Freddie Prinze

Prinze was romantically involved with actor Pam Grier. In October 1975, he married Katherine Elaine Cochran, a cocktail waitress, whom he had met at a resort in Colorado. They had a son named Freddie Prinze Jr., who later became a famous American actor.

He was addicted to drugs since the age of 16 and was once arrested for driving under the influence of Quaaludes, which further complicated his marriage. Prinze often suffered from depression. His condition deteriorated after his wife filed for divorce.

On January 28, 1977, he shot himself in the head, in front of his business manager, Marvin Snyder, and was rushed to the ‘UCLA Medical Center’ for an emergency surgery. He was put on life support, which was removed the next day, and he passed away at 1 pm on January 29, at the tender age of 22. His son was just 10 months old at the time of Freddie’s death.

Frederick Karl Pruetzel was born on June 22, 1954, in New York City, New York, US, to Edward Karl Prutzel and Maria Graniela Prutzel, who were of Jewish–Hungarian and Puerto Rican origin respectively.

Pruetzel was raised in New York City in a mixed neighborhood, where his mother enrolled him into ballet classes to help him lose weight. Soon, he auditioned for the ‘Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts’ and was selected. His parents gave into his wish of learning drama so that he could continue with ballet.

However, Freddie discovered his real talent in the boys’ restroom, where he would often entertain his mates with his own brand of comedy. He made his own ham radio, which he operated from his house, and took up a job at ‘The Improv,’ a comedy club in New York. His popularity soared, and he dropped out of high school and became a full-time stand-up comedian. He made extra pocket money by working as a movie-hall usher till he gained recognition as an actor.

He started his career as a stand-up comedian in various comedy clubs in New York City and became popular as a “Hungarican” (part Hungarian and part Puerto Rican) performer. He changed his stage name to “Freddie Prinze,” as he wished to be known as the “Prince” of comedy.

He made his first TV appearance in one of the last episodes of the talk show ‘Jack Paar Tonite’ in 1973. He was the youngest comedian to be invited to a sit-down chat with Carson on his show ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,’ at the age of 19. He continued to make several appearances on the show as a guest as well as a host.

His comedy skills were displayed on the ‘NBC’ American musical variety series ‘The Midnight Special.’ One of his most popular shows was the ‘NBC’ series ‘Chico and the Man,’ where he played ‘Francisco “Chico” Rodriguez’ from January 1977 until his death. He released an album titled ‘Looking Good,’ named after his catch phrase from the series.

He participated in several “roasts” too, including ‘The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast,’ which featured Sammy Davis Jr. and Muhammad Ali. His lines entertained the audience without undermining the guest celebrities who were “roasted” on the show.

He made his maiden TV film appearance with the lead role in ‘The Million Dollar Rip Off,’ directed by Alexander Singer, which premiered on ‘NBC’ in 1976.

He was the youngest comedian to be invited to a sit-down chat with Carson on his show, ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,’ at the age of 19.

One of his most popular shows was the ‘NBC’ series ‘Chico and the Man,’ where he played ‘Francisco “Chico” Rodriguez’ from January 1977 until his death.

He made his maiden TV film appearance with the lead role in ‘The Million Dollar Rip Off,’ directed by Alexander Singer, which premiered on ‘NBC’ in 1976.

His last public performance was at the ‘Jimmy Carter Inaugural Gala’ in Washington DC in January 1977.