Editing Santos Ortega

{{short description|American actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Santos Ortega
| image = Santos Ortega Hugh Marlowe Marian Shockley Ellery Queen on radio 1939.JPG
| caption = Ortega (left) as Inspector Queen with [[Hugh Marlowe]] as Ellery Queen and [[Marian Shockley]] as Nikki in ''[[The Adventures of Ellery Queen (radio program)|The Adventures of Ellery Queen]]'', 1939
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1899|6|30}}
| birth_place = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1976|4|10|1899|9|30}}
| death_place = [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], U.S.
| death_cause =
| body_discovered =
| othername = Santos Ortegga
| occupation = Actor
| years_active =
| spouse =
| domestic_partner =
| children =
| parents =
}}
'''Santos Edward Ortega''' (June 30, 1899 – April 10, 1976) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for playing Will Hughes in ''[[As the World Turns]]'',<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|title=Santos Ortega, Actor, 76, Dead; Hushes [sic] in 'As the World Turns'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/12/archives/santos-ortega-actor-76-dead-hughes-in-as-the-world-turns.html?_r=0|access-date=25 November 2016|work=The New York Times|date=April 12, 1976}}</ref> taking over from [[Will Lee]], who had played the role from the first episode on April 2, 1956, to May 31, 1956.<ref name=who/> Ortega continued in the role until his death in 1976.

==Biography==

===Early life===
Ortega was born in New York City on June 30, 1899, to parents Rafael (born in Venezuela and of Spanish descent) and Isabella (née Corbett, from Ireland) Ortega.<ref name="parents">[http://www.mwotrc.com/rr2013_08/SantosOrtega.htm Santos Ortega: Any Detective He Didn't Play?]</ref> 
Rafael Ortega was a cigar maker by trade, which may have influenced his son's habit of cigar smoking throughout his career.

Ortega initially had aspirations of joining the priesthood and studied briefly at the St. Joseph's Seminary of the [[De La Salle Brothers|De La Salle Christian Brothers]] in [[Pocantico Hills, New York]], but changed his mind after landing a series of small acting roles in a series of [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] productions.

===Stage===
He began his career when he was 17<ref name=nyt/> in the theater in "an extravaganza at the old Hippodrome Theater.<ref>"Memorial Services Held for Actor", Los Angeles Times, July 1, 1976.</ref> Later, he went on tour with a singing group, returning to New York City to appear on the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] stage including roles in ''Jeb'' (1946), ''Puppets of Passion'' (1927), ''What Never Dies'' (1926-1927), ''What's the Use'' (1926), and ''Marilyn's Affairs''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Santos Ortega|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/41107/Santos-Ortega|website=Playbill Vault|access-date=3 December 2015}}</ref>

===Radio===
As radio stations began to come on the air in large numbers, radio programs began to gain momentum, thus opening up new opportunities for Ortega. He first worked in radio in comedy, appearing on a variety show, ''[[Blackstone Plantation]]'', where he played a character named Don Rodrigo. Ortega later said that he was hired for the role after a casting director hired the young unknown based on seeing Ortega's name, assuming that he would be perfect for the role.

Despite Ortega's ethnic-sounding name, and the fact that he did have Latino origins on his father's side, he did not speak Spanish. He came to learn that if he convincingly mastered a Spanish dialect, more work would come his way, and it did.

He served as straight man for the duo of [[Frank Crumit]] and Julius Sanderson. Ortega said, "It was a song and patter show, and I provided the laughter."<ref name=p>{{cite news|last1=Halloway|first1=Terry|title='World Turns' Grandpa On Stage at Sullivan|newspaper=The Pantagraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3752525/the_pantagraph/|agency=The Pantagraph|date=June 25, 1967|location=Bloomington, Illinois|page=19|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|accessdate = December 2, 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref> He went on to be active in the medium, starring in ''[[The Adventures of Nero Wolfe]]'' (1943–1944) and narrating ''[[Gang Busters]]'', as well as ''[[Stroke of Fate]]''. Perhaps his most famous and notable radio role was Commissioner Weston on ''[[The Shadow]]''. He played the title role in ''[[Bulldog Drummond (radio program)|Bulldog Drummond]]'' (1942–43)<ref name=rcf>Cox, Jim, ''Radio Crime Fighters'', 2002, p. 63, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, {{ISBN|0-7864-1390-5}}</ref> and was heard in the daytime radio serials ''[[Valiant Lady (radio program)|Valiant Lady]]'' (as Edward Curran),<ref name="dunningota">Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-507678-3}}. P. 692.</ref> ''[[Perry Mason (radio)|Perry Mason]]'',<ref name=Starr>
{{cite book
|title= Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr
|first= Michael Seth
|last= Starr
|publisher= Hal Leonard Corporation
|year= 2008
|isbn= 978-1-55783-694-6
|page= 83
|chapter= Enter Perry Mason
}}</ref> 1948's ''Roger Kilgore, Public Defender'',{{r|rcf|page1=213}} and as the title character in ''The Adventures of [[Charlie Chan]]'' (1947–1948),{{r|rcf|page1=9}} ''[[The Affairs of Peter Salem]]'' from 1949 to 1953,{{r|rcf|page1=37}} and ''[[Hannibal Cobb]]'' (1950–1951).{{r|rcf|page1=126}}

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s and into the 1950s and early 1960s, the prolific Ortega lent his remarkable range of voice characterizations to numerous other radio drama series such as ''[[Inner Sanctum Mystery|Inner Sanctum]]'', ''[[The Mysterious Traveler]]'', ''[[Suspense (radio drama)|Suspense]]'', ''[[Casey Crime Photographer]]'', ''[[The Eternal Light]]'', ''[[The Columbia Workshop]]'', ''[[The Big Story (radio/TV series)|The Big Story]]'', ''[[Perry Mason (radio series)|Perry Mason]]'', ''[[You Are There (series)|You Are There]]'', ''[[Dimension X (radio program)|Dimension X]]'', and ''[[X Minus One]]''.

He also originated the radio role of Inspector Queen on ''[[The Adventures of Ellery Queen]]''.<ref name=lackman>{{cite book
|title= The Encyclopedia of American Radio
|url= https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofam00lack
|url-access= registration
|last= Lackmann
|first= Ron
|chapter= Adventures of Ellery Queen, et al.
|year= 2000
|page= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofam00lack/page/5 5], etal
|publisher= Facts On File
|isbn= 0-8160-4077-X
}}</ref>

===Television===
On television, he played Will Hughes (usually just referred to as "Grandpa") on ''[[As the World Turns]]'', replacing [[Will Lee]] as of June 21, 1956.<ref name=who>{{cite web|title=Who's Who in Oakdale-William "Pa" Hughes|url=http://soapcentral.com/atwt/whoswho/willh.php|website=Soap Central|access-date=18 July 2017}}</ref> On November 22, 1963, he was in the middle of a scene with actress [[Helen Wagner]] when [[CBS]] suddenly cut in with the first bulletin on President Kennedy's [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination]]. (The cast, which was performing the episode live, was not yet aware of the situation.) Ortega continued in the role until shortly before his death in 1976.<ref name=jn>{{cite news|last1=Henniger|first1=Paul|title=The day the world stopped turning for Grandpa Hughes, Santos Ortega|newspaper=The Journal News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4036753/the_journal_news/|agency=The Journal News|date=July 4, 1976|location=Hamilton, Ohio|page=17|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|accessdate = January 13, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref>

===Film===
Ortega played character roles in two films during the 1950s: ''[[The Family Secret (1951 film)|The Family Secret]]'' (1951) and ''[[Crowded Paradise]]'' (1956).

===Personal life===
Ortega was married twice. He married Evelyn Fairbank in 1926, but the couple had no children and later divorced. He later married Cynthia Beckett, 20 years his junior, when he was around 50 years old. They would go on to have two children.

Ortega was a lifelong tobacco user who often smoked cigars during his radio shows. However, during his tenure on "As The World Turns," he was most often seen smoking a pipe.

===Death===
Ortega died on April 10, 1976, in [[Broward Health|Broward General Hospital]] in [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], while he was visiting in that area. He was 76. Survivors included a son, a daughter and a sister. A memorial service was held April 25, 1976, at the [[Church of the Heavenly Rest]] in New York City.<ref name=nyt/>

==Filmography==
* ''[[As the World Turns]]'' (1956-1976): Will Hughes

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0650948|name=Santos Ortega}}
* {{Find a Grave|141081464}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortega, Santos}}
[[Category:1899 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:American male comedians]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American male radio actors]]
[[Category:American male soap opera actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American comedians]]
[[Category:Male actors from New York City]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Spanish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Venezuelan descent]]
[[Category:Hispanic and Latino American male actors]]
[[Category:Comedians from New York City]]
[[Category:Hispanic and Latino American male comedians]]