
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 28, 1990                   TAG: 9003280634
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Short

RENE ENRIQUEZ, `HILL STREET' STAR, DIES AT 56

Actor Rene Enriquez, who portrayed Lt. Ray Calletano on the old Emmy Award-winning "Hill Street Blues" TV series, has died of pancreatic cancer. He was 56.

Enriquez died Friday at his suburban Tarzana home and his body Enriquez was cremated the following day, said his sister, Violetta Enriquez. The actor, who wasn't married and had no children, didn't want a funeral, she said Tuesday.

His motion picture credits included a co-starring role with Gary Busey in "Bulletproof" and a plum role as Gen. Anastasio Somoza in "Under Fire," co-starring Nick Nolte and Gene Hackman.

Enriquez boasted of his role on "Hill Street Blues," viewing his character as pivotal in the former NBC-TV series. Calletano was the precinct's second-in-command.

"I'm proud of the show. It made a powerful statement on the decay of cities and human isolation," he said.

Born in Granada, Nicaragua, Enriquez was being groomed for the priesthood when he decided as a teen-ager to leave the seminary and head for the United States. His uncle, Gen. Emiliano Chamorro, was a former president of Nicaragua. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, then returned to San Francisco State University. In 1958, he joined the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

by CNB