public Broadcasting funds public television programming that focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and advocates for diverse perspectives in public television. That same year, he starred in The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. In 1999, Olmos was one of the driving forces that created Americanos: Latino Life in the U.S., a book project featuring over 30 award-winning photographers, later turned into a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, music CD and HBO special.

He also makes frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to at-risk teenagers. He has also been an international ambassador for UNICEF. In 2001, he was arrested and spent 20 days in jail for taking part in the Navy-Vieques protests against United States Navy target practice bombings of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. On January 5, 2007, he blamed the United States government for not cleaning Vieques after the U.S. Navy stopped using the island for bombing practice.[23]

Olmos narrated the 1999 documentary film Zapatista, in support of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, a revolutionary group that has abstained from using their weapons since 1994. He also gave $2,300 to New Mexico governor Bill Richardson for his presidential campaign (the maximum amount for the primaries).[24] In 2020 supported Joe Biden for President.[25]

He is also a supporter of SENS Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to treating and curing diseases of aging by repairing the underlying damage caused by aging. A series of animations explaining the concept of SENS has been narrated by him.[26]

From 1979 to 1987, Olmos lived in West New York, New Jersey.[27] In 1971, he married Kaija Keel, the daughter of actor Howard Keel. They had two children, Bodie and Mico, before divorcing in 1992. Olmos has four adopted children: Daniela, Michael, Brandon, and Tamiko. He married actress Lorraine Bracco in 1994. She filed for divorce in January 2002 after five years of separation.[9] Olmos also had a long-term relationship with actress Lymari Nadal. They married in 2002,[28] and separated in 2013.[29]

In 1993, Olmos was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree from Whittier College.[30]

In 1996, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from California State University, Fresno. In 2007, after a seven-year process, he obtained Mexican nationality.[31] Asteroid 5608 Olmos is named in his honor.

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edward James Olmos.

• Official website
• Honoured by Muslim Public Affairs Committee (video)
• Edward James Olmos at IMDb
• Edward James Olmos at TV Guide
• Edwards James Olmos's Television Schedule
• Interview with EJO at PBS
• EJO Speaks at Pennsylvania State University
• Edward James Olmos - the New Father of Science Fiction
• Edward James Olmos at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television