EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — One of Latin-America’s most famous clowns has died.
Ricardo González Gutiérrez, who was best known as Cepillín, died Sunday, according to the Mexico City portal Milenio.
According to the website, Gonzalez died of complications from spine surgery, including cardiac complications and pneumonia.
His son confirmed his father’s death on social media, asking for prayers for his father.
Cepillín was a staple on Spanish television for decades. He had his own children’s television show — El Show de Cepillin — which combined education and comedy and had the occasional Hollywood star appear as a guest. Lou Ferrigno, star of the wildly popular “Hulk” TV series appeared on the show, which aired in 18 countries.
Cepillín also appeared in several films and is credited with giving singer Yuri and actress Salma Hayek a break early in their careers.
Cepillín was also a Grammy-nominated singer. He released 25 albums of children’s songs and sold millions of copies worldwide.
Before he became a TV sensation, Cepillín was a children’s dentist. In order to keep children from crying or getting scared, he painted his face like a clown. His stage name roughly translates to “tiny toothbrush.”
Cepillin was born in Monterrey, Mexico.
He was 75.