Mexican Actor Héctor Bonilla Died Of Kidney Cancer At 83

Highly acclaimed Mexican actor Héctor Bonilla died of kidney cancer at the age of 83 on Friday, Nov. 25.

Mexican Actor Héctor Bonilla, who is recognized by the Ministry of Culture as one of the best actors the country has produced in recent decades, died on Friday, Nov. 25 of kidney cancer at the age of 83, Mexico News Daily reported.

“He died at home, peacefully, without pain and surrounded by his closest circle,” his youngest son, Fernando Bonilla, shared on social media.

Bonilla was born on March 14, 1939, in Tetela de Ocampo, Puebla, and studied at the National School of Theater of Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL).

He made his acting debut in the movie “Jóvenes y Bellas” (“The Young and Beautiful Ones”) and followed this with several other films and theater productions during the 1960s and ‘70s. However, it was in 1989 that he got international recognition with the movie “Rojo Amanecer” (“Red Sunrise”).

In “Rojo Amanecer,” which he also co-produced, he played the role of a father of two university students who participated in Mexico’s student movement of 1968. Rojo Amanecer was the first film to openly address the students' massacre at the Tlatelolco Square in Mexico City that took place just ten days before the Olympics.

Years later, in 2003, he made his directorial debut with the feature film “Mónica y el profesor,” starring his son Sergio Bonilla.

He also acted in several acclaimed and popular films over the years including “Patsy, mi amor” (1969), “Yo amo, tu amas, nosotros” (1974), “La leyenda de la máscara” (1990), “El bulto” (1992), “Serpientes y escaleras” (1992), “Ámbar” (1994) and “Crónica de un desayuno” (2000).

In 2016, he starred as Don Servando in the popular comedy film “Un padre no tan padre” (“A not-so-great father”). He later reprised his character for the sequel “Una Navidad no tan padre 2″ (“A not-so-great Christmas”), which was his last film.

In 2019, he received the Remarkable Trajectories of the Arts in Mexico award by INBAL for having participated in more than 140 productions over his 50-year career in theater, film, and television.

In 2019, he also received the Golden Ariel, which is the highest award given to an individual in the Mexican film industry by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences.

Bonilla's family shared an epitaph that Bonilla wrote for himself several years prior to his death.

“Se acabó la función, no estén chingando. El que me vio, me vio. No queda nada,” he wrote in the epitaph.

It translates to “The show is over, no BS. He who saw me, saw me. Nothing’s left.”