Award-winning actor Henry Darrow was born Enrique Tomas Delgado Jimenez September 15, 1933 in New York City. He died March 15, 2021, his 87t-and-a-half birthday, of natural causes.

Henry Darrow originally came to international fame as Manolito Montoya in the western High Chaparral, but acted under the stage names of both Henry Delgado and Henry Darrow. He was not related to British actor Paul Darrow (Kerr Avon on Blake’s Seven), they just chose the same stage name.

The First Hispanic Actor to Play Zorro

In his early acting career he was something of a swashbuckler. He was the first actor of Hispanic heritage to play Zorro. He starred in three different versions of it – Disney’s short-lived comedy, Zorro and Son as an aging swashbuckler who must bring his son into the hero business, and voiced Zorro in the Saturday morning cartoon The New Adventures of Zorro; and when Ephraim Zimbalist, Jr. retired from ill health, Darrow replaced him as Zorro’s loving father, Don Alejandro de la Vega in the 1990s live-action version of Zorro starring Duncan Regehr (Dirk Blackpool from Wizards & Warriors).

He was a co-founder of Nosotros, a group to help Latino actors land non-stereotyped parts. He also co-founded the Screen Actors Guild Ethnic Minority Committee.

Awards

Henry Darrow was the first winner of the Ricardo Montalbán/Nosotros Award for improving the image of Latinos in Hollywood. He won a Bambi Award, the German equivalent of the Emmies, for his work in High Chaparral. He won an Emmy for his role as Rafael Castillo in Santa Barbera. He won the ALMA (American Latino Media Arts Award)’s Ricardo Montalban Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.

Darrow was a guest on three episodes of Star Trek. He played Admiral Savar in “Conspiracy” of Star Trek: the Next Generation. He was Chakotay’s father, Kolopak, in two episodes of Star Trek: Voyager, “Tattoo” and “Basics, Part 1.” In Time Trax, he played the role of the 22nd century police chief whom Captain Darien Lambert reported to from the 20th century. He played Roberto Robles in the western vampire film, Curse of the Undead. He appeared in two episodes of Wonder Woman, as Walter Lampkin during WWII and David Allen during the Disco Era. He appeared in the horror film The Hitcher as the ruthless Trooper Hancock, and he appeared in Babylon 5 as  Dr. William Indiri.

Henry Darrow was married twice. He and his first wife, Louise DePuy, were together from 1956 to 1979. They had two children Denise (DeeDee) and Tom. He married his second wife Lauren Levinson in 1982; they were together until his death.

We offer our condolences to his family, and acknowledge an actor’s life well lived.

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