Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay March 9 1940 October 24 1994 was a Puerto Rican actor His film career peaked in the US in the early 1990s Born in San Juan he gained interest in acting while still in school Upon completing his studies Juliá decided to pursue a career in acting After performing in the local scene for some time he was convinced by entertainment personality Orson Bean to move and work in New York City Juliá who had been bilingual since his childhood soon gained interest in Broadway and Off Broadway plays He performed in mobile projects including the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre Juliá was eventually noticed by Joseph Papp who offered him work in the New York Shakespeare Festival After gaining notoriety he received roles in two television series Love of Life and Sesame Street For his performance in Two Gentlemen of Verona he received a nomination for the Tony Award and won a Drama Desk Award Between 1974 and 1982 Juliá received Tony Award nominations for Wheres Charley The Threepenny Opera and Nine During the 1980s he worked in several films receiving nominations for the Golden Globe Awards for his performance in Tempest and Kiss of the Spider Woman winning the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for the latter In 1991 and 1993 Juliá portrayed Gomez Addams in two film adaptations of The Addams Family In 1994 he filmed The Burning Season and a film adaptation of the Street Fighter video games Later that year Juliá suffered several health afflictions eventually dying after suffering a stroke His funeral was held in Puerto Rico being attended by thousands For his work in The Burning Season Juliá won a posthumous Golden Globe and Emmy Award
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