Best Known As: Stand-up Comic

Gist:  Paul Rodriguez (born January 19, 1955) is a Mexican stand-up comedian and actor.

Life Facts:  Rodriguez was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico to parents who were migrant farm laborers. He was raised in East Los Angeles and served in the military, where he was stationed in Iceland and Duluth, Minnesota. His son Paul Rodriguez Jr. is a professional skateboarder and his nick name is P-Rod.

Career Facts:  Rodriguez considered becoming a lawyer, but instead went into comedy. His first shot at national fame, the ABC sitcom a.k.a. Pablo, was canceled after seven episodes.

In 1988, Paul replaced Bob Eubanks as host of The Newlywed Game. The show lasted one season before being canceled. Rodriguez has starred in several feature films including, D.C. Cab, Born in East L.A., Tortilla Soup, and Ali. He directed and starred in the film A Million to Juan. Rodriguez has also performed voice-over roles on King of the Hill, Dora the Explorer and Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

Many of his comedy specials involve serious issues for the Latino community, and Rodriguez is known for his charity work. He has performed on several Comic Relief charity specials. In 1995, he performed a comedy television special live at San Quentin State Prison. He produced and was featured on the 2002 comedy special titled The Original Latin Kings of Comedy. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked him 74th on its list of the 100 Greatest Standups of all Time.

Rodriguez is a part-owner of the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, California, the site of comedian/actor Michael Richards' highly-publicized on-stage rant against two African American men who were heckling him. Of Richards' repeated use of the word nigger, Rodriguez said, "Once the word comes out of your mouth and you don't happen to be African American, then you have a whole lot of explaining".

Rodriguez also has an interest in farming with operations in California's Central Valley. He is the chairman of the California Latino Water Coalition, a group trying to draw attention to California's dire water situation. He also had a night show called "El Show de Paul Rodriguez" on Univision in the early 1990s, We Love P-Rod Especially us! Rob.