Roberto Gomez Bolanos

Roberto Gómez Bolaños was a Mexican actor, writer, producer and director who achieved fame throughout the Spanish-speaking world for his comedic characters El Chavo and El Chapulín Colorado,

Bolaños was born in 1929, in Mexico City. Although trained as an engineer, he got his start as a writer at an advertising agency. He eventually went on to write for radio, television and feature films, often performing in his projects as well. His versatility and success earned him the nickname Chespirito, or Little Shakespeare.

By the late 1950s he was working on the most popular television shows in Mexico, and in 1970 he had his own sketch-comedy program, Chesperito, where he originated his character El Chapulín Colorado, or the Crimson Grasshopper, a somewhat oblivious superhero who captures villains by pure luck. El Chapulín Colorado inspired the Bumblebee Man character seen in several episodes of The Simpsons.

1971 marked the debut of El Chavo del Ocho (The Boy from No. 8), his other most famous creation. The titular character, played by the diminutive Bolaños, was a homeless 8-year-old orphan who lived in a barrel and was forever getting into trouble. Although the farcical show ended production in 1992, it was one of the most beloved Mexican comedies ever and remains in syndication throughout the world.

After El Chavo ended, Bolaños, who appeared in numerous other TV programs over the course of a career that spanned more than five decades, continued to act and write. He enjoyed another enormous success with a play titled 11 and 12, which ran for more than 3,200 performances — a Mexican record — and was performed before full houses in more than 30 Latin American cities.

Bolaños died November 28, 2014, in Cancún, Mexico. He was 85.