Ángel Salazar

Ángel Salazar
Ángel Salazar
Born	March 2, 1956; Cuba
Died	August 11, 2024 (aged 68); New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actor; comedian;
Years active	1977–2024

Ángel Salazar (March 2, 1956 – August 11, 2024) was a Cuban-American comedian and actor. He was known for saying "Sheck it out" ("check it out") before, during, and after jokes. As an actor, he was best known for his role as Chi-Chi in the 1983 film Scarface.^[1]

Early life

Salazar was born in Cuba in 1956. He left the country as a teenager, swimming to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and eventually settling in New York City.^[2]

Career

Salazar first began performing stand-up comedy when he was eighteen, debuting his "check it out" line in his first open-mic appearance, and soon went on to acting.^[2] In his most famous role, he played Chi Chi in Scarface (1983); his other film credits included Punchline (1988) and Carlito's Way (1993).^[2]^[3] Salazar also appeared on Last Comic Standing and many HBO Comedy specials. His last film he was shooting was The Brooklyn Premiere by Brooklyn-born director Eric Spade Rivas, which had him reunite in scenes with Steven Bauer (Manolo from Scarface) for one more go as partners in crime. He continued to do stand-up throughout his life, with his last performance at the Reno, Nevada, location of the Laugh Factory in July 2024.^[2]

Personal life and death

Salazar divided his time between Florida and New York City. On August 11, 2024, he died while staying at a friend's residence in Brooklyn. He was 68 and had an enlarged heart.^[2]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Boulevard Nights	11th Street Gang
1979	Walk Proud	Angel
1980	Where the Buffalo Roam	Waiter
1982	A Stranger Is Watching	Dude at Phone Booth
1983	Scarface	'Chi-Chi'
1984	The Wild Life	Benny
1985	Sylvester	Tommy John
1988	Hot to Trot	'Snake'
1988	Punchline	Rico
1990	Maniac Cop 2	Traffic Officer
1993	Carlito's Way	Walberto
2003	Harlem Blues	Trainer	Video
2003	Vote for Me	Machito
2005	Rose Woes and Joe's	Hector
2007	Made in Brooklyn	Sergio
2009	Engaging	Angel
2009	Trust Me	Louis	Short
2010	Crumble	S&M Partygoer	Short
2011	The Last Gamble	Angel
2012	Da Pinche Code	Rocco
	Ante'	Jenti
	Saved by the Pole	Big Daddy Paco	Short
2015	Laugh Killer Laugh	'Cricket'
2015	Vamp Bikers Dos	Arestus
2016	Take it Back	Ceasar
2016	Vamp Bikers Tres	Priest
2017	Un Delincuente en Nueva York	Jerry
	The Streetz'	Freddie
	Tatalia	Janitor
2018	Make America Great Again	Rogelio Yola
2019	Counterpunch	Neighborhood Man
2019	Japanese Borscht	El Rico
2020	For NYC	Himself	Short
2020	The Streetz 2'	Freddie
2021	Duke of New York in New Ghost City	Ron King
2021	Night Rapper'	Lion Heart
2022	The Black Caeser	Nino Diamond
2023	The Gilbert Diaries: The Movie	Cha Chi
2024	The Brooklyn Premiere	Chi Chi 2024

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Heart of the City	Sparrow	Episode: "Cezanne, and Other Dreams"
1992	Showtime at the Apollo	Himself	Episode: "Episode #5.23"
2014	Screen Machines	Himself	Episode: "Scarface Cadillac"
2017	SacTown Underground	Himself	Episode: "Episode #1.11"

Documentary

Year	Title
2006	The Latin Legends of Comedy

Music video

Year	Title	Artist
1997	"I'm Not a Player"	Big Pun

References

^ Holder, Frank; Littleton, Darryl (2019). This Day In Comedy. TrineDay. ISBN 978-1634242639 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Holpuch, Amanda (August 12, 2024). "Ángel Salazar, Comedian and 'Scarface' Actor, Dies at 68". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
^ Román, Elizabeth (April 24, 2014). "Comedian Angel Salazar, known for his role as Chi Chi in 'Scarface,' to perform in Springfield". masslive.com.

External links

[1] Holder, Frank; Littleton, Darryl (2019). This Day In Comedy. TrineDay. ISBN 978-1634242639 – via Google Books.

[Holpuch-2] Holpuch, Amanda (August 12, 2024). "Ángel Salazar, Comedian and 'Scarface' Actor, Dies at 68". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

[3] Román, Elizabeth (April 24, 2014). "Comedian Angel Salazar, known for his role as Chi Chi in 'Scarface,' to perform in Springfield". masslive.com.

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