Ramón Valdés
Valdés,c. 1950s
Born	Ramón Esteban Gómez-Valdés y Castillo[1] (1924-09-02)2 September 1924[1] Mexico City,Mexico
Died	9 August 1988(1988-08-09) (aged 63) Mexico City, Mexico
Resting place	Mausoleos del Ángel,Mexico City
Other names	Don Ramón[2] Monchito[2] Seu Madruga (Brazil) Mr. Raymond (English dub ofEl Chavo Animado)
Occupation(s)	Actor and comedian
Years active	1949–1988
Notable work	Don Ramón inEl Chavo del Ocho
Children	10
Relatives	Germán Valdés (brother) Manuel Valdés (brother) Cristian Castro (nephew)
Family	Valdés
Signature

Ramón Esteban Gómez-Valdés y Castillo^[1] (2 September 1924^[1] – 9 August 1988^[3]) was a Mexican actor and comedian. He is best remembered for his portrayal ofDon Ramón. He is also recognized as one of Mexico's best comedians.^[4]

Born inMexico City, he was raised in a humble and large family that moved toCiudad Juárez when he was aged two. Valdés made his acting debut at cinema in the movieTender Pumpkins (1949), appearing along with his brother,Germán Valdés, already an actor better known as "Tin-Tan", and who introduced Ramón into the acting world. Underextra or supporting roles, he continued making appearances in films during theGolden Age of Mexican cinema. Ramón andGermán had two other brothers, also actors,Manuel Valdés, better known as "Manuel "El Loco" Valdés", andAntonio Valdés, better known as "El Ratón Valdés".

In 1968, Valdés metRoberto Gómez Bolaños, better known as "Chespirito", with whom he began working on programs such asLos supergenios de la mesa cuadrada,Chespirito andEl Chapulín Colorado. It was on Bolaños's sitcomEl Chavo del Ocho that he gained international fame for his portrayal ofDon Ramón. He leftEl Chavo del Ocho in 1979 but returned in 1981 for his final year on the project.

In 1982, Valdés starred withCarlos Villagrán on the Venezuelan sitcomFederrico and onAh que Kiko in 1987.

Ramón Esteban Gómez Valdés y Castillo was born on 2 September 1924,[1] inMexico City, a son of Rafael Gómez-Valdés Angellini and Guadalupe Castillo.^[5] He lived a quiet childhood, without being surrounded by many luxuries.^[6] He had several brothers,Germán Valdés "Tin Tan",Manuel "El Loco" Valdés, Antonio Valdés "El Ratón Valdés", Guadalupe, Angela, Cristóbal, Antonio and Armando. He was nicknamed "El Moncho".^[6] At the age of two, his family moved toCiudad Juárez.^[5][7]

In his youth, Valdés earned his living in multiple activities and trades, and due to this instability, he sometimes faced economic problems.^[6] At the same time he began his artistic career thanks to the support of his brother Germán ("Tin Tan"), who took him to act with him in different projects, so he participated in more than 50 films of theGolden Age of Mexican cinema.^[6] His film debut took place onTender Pumpkins (1949).^[8] He continued appearing on multiple movies as anextra or with supporting roles till he metRoberto Gomez Bolaños (Chespirito) in 1968.^[6]

In 1968, he metRoberto Gomez Bolaños (Chespirito) on the programSábados de la fortuna, Bolaños saw the talent of Váldes and he made him part of the cast of comedians for his new television project calledLos supergenios de la mesa cuadrada,^[9] where he performed along withMaría Antonieta de las Nieves andRubén Aguirre. Then the program changed its name toChespirito.^[10] It was so successful that it was on television for many years. Then came the television phenomenonEl Chavo del Ocho in 1973,^[11] where he playedDon Ramón, achieving more success and recognition than he had experienced before. It is said that his character was similar to Váldes in real life. Coworker Rubén Aguirre stated:

Ramón Valdés was hard to work with. There were always delays in the tapings because Don Ramón would be late.^[5]

He also participated inEl Chapulín Colorado airing in 1973 in which he portrayed multiple characters.^[12]

After quitting the part ofDon Ramón inEl Chavo del Ocho, Valdés continued making films until 1986.^[13]

He returned to television in 1981, performing in "Chespirito" as his former characters. He also returned to "El Chavo del Ocho", this being kept as a secret until the moment of recording.^[14] According to the history behind his return on one of the episodes in the series, Váldes entered the set to surpriseLa Chilindrina (María Antonieta de las Nieves) and such was the surprise of the actress, that the tears shed during that scene were real.^[14] Valdés only stayed one more year in the production as at the end of that year he left the program forever.^[14]

In 1982, Valdés returned to television withCarlos Villagrán on the Venezuelan showFederrico and on¡Ah qué Kiko! in 1987 with these two being his final projects.^[6][15]

In 1984, Váldes starred in amusical program entitled "Aprendiz de Pirata" (Spanish for "Pirate Apprentice") withLuis Miguel in which he performed his song "Tú No Tienes Corazón" of his 1984 albumPalabra de honor.^[16][17]

Valdés was a Roman Catholic of Spanish and Italian descent^[5] who owned acircus.^[7] According to Valdés, he had a falling out with Chespirito after he refused to lend Valdés 20,000 pesos he needed to buy a house.^[18]

Valdés had three wives with whom he had a total of 10 children.^[5][19] One of his wives was the singer Araceli Julián.^[5]

Valdés kept a strong friendship withAngelines Fernández, an actress onEl Chavo del Ocho, better known on the show asDoña Clotilde "La Bruja del 71".^[19] At Valdés's funeral, Fernández stood in front of his coffin, crying inconsolably due to his death.^[19] Valdés was also good friends withMaría Antonieta de las Nieves.^[14] A persistent rumor remains that Fernández, who showed an unrequited strong romance for Valdés's character was actually in love with Valdés in real life, but this has remained unconfirmed by those close to them.

He was the uncle of Mexican pop singerCristian Castro; his brother Manuel "El Loco" Váldes was Castro's father.^[20]

Valdés was a heavy tobacco smoker and people close to him stated that it was not unusual to see him with a cigarette in the recording sets.^[15]

On 9 August 1988, Valdés died ofstomach cancer at age 63. The cancer hadspread to hisspinal cord.^[15] Valdés was entombed at Mausoleos del Ángel inMexico City,^[21][22] the same cemetery where Angelines Fernández rests.

Valdés is remembered as one of the most beloved actors from El Chavo del Ocho for portrayingDon Ramón.^[6][5]

On 17 May 2019, atrailer on Valdés' official YouTube account was released forCon permisito dijo Monchito (Spanish for, Excuse me, said Little Moncho), a documentary featuring Valdés's life with unpublished material, interviews with fans and fellow co-workers and little known things about him.^[23]

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• 1924 births
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• 20th-century Mexican male actors
• Chespirito actors
• Deaths from stomach cancer in Mexico
• Golden Age of Mexican cinema
• Mexican male film actors
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• Male actors from Mexico City
• Mexican people of Italian descent
• Mexican people of Spanish descent
• 20th-century Mexican comedians
• Mexican Roman Catholics
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• Valdés family

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