Freddie Prinze, Sr. Biography

Freddie Prinze saying his famous line "Eez not mai yob!"

Freddie Prinze was born Frederick Karl Pruetzel on June 22, 1954 in Washington Heights, New York to a Puerto Rican mother, Maria and a Hungarian father, Karl (1). His mixed ethinicity led him to call himself "Hungarican" (a play off of Neuorican, the term New York Puerto Ricans called themselves) (1). Freddie attended the New York High School Of Performing Arts in 1971 but failed to graduate because he often skipped class after performing late nite at comedy clubs like New York's "Catch a Rising Star" (10). Often doing imitations, one of his acts was acting as a Puerto Rican building superintendent who said "Eez not mai yob" when asked to fix a problem. This became a popular catch-phrase during the 1970's once Prinze began on the show "Chico and the Man" (1). The show began filming on September 13, 1974 and was an immediate success (10). Coined the phrase "loooking goood" on the show as the wise-cracking chicano Chico Rodriguez (1). Prinze married 26-year old Katherine Cochran in October of 1975 and on March 8, 1976, had a son named Freddie James Prinze, Jr. (10). Often struggling with drug problems, his wife divorced him a mere 15 months after marriage (1). Freddie taped his final episodes of "Chico and the Man" on January 27, 1977 and the next day from his Beverly Comstock Hotel room made phone calls to friends and family to say good-bye. He left a suicide note that read "I must end it. There is no hope. I will be at peace. No one had anything to do with it. My decision totally..... Signed, Freddie Prinze" and proceeded to commit suicide with a gun. He was on life support until January 29th, 1977 when his parents took him off it. Freddie Prinze was buried February 1, 1977 in Forest Lawn Memorial Park (10).

Timeline Biography of Freddie Prinze, Sr.'s Life

 

Freddie Prinze's grave at Forest Lawn Memorial Park