Efraín López Neris
Encyclopedia
Efraín López Neris is a Sephardi Puerto Rican actor, producer and cinematographer that has had a long trajectory in Puerto Rico's national artistic scene.
Born in Caguas in April 1937, he had his start in Puerto Rican television in the 1960s by joining the cast of various comedy shows. Among his memorable television characters, "Don Florito" parodied great opera singers and operatic aria
s, a concept that predated that of Adam Sandler
's Opera Man by at least fifteen years. His "Candido" had López portray an extremely naive married man who placed too much confidence in his wife and their mutual house painter friend ("mi amigo, el pintor"), whose profession led quite well to dozens of double entendres about his wife's proclivities, acknowledged by everyone but himself. Perhaps his "Don Lolo" character was his most popular one, as a very old man with a very sharp tongue. He originally portrayed the character as having Parkinson's disease
, a trait which he later discontinued after protests from patient advocates. A recent character, "Vázquez", has López portraying a dimwitted security guard, with a penchant for food, Spanglish
and politics, who is also a strong -and rather inept- supporter of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico
. López played this character on some of Sunshine Logroño
's comedic productions.
López also had a popular radio program in his native city of Caguas, 'El Show de López Neris'. A comedic character from this era was Mister Ñemerson. He staged a fake hijack in one of his programs, which led to a police intervention, dozens of phone calls of concerned listeners to the radio station, protests by some of these when they learned that the hijack attempt was a hoax, and perhaps led to the cancellation of the program soon after.
As a film actor, López Neris has been cast in films such as Wedding Ring (CBS), Los que nunca amaron (Mexico), Mientras Puerto Rico duerme, La vida de Rafael Hernandez, Muchacha, Mas alla del Capitolio, Harbor Lights
(Columbia Pictures
), Up the Sandbox
with Barbra Streisand
, and more recently in Angelito mio.
Being an aficionado of cinematography from a very young age, López graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
, with post graduate studies at the Herbert Berghof Studio and Bown Adams Studio in the U.S. He produced and was the first host of La Camara Comica (a take on the popular American show Candid Camera
.
López Neris behind the camera work includes directing credits, being productions like El Corral, En la distancia, La ventana, La palomilla, Isabel la negra (Life of Sin), Candido, El ultimo dia, and Caguas, centro y corazon de Puerto Rico.
As a television artistic director, he has done work on Marcano el show, El show de Luis Vigoreaux, Con lo que cuenta el pais, El gran bejuco, and Burundanga.
He has past credits as creative director of shows like Camara Cómica, El show de Tommy, Esto no tiene nombre, Los Garcia, Los genios and El show de López Neris.
His theatre credits include acting, directing and/or producing in plays such as La tia de Carlitos
, Una sola puerta hacia la muerte, Amordio, Club de solteros, Sida, Yo, Juan Ponce de Leon
, and Le pegue un cuernito.
Efraín Lopez Neris was once part of the 1960s political parody show El efecto de los rayos gamma sobre Eddie López (now known as Los Rayos Gamma
).
Born in Caguas in April 1937, he had his start in Puerto Rican television in the 1960s by joining the cast of various comedy shows. Among his memorable television characters, "Don Florito" parodied great opera singers and operatic aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s, a concept that predated that of Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
's Opera Man by at least fifteen years. His "Candido" had López portray an extremely naive married man who placed too much confidence in his wife and their mutual house painter friend ("mi amigo, el pintor"), whose profession led quite well to dozens of double entendres about his wife's proclivities, acknowledged by everyone but himself. Perhaps his "Don Lolo" character was his most popular one, as a very old man with a very sharp tongue. He originally portrayed the character as having Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, a trait which he later discontinued after protests from patient advocates. A recent character, "Vázquez", has López portraying a dimwitted security guard, with a penchant for food, Spanglish
Spanglish
.Spanglish refers to the blend of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. The Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of...
and politics, who is also a strong -and rather inept- supporter of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico
New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico
The New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that advocates for Puerto Rico's admission to the United States of America as the 51st state...
. López played this character on some of Sunshine Logroño
Sunshine Logroño
Emmanuel Logroño , better known as Sunshine Logroño is a Puerto Rican actor, radio announcer, television show host, singer, comedy writer, entrepreneur and comedian...
's comedic productions.
López also had a popular radio program in his native city of Caguas, 'El Show de López Neris'. A comedic character from this era was Mister Ñemerson. He staged a fake hijack in one of his programs, which led to a police intervention, dozens of phone calls of concerned listeners to the radio station, protests by some of these when they learned that the hijack attempt was a hoax, and perhaps led to the cancellation of the program soon after.
As a film actor, López Neris has been cast in films such as Wedding Ring (CBS), Los que nunca amaron (Mexico), Mientras Puerto Rico duerme, La vida de Rafael Hernandez, Muchacha, Mas alla del Capitolio, Harbor Lights
Harbor Lights
"Harbor Lights" is a popular song by Hugh Williams with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy. This song was originally sung by Frances Langford in 1937 and was published again in 1950....
(Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
), Up the Sandbox
Up the Sandbox
Up The Sandbox is a 1972 American comedy film directed by Irvin Kershner.Paul Zindel's screenplay, based on the novel by Anne Roiphe, focuses on Margaret Reynolds, a young New York City wife and mother who, neglected by her husband and bored with her daily existence, slips into increasingly bizarre...
with Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, and more recently in Angelito mio.
Being an aficionado of cinematography from a very young age, López graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez in Spanish , is a land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant state university located in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico...
, with post graduate studies at the Herbert Berghof Studio and Bown Adams Studio in the U.S. He produced and was the first host of La Camara Comica (a take on the popular American show Candid Camera
Candid Camera
Candid Camera is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as Candid Microphone June 28, 1947...
.
López Neris behind the camera work includes directing credits, being productions like El Corral, En la distancia, La ventana, La palomilla, Isabel la negra (Life of Sin), Candido, El ultimo dia, and Caguas, centro y corazon de Puerto Rico.
As a television artistic director, he has done work on Marcano el show, El show de Luis Vigoreaux, Con lo que cuenta el pais, El gran bejuco, and Burundanga.
He has past credits as creative director of shows like Camara Cómica, El show de Tommy, Esto no tiene nombre, Los Garcia, Los genios and El show de López Neris.
His theatre credits include acting, directing and/or producing in plays such as La tia de Carlitos
Charley's Aunt
Charley's Aunt is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. It broke all historic records for plays of any kind, with an original London run of 1,466 performances....
, Una sola puerta hacia la muerte, Amordio, Club de solteros, Sida, Yo, Juan Ponce de Leon
Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...
, and Le pegue un cuernito.
Efraín Lopez Neris was once part of the 1960s political parody show El efecto de los rayos gamma sobre Eddie López (now known as Los Rayos Gamma
Los Rayos Gamma
Los Rayos Gamma is a Puerto Rican comedy troupe specializing in political satire. The group was founded in the late 1960s and is currently composed of:* Sunshine Logroño - comedian, actor, host, singer, producer...
).