Rene Enriquez - Obituario New York Times

Rene Enriquez, 56; Played a Lieutenant In 'Hill Street Blues'

AP
Published: March 28, 1990
LEAD: Rene Enriquez, an actor who portrayed Lieut. Ray Calletano on the award-winning television series ''Hill Street Blues,'' died of pancreatic cancer at his home in suburban Tarzana on Friday. He was 56 years old.

Rene Enriquez, an actor who portrayed Lieut. Ray Calletano on the award-winning television series ''Hill Street Blues,'' died of pancreatic cancer at his home in suburban Tarzana on Friday. He was 56 years old.

Mr. Enriquez was cremated on Saturday, his sister, Violetta Enriquez, said. The actor, who was not married and had no children, did not want a funeral, she said today.

Mr. Enriquez's film credits included a co-starring role with Gary Busey in ''Bulletproof'' and an appearance as Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle, the former ruler of Nicaragua, in ''Under Fire'' with Nick Nolte and Gene Hackman. He also appeared with Charles Bronson in ''The Evil That Men Do.''

He said his role on ''Hill Street Blues'' was pivotal. The character of Calletano was second in command of the police precinct around which the former NBC series revolved.

''I'm proud of the show,'' he told an interviewer. ''It made a powerful statement on the decay of cities and human isolation.''

Actor Showed Hispanic Pride

In one episode in 1982, the quiet, dignified Calletano was honored as the police department's ''Hispanic Officer of the Year.'' As played by Mr. Enriquez, Calletano was proud and sensitive about his Latin heritage and unhappy about the status of Hispanic citizens in the United States.

Long before ''Hill Street Blues,'' Mr. Enriquez was a familiar face on such television shows as ''The Defenders,'' ''The Nurses,'' ''Naked City,'' ''Charlie's Angels,'' ''Benson,'' ''Quincy'' and ''WKRP in Cincinnati.''

Born in Granada, Nicaragua, Mr. Enriquez was a teen-ager being groomed for the priesthood when he decided to leave the seminary and move to the United States. His uncle, Gen. Emiliano Chamorro, was once President of Nicaragua.

He attended the University of San Francisco and later switched to San Francisco City College, where he studied international relations. He was in the United States Air Force during the Korean War, then returned to San Francisco State University.

In 1958, he joined the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

He is survived by his sister.