Emilio Delgado

Emilio Ernest Delgado (May 8, 1940 – March 10, 2022) was an American actor best known for portraying Luis, the affable Fix‑It Shop owner on Sesame Street, a role he inhabited for over four decades. Born in Calexico, California to Emilio Delgado and Carmen Rodriguez Delgado, he spent part of his childhood living in his grandparents’ home in Mexicali, Mexico, before moving back to California where he attended Glendale High School and led the Thespian Club, played viola, trombone, and served as drum major, displaying a prodigious musical talent that would later inform his performances. After a stint in the California Army National Guard during the tumultuous 1960s, Delgado launched his professional acting career in 1968, earning his first Equity job in a summer stock production with Martha Raye and later starring in the pioneering Mexican‑American soap opera Canción de la Raza.

Delgado’s breakthrough arrived in 1971 when he joined the original cast of Sesame Street alongside Raul Julia; together they ran the L&R Fix‑It Shop, and Delgado’s Luis quickly became a cultural touchstone, embodying a positive, hardworking Latino presence that challenged prevailing stereotypes. He also coordinated the Children’s Television Workshop’s Bilingual Task Force, advocating for authentic Spanish language instruction in early childhood television. Throughout his tenure, he appeared in countless live events, specials—including the 50th‑anniversary celebration—and reprised Luis on stage and in video games. Beyond Sesame Street, Delgado guest‑starred on series such as Lou Grant, Law & Order franchises, and House of Cards, and performed with the band Pink Martini, contributing a duet on their album Splendor in the Grass. His personal life saw three marriages—to Barbara Snavely, Linda Moon, and finally Carole Delgado—and two children, Lauren and the late Aram. Recognized with the National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Award and the HOLA Ilka Award, Delgado continued to serve the community, sitting on the board of the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice until his death from multiple myeloma in March 2022, leaving a lasting legacy of artistic excellence and cultural advocacy.