Miguel Piñero
Encyclopedia
Miguel Piñero was a Puerto Rican
playwright
, actor, and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café
. He was a leading member of the Nuyorican literary movement
.
to Miguel Angel Gómez Ramos and Adelina Piñero. In 1950, when Miguel was four, he moved with his parents and sister Elizabeth to Loisaida
(or Lower East Side
) in New York
. His father abandoned the family in 1954 when his mother was pregnant with their fifth child. His mother then moved into a basement
and began receiving welfare. He attended four different schools, three public and one parochial. He would steal food for his family to eat. His first of what would be many criminal convictions was at the age of eleven for theft
. He was sent to the Juvenile Detention Center in the Bronx and also to Otisville State Training School for Boys. He joined a street gang called "The Dragons" when he was 13, and when he was 14 he was hustling in the streets.
He would move to Brooklyn, where he and three other friends would commit robberies (according to Piñero, they did over 100), until they were caught at a jewelry store. He would be sent to Rikers Island
in 1964. After this, he joined the Job Corps
and was sent to Camp Kilmer
for training. It turned out the opportunity was, as Piñero put it, "Dope City, Skag Town." He returned to New York City and became affiliated with the Young Lords
, similar to the Black Panthers. He was back in Rikers for drug possession not long after, and even went to Phoenix House
. After his second stint at Rikers, his mother sent him to Manhattan State Hospital
where he would receive his high-school equivalency diploma.
In 1972, when Piñero was 25 years old, he was incarcerated in Sing Sing prison
for second-degree armed robbery. His first literary work was Black Woman with a Blonde Wig On. Marvin Felix Camillo
, the director of The Family, an acting troupe made up of ex-cons, submitted the poem to a contest, which it won. The warden of Sing Sing then became concerned that "contraband" was being taken from the prison and nearly put Camillo in jail after seeing an article in the newspaper. While serving time in prison, he wrote the play Short Eyes
as part of the inmates playwriting workshop. Mel Gussow
came to see it, and due to his review in the New York Times, the director of the Theater at Riverside Church wanted Piñero to put it up at his place.
When he left Sing Sing due to parole in 1973, he was able to put Short Eyes with The Family. The title comes from the slang for pornography "short heist", but since the Puerto Ricans could not pronounce the 'h' so it became short eyes. The play is a drama
based on his experiences in prison and portrays life, love and death among prison inmates. In 1974, the play was presented at Riverside Church in Manhattan
. Theater impresario Joseph Papp
saw the play and was so impressed that he moved the production to Broadway
. It went from Riverside Church, then to The Public Theater, eventually to Vivian Beaumont Theatre
. The play was nominated for six Tony Awards. It won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and an Obie Award
for the "best play of the year". The play was also a success in Europe. It catapulted Piñero to literary
fame. Short Eyes was published in book form by the editorial house Hill & Wang. It became the first play written by a Puerto Rican to be put on Broadway.
with a group of artists, one of which, Miguel Algarín
, would become one of his best friends. The Café is a place for performance of poetry about the experience of being a Nuyorican
or Puerto Rican in New York.
were arrested for armed robbery and were arraigned in the same building where they were filming. The charges were dropped, but some people thought Piñero had a "need" to go back to prison. He would land some supporting roles The Jericho Mile (1978), Times Square
(1980), Fort Apache, The Bronx
(1981), Breathless
(1983), Deal of the Century
(1983), and Alphabet City (1984). Piñero was considered a talented writer who described the evils of society, even though he continued to be a drug addict. Piñero wrote the Baretta
TV episode The Gadjo in 1978 and acted in the episode Por Nada in 1977. He played the part of drug lord Esteban Calderone in several episodes of TV series Miami Vice
in 1984, as well as writing the episode "Smuggler's Blues" in the same year. He also wrote the screenplay for Short yes (the movie).
His next play, a one act titled The Guntower, premiered at the 1976 New York Shakespeare Festival
. Instead of following prisoners, like in Short Eyes, this one is about two guards in the watchtower. In that same year was The Sun Always Shines for the Cool (1976) which follows the lives of players, operators, drug dealers, and thieves as they come together in a bar owned by a man named Justice.
In 1975, he moved to Philadelphia to star in Bruce Jay Friedman
's Steambath as God. Eulogy for a Small-Time Thief (1977) was set in his new hometown. It regards a small time thief who does not really know his place in the world and thinks he can manipulate it to his liking.
He wrote two one-act plays, Paper Toilet and Cold Beer, around 1979. The former is set in a subway men's room and involves a series of events framed by the voice of a man asking for toilet paper from inside a stall. The latter examines the role of the dramatist and writer through an alter-ego protagonist.
, with the Lower East Side, becoming a benefactor at a time when Wong found it difficult to meet his rent. Several of Wong's paintings are illustrations of poems given to him by Piñero. "The Annunciation According to Mikey Piñero (Cupcake and Paco)" (1984) pictures a scene from Short Eyes.
Miguel Piñero died on June 16, 1988 in New York City from cirrhosis
. Piñero's ashes were scattered across the Lower East Side of Manhattan, as he asked in his 1985 "Lower East Side Poem." The homage to his beloved neighborhood concluded:
Leading up to his death, he was working with Papp for a new play to premiere at the New York Shakespeare Festival
. Every Form of Refuge Has Its Price his unfinished piece, is set in an intensive-care unit. He also had another unfinished play, The Cinderella Ballroom.
Typescripts for Miguel Piñero's The Guntower and All Junkies are in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
.
, directed by Leon Ichaso
and starring Benjamin Bratt
as Piñero. In the film, Piñero's love life is displayed, ranging from his interactions with men and women, including his protégé Reinaldo Povod
. The relationships are secondary to the life of the writer as an individual, as the movie shows a non-chronological portrayal of Piñero's development as both a poet and a person. The movie blends visual and audio segments shot in short, music/slam poet videos with typical movie narratives to show Piñero's poetics in action.
Nominations
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, actor, and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
. He was a leading member of the Nuyorican literary movement
Nuyorican Movement
The Nuyorican Movement is a cultural and intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent, who live in or near New York City, and either call themselves or are known as Nuyoricans...
.
Early years
Piñero was born on December 19, 1946 in Gurabo, Puerto RicoGurabo, Puerto Rico
Gurabo is a municipality in eastern Puerto Rico located in the central eastern region, north of San Lorenzo; south of Trujillo Alto; east of Caguas; and west of Carolina and Juncos. Gurabo is spread over 9 wards and Gurabo Pueblo...
to Miguel Angel Gómez Ramos and Adelina Piñero. In 1950, when Miguel was four, he moved with his parents and sister Elizabeth to Loisaida
Loisaida
Loisaida is a term derived from the Latino pronunciation of "Lower East Side", a neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The term was originally coined by poet/activist Bittman "Bimbo" Rivas in his 1974 poem "Loisaida"...
(or Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
) in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His father abandoned the family in 1954 when his mother was pregnant with their fifth child. His mother then moved into a basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
and began receiving welfare. He attended four different schools, three public and one parochial. He would steal food for his family to eat. His first of what would be many criminal convictions was at the age of eleven for theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
. He was sent to the Juvenile Detention Center in the Bronx and also to Otisville State Training School for Boys. He joined a street gang called "The Dragons" when he was 13, and when he was 14 he was hustling in the streets.
He would move to Brooklyn, where he and three other friends would commit robberies (according to Piñero, they did over 100), until they were caught at a jewelry store. He would be sent to Rikers Island
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of...
in 1964. After this, he joined the Job Corps
Job Corps
Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free-of-charge education and vocational training to youth ages 16 to 24.-Mission and purpose:...
and was sent to Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
for training. It turned out the opportunity was, as Piñero put it, "Dope City, Skag Town." He returned to New York City and became affiliated with the Young Lords
Young Lords
The Young Lords, later Young Lords Organization and in New York , Young Lords Party, was a Puerto Rican nationalist group in several United States cities, notably New York City and Chicago.-Founding:...
, similar to the Black Panthers. He was back in Rikers for drug possession not long after, and even went to Phoenix House
Phoenix House
Phoenix House is a nonprofit drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization operating in ten states with 150 programs. Programs serve individuals, families, and communities affected by substance abuse and dependency.- History :...
. After his second stint at Rikers, his mother sent him to Manhattan State Hospital
Manhattan State Hospital
The Manhattan Psychiatric Center is a New York-state run psychiatric hospital on 125th Street on Wards Island in New York City. As of 2009 it is licensed for 509 beds, but only holds around 200 patients. The current building is 17-stories tall....
where he would receive his high-school equivalency diploma.
Short Eyes
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
for second-degree armed robbery. His first literary work was Black Woman with a Blonde Wig On. Marvin Felix Camillo
Marvin Felix Camillo
Marvin Felix Camillo is an American award-winning theatre director and actor, much noted for his founding of The Family theatre company, a group in New York largely made up of ex-convicts....
, the director of The Family, an acting troupe made up of ex-cons, submitted the poem to a contest, which it won. The warden of Sing Sing then became concerned that "contraband" was being taken from the prison and nearly put Camillo in jail after seeing an article in the newspaper. While serving time in prison, he wrote the play Short Eyes
Short Eyes (play)
Short Eyes is a 1974 drama written by playwright Miguel Piñero. The play premiered off-Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater on 28 February 1974, and transferred after 54 performances to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre on Broadway on 23 May 1974...
as part of the inmates playwriting workshop. Mel Gussow
Mel Gussow
Melvyn H. Gussow was an American theater critic, movie critic, and author who wrote for The New York Times for 35 years.-Biography:...
came to see it, and due to his review in the New York Times, the director of the Theater at Riverside Church wanted Piñero to put it up at his place.
When he left Sing Sing due to parole in 1973, he was able to put Short Eyes with The Family. The title comes from the slang for pornography "short heist", but since the Puerto Ricans could not pronounce the 'h' so it became short eyes. The play is a drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
based on his experiences in prison and portrays life, love and death among prison inmates. In 1974, the play was presented at Riverside Church in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Theater impresario Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in downtown New York . "The Public," as it is known, has many small theatres within it...
saw the play and was so impressed that he moved the production to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. It went from Riverside Church, then to The Public Theater, eventually to Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a theatre located in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The structure was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen, and Jo Mielziner was responsible for the design of the stage and interior.The Vivian...
. The play was nominated for six Tony Awards. It won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for the "best play of the year". The play was also a success in Europe. It catapulted Piñero to literary
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
fame. Short Eyes was published in book form by the editorial house Hill & Wang. It became the first play written by a Puerto Rican to be put on Broadway.
Nuyorican Poets Café
In the 1970s, Piñero co-founded the Nuyorican Poets CaféNuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
with a group of artists, one of which, Miguel Algarín
Miguel Algarín
Miguel Algarín , is a Puerto Rican poet, writer, co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, and retired Rutgers University professor of English.-Early years:...
, would become one of his best friends. The Café is a place for performance of poetry about the experience of being a Nuyorican
Nuyorican
Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Rican diaspora located in or around New York State especially the New York City metropolitan area, or of their descendants...
or Puerto Rican in New York.
Television and Movies
In 1977, Piñero's play Short Eyes was turned into a film directed by Robert M. Young. In the film Piñero played the part of "Go-Go", a prisoner. While on set, he and Tito GoyaTito Goya
Tito Goya was a Puerto Rican actor best known for his portrayal of "Cupcakes" in the movie "Short Eyes"....
were arrested for armed robbery and were arraigned in the same building where they were filming. The charges were dropped, but some people thought Piñero had a "need" to go back to prison. He would land some supporting roles The Jericho Mile (1978), Times Square
Times Square (film)
Times Square is a 1980 film starring Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, and Tim Curry. The plot of the film essentially embodies a punk rock ethic - misunderstood youth forming a band and, through music, articulating their frustrations toward adult authority, personified in the film as parents, the...
(1980), Fort Apache, The Bronx
Fort Apache, The Bronx
Fort Apache, The Bronx is a 1981 crime drama film made by Producers Circle, Time-Life Television Productions Inc., and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. It was directed by Daniel Petrie and produced by Martin Richards, Thomas Fiorello, with David Susskind as executive producer...
(1981), Breathless
Breathless (1983 film)
Breathless is a 1983 American drama film starring Richard Gere and Valérie Kaprisky. It is a remake of the 1960 French film À bout de souffle and was released in France under the title A Bout de Souffle Made in USA. The original film is about an American girl and a French criminal in Paris...
(1983), Deal of the Century
Deal of the Century
Deal of the Century is a 1983 American comedy film directed by William Friedkin and starring Chevy Chase, Gregory Hines, and Sigourney Weaver.The film follows the adventures of several arms dealers that compete to sell weapons to a South American dictator....
(1983), and Alphabet City (1984). Piñero was considered a talented writer who described the evils of society, even though he continued to be a drug addict. Piñero wrote the Baretta
Baretta
Baretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma...
TV episode The Gadjo in 1978 and acted in the episode Por Nada in 1977. He played the part of drug lord Esteban Calderone in several episodes of TV series Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
in 1984, as well as writing the episode "Smuggler's Blues" in the same year. He also wrote the screenplay for Short yes (the movie).
Writing career
His next play, Sideshow (1974), which would be a shorter version of Playland Blues (1980), and follows street kids as they decide to put on their own play about a social worker placing difficult teenagers in various living situations and their attempts to adapt.His next play, a one act titled The Guntower, premiered at the 1976 New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival is the previous name of the New York City theatrical producing organization now known as the Public Theater. The Festival produced shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, as part of its free Shakespeare in the Park series, at the Public Theatre near Astor Place...
. Instead of following prisoners, like in Short Eyes, this one is about two guards in the watchtower. In that same year was The Sun Always Shines for the Cool (1976) which follows the lives of players, operators, drug dealers, and thieves as they come together in a bar owned by a man named Justice.
In 1975, he moved to Philadelphia to star in Bruce Jay Friedman
Bruce Jay Friedman
Bruce Jay Friedman is an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor.Raised in the Bronx by Irving and Mollie Friedman, Bruce Jay Friedman graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School. He then attended the University of Missouri as a journalism major, then served as a First Lieutenant in...
's Steambath as God. Eulogy for a Small-Time Thief (1977) was set in his new hometown. It regards a small time thief who does not really know his place in the world and thinks he can manipulate it to his liking.
He wrote two one-act plays, Paper Toilet and Cold Beer, around 1979. The former is set in a subway men's room and involves a series of events framed by the voice of a man asking for toilet paper from inside a stall. The latter examines the role of the dramatist and writer through an alter-ego protagonist.
Later years
Piñero played an important role in acquainting his partner and at times lover, the Chinese-American gay artist Martin WongMartin Wong
Martin Wong was a U.S. painter of the late twentieth century.-Early years:Wong was born in Portland, Oregon and raised in the Chinatown district of San Francisco, California. He studied ceramics at Humboldt State University, graduating in 1968...
, with the Lower East Side, becoming a benefactor at a time when Wong found it difficult to meet his rent. Several of Wong's paintings are illustrations of poems given to him by Piñero. "The Annunciation According to Mikey Piñero (Cupcake and Paco)" (1984) pictures a scene from Short Eyes.
Miguel Piñero died on June 16, 1988 in New York City from cirrhosis
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
. Piñero's ashes were scattered across the Lower East Side of Manhattan, as he asked in his 1985 "Lower East Side Poem." The homage to his beloved neighborhood concluded:
I want to climb up on a tenement sky to dream my lungs out till I cry then scatter my ashes thru the Lower East Side.... |
Leading up to his death, he was working with Papp for a new play to premiere at the New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival is the previous name of the New York City theatrical producing organization now known as the Public Theater. The Festival produced shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, as part of its free Shakespeare in the Park series, at the Public Theatre near Astor Place...
. Every Form of Refuge Has Its Price his unfinished piece, is set in an intensive-care unit. He also had another unfinished play, The Cinderella Ballroom.
Typescripts for Miguel Piñero's The Guntower and All Junkies are in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
Legacy
The life of Miguel Piñero was portrayed in the Hollywood production PiñeroPiñero
Piñero is a 2001 biopic about the troubled life of Nuyorican poet and playwright Miguel Piñero, starring Benjamin Bratt as the titular character. It was written and directed by the Cuban filmmaker, Leon Ichaso. It premiered at the Montreal Film Festival on 31 August 2001...
, directed by Leon Ichaso
Leon Ichaso
-Early life and education:Leon Ichaso was born in Havana August 3, 1948, into a family of well-known writers, journalists and artists. His father, Justo Rodríguez Santos, was one of Cuba's most respected poets and a pioneer in broadcast TV and radio -and his mother Antonia Ichaso had a radio...
and starring Benjamin Bratt
Benjamin Bratt
Benjamin Bratt is an American actor. He is most famous for his role as Rey Curtis on the TV series Law & Order; and his appearances in the movies Blood in Blood Out, Miss Congeniality, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Traffic, and Piñero.-Early life:Bratt was born in San Francisco, California,...
as Piñero. In the film, Piñero's love life is displayed, ranging from his interactions with men and women, including his protégé Reinaldo Povod
Reinaldo Povod
-Life:Reinaldo Povod, known to his friends as Rei grew up on the Lower East Side.The son of a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father of Russian descent. In 1977, his play Cries and Shouts played at the Nuyorican Poets Café, where Mr. Povod was a protege of Miguel Piñero.Bill Hart brought Mr...
. The relationships are secondary to the life of the writer as an individual, as the movie shows a non-chronological portrayal of Piñero's development as both a poet and a person. The movie blends visual and audio segments shot in short, music/slam poet videos with typical movie narratives to show Piñero's poetics in action.
Awards and nominations
Awards- 1974 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
, Outstanding New Playwright - 1974 New York Drama Critics' CircleNew York Drama Critics' CircleThe New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 24 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley...
Award, Best American Play - 1974 Obie AwardObie AwardThe Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
, Best American Play
Nominations
- 1975 Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Play
Filmography
- D.C. Cops (TV) (1986)
- Almost You (1985)
- Alphabet CityAlphabet City (film)Alphabet City is a 1984 crime drama film directed by Amos Poe. The story follows a young gangster of Italian descent named Johnny, who has been given control over his own neighborhood by the Mob. Then unknown actors Vincent Spano , Jami Gertz, and Michael Winslow give compelling performances in...
(1984) - Miami ViceMiami ViceMiami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
(TV) (1984) - Deal of the CenturyDeal of the CenturyDeal of the Century is a 1983 American comedy film directed by William Friedkin and starring Chevy Chase, Gregory Hines, and Sigourney Weaver.The film follows the adventures of several arms dealers that compete to sell weapons to a South American dictator....
(1983) - BreathlessBreathless (1983 film)Breathless is a 1983 American drama film starring Richard Gere and Valérie Kaprisky. It is a remake of the 1960 French film À bout de souffle and was released in France under the title A Bout de Souffle Made in USA. The original film is about an American girl and a French criminal in Paris...
(1983) - ExposedExposed (1983 film)Exposed is an English-language 1983 film directed and written by James Toback. Nastassja Kinski, Rudolf Nureyev and Harvey Keitel star.-Cast:* Nastassja Kinski as Elizabeth Carlson* Rudolf Nureyev as Daniel Jelline* Harvey Keitel as Rivas...
(1983) - See China and Die (TV) (1981)
- Fort Apache the Bronx (1981)
- Times SquareTimes SquareTimes Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
(1980) - Streets of L.A. (1979)
- The Jericho MileThe Jericho MileThe Jericho Mile is a 1979 Emmy Award-winning USA TV crime film, directed by Michael Mann. The film won 5 awards, 3 of those being Emmy Awards.-Cast:*Peter Strauss ... Larry Murphy*Richard Lawson ... R.C. Stiles*Roger E. Mosley ... Cotton Crown...
(1979) - Looking Up (1977)
- Short EyesShort Eyes (1977 film)Short Eyes is a 1977 American film adaptation of the Miguel Piñero play of the same title, directed by Robert M. Young.-Plot:Short Eyes is set in an unnamed House of Detention in New York City, the prisoners of which are predominately black or Puerto Rican. One day, a new prisoner is brought in:...
(1977) - KojakKojakKojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
(1977), episode I Was Happy Where I Was
Plays
- All Junkies (1973)
- Straight from the Ghetto (1973)
- Short EyesShort Eyes (play)Short Eyes is a 1974 drama written by playwright Miguel Piñero. The play premiered off-Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater on 28 February 1974, and transferred after 54 performances to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre on Broadway on 23 May 1974...
(1974) - Sideshow (1974)
- The Guntower (1976)
- The Sun Always Shines for the Cool (1976)
- Eulogy for a Small Time Thief (1977)
- Paper Toilet (1979)
- Cold Beer (1979)
- NuYorican Nights at the Stanton Street Social Club (1980)
- Playland Blues (1980)
- Midnight Moon at the Greasy Spoon (1981)
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- Puerto Rican literature
- Pedro PietriPedro PietriPedro Pietri , was a Nuyorican poet and playwright who co-founded the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was the poet laureate of the Nuyorican Movement.-Early years :...
, co-founder of Nuyorican Poetry movement - Giannina BraschiGiannina BraschiGiannina Braschi is a Puerto Rican writer. She is credited with writing the first Spanglish novel YO-YO BOING! and the poetry trilogy Empire of Dreams , which chronicles the Latin American immigrant's experiences in the United States...
, Nuyorican poet and novelist - Miguel AlgarínMiguel AlgarínMiguel Algarín , is a Puerto Rican poet, writer, co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, and retired Rutgers University professor of English.-Early years:...
, co-founder of Nuyorican Poet's Cafe