Leon Ichaso facts for kids

Leon Ichaso (born August 3, 1948 – died May 21, 2023) was a talented writer and film director. He was born in Cuba and later moved to the United States. He became well-known for his movies, including El Super and Bitter Sugar.

Leon Ichaso's Life Story

His Early Years

Leon Ichaso was born in Havana, Cuba, on August 3, 1948. When he was 14, he moved to Mexico. Later, he came to the United States with his mother, Antonia Ichaso, and his sister, Mari Rodriguez Ichaso.

His father, Justo Rodriguez Santos, was a poet and writer from Chile. He stayed in Cuba for a while to support the Cuban Revolution. About five years later, Leon's father joined his family in New York City.

His Amazing Career

Leon Ichaso's first movie as a director was El Super (1979). This film was in Spanish. It was based on a play that was shown in New York City, not on Broadway. The movie was about an immigrant building superintendent trying to start a new life in New York.

When he began working in Hollywood, Ichaso directed episodes for popular TV action shows. These included Miami Vice, Crime Story, and The Equalizer. He also directed TV movies like The Fear Inside and A Kiss to Die For. Later, he directed Sugar Hill (1994), which starred Wesley Snipes.

In 1996, Ichaso made Azúcar Amarga (Bitter Sugar). This was a Spanish-language film about a Cuban Communist who felt disappointed. He filmed parts of it in the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

For several years, Ichaso worked on more TV movies. Some of these were based on plays. Zooman (1995) was a TV movie about a family dealing with the sad death of a child. Execution of Justice (1999) told the story behind the tragic deaths of San Francisco mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk.

Ichaso then directed TV biographies. These included Ali: An American Hero (2000) about the boxer Muhammad Ali, and Hendrix (2000) about the musician Jimi Hendrix. In 2001, he wrote and directed Piñero. This movie was about the life of the Puerto Rican author Miguel Piñero.

He also worked on TV series like Sleeper Cell (2005) and The Cleaner. He even taught movie directing in France.

In 2004, Ichaso started writing the screenplay for El Cantante. This movie was a biography of the famous salsa singer Héctor Lavoe. It was filmed in 2006 and starred Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.

His last movie was Paraiso. It was filmed in Miami in 2008. The movie first showed at the Miami International Film Festival in March 2009.

His Passing

Leon Ichaso passed away from a heart attack on May 21, 2023, in Santa Monica, California. He had successfully recovered from cancer two years before.

See also

In Spanish: León Ichaso para niños