Gregory Sierra, known for 'Sanford and Son' & 'Barney Miller', passes away at 83

American actor Gregory Sierra has passed away earlier this month. He was known for his performances as Detective Sergeant Chano Amenguale on Barney Miller and as Julio Fuentes, the Puerto Rican neighbour of Fred G. Sanford on Sanford and Son. The reason behind his demise is reported to be cancer. 

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Gregory Sierra dies at 83

Gregory Sierra, best known for his characters in shows like Sanford and Son, passed away in January 2021. According to what Gregory Sierra’s widow Helene Tabor confirmed to CNN, Gregory Sierra's death happened on January 4, 2021, from cancer. Gregory Sierra was 83 years old at the time. According to reports, Helen Tabor told CNN that Gregory Sierra was “quite wonderful” and her heart broke into “400 million pieces” when Gregory Sierra passed away. She said that cancer persisted “for quite a while”.

Helen Tabor revealed that Gregory Sierra was doing the best he could and “just couldn’t do it anymore”. Gregory Sierra originally hailed from New York, but he relocated and shifted to California in order to pursue his career in the movie, television, and stage acting industry. Gregory Sierra’s career had spanned over five decades and his work had always been appreciated and praised. Gregory Sierra rose to fame when Barney Miller cast the actor for the character of Detective Sergeant Chano Amengulae and Sanford and Son cast him for the character of Fred G Sanford.

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Helen Tabor has called Gregory Sierra “a brilliant actor”. She revealed that the actor continued to receive emails from fans even after he passed away. Gregory Sierra was last seen on-screen in 2018 and Helen Tabor recently mentioned that Gregory Sierra decided to retire in 2018 because while he was completely in love with acting, he had started having difficulty remembering his lines. She said that Gregory Sierra was the first person to help anybody who was in need of help. Helen Tabor described Gregory Sierra as a very caring person. Gregory Sierra’s widow revealed that Gregory Sierra is still and will always be survived by his two stepdaughters and step-granddaughters, all of whom loved Gregory Sierra a lot and would call him “dad”.

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