Carmen Belen Richardson
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Carmen Belen Richardson (born September 14, 1930 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) - comedian and actress.
Carmen was born in a poor neighborhood in Santurce, San Juan. Her parents felt that she had a special talent for acting at an early age and in 1939 when she was 9 years old they had her audition for a child's role in a radio soap opera on the WNEL Radio Station. The people at the station were so impressed with her that they hired her on the spot. She attended the Central High School of Santurce where she actively participated in her school plays. On one occasion when she was 14 years old, Juan Ramon Jimenez, the Spanish Nobel Prize winner, was present for one of her presentations. He was impressed by what he saw to the point that he offered to pay Carmen's university tuition.
Carmen enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico where she studied Dramatic Arts. In 1954, after she graduated, Puerto Rican television pioneer and producer Tommy Muñiz, offered her a role in his new program "El Colegio de la Alegria" (The Happy School). She played the part of "Lirio Blanco", a funny little girl who could open her eyes in amazement extremely wide. Thus, Carmen became the first black Puerto Rican comedian in Puerto Rico's television industry. She was also to act as a comedian in other television shows such as "The Criada Malcriada" (The Silly Maid), "Hogar Dulce Hogar" (Home Sweet Home) and "Esto No Tiene Nombre" (This Doesn't have a Name).
During the 1970s, Carmen worked in the comedies:
- "Black Power" and
- "Ja,ja,ji, ji,jo,jo con Agrelot" alongside comedian Jose Miguel Agrelot.
During that decade there was a labor dispute between the Actors Union and Tommy Muñiz Productions, forcing Carmen to leave Tommy Muñiz. She then joined and worked for ASTRA Productions.
A new opportunity presented itself when the local television stations started to produce soap operas. Among the soap operas in which she tookpart were:
- "Anacaona",
- "El Idolo" (The Idol),
- "Rojo Verano" (Red Summer) and
- "Marta Llorens".
In 1980, Carmen went to Mexico and there was hired by Mexican director Valentin Pimpstein, to workin soap operas there. During the three years that she spent in Mexico, she acted in:
- "El Maleficio",
- "Guadalupe",
- "Soledad",
- "Amalia Batista" and
- "El Hogar que yo Robe" (The House I Robbed).
Carmen returned to Puerto Rico and in 1985 went to work in local theater productions. She took part in "Cecilia Valdes", "Clemente (the musical)", "Cuando él es Guadalupe" (When he is Guadalupe), "Flor de Pesidio" (Prison Flower) and "Sirena" (Mermaid).
The 1989 Festival of Art El Cemi in Perto Rico was dedicated to her in recognition of her 40 years in the world of entertainment. Carmen joined Producciones MECA, founded by actresses Camille Carrion and Angela Meyer. With this new company she actively participated in the following shows and soap operas, "Ellas al Mediodia", "Ave de Paso", "La Isla" (The Island) and "Yara Prohibida".
Carmen Belen Richardson is currently retired from acting due to problems with her health, she was diagnosed with a physical disability known as fibromyalgia.
