Some people know Antonio Fargas by his many other colorful names: Fly Guy, Doodlebug Simkins or of course the famous Huggy Bear along with his many other memorable roles. The New York native has been an iconic film, TV and stage actor for over 50 years and has virtually played all kinds of roles, earning the title of “Cameo King of Black 70s Cinema.”
“The marvelous thing about it, the magic of television and film,” explains Fargas. “Is that something that I did almost 40 years ago now, people still talk to me about. I love that.”
This year, the iconic actor turned 70 years old and is still on screen and on stage. Here he describes what keeps him going.
On His Semi-Retirement:
“What I love today is going places, and meeting people who have been affected by, or experienced me through television or film, because I get to say thank you. And it’s everywhere I go. Even the other day, I was getting some food, and a lady said, I want to thank you because eight years ago, you met my son in Los Angeles, and you gave him some advice. Many years ago in L.A., a guy came up to me in a barber shop and said I want to thank you for what you did. My sister came through L.A. in the early 80s or late 70s, and was all starry-eyed and full of wonderment, and I knew that things not go well for someone…so I gave her some advice to go home and pursue something else, and she did, and she’s very happy, and he wanted to thank me. That’s the payoff.”
“When I was doing a play in England, I had to take a taxi to the theater every day. And almost every taxi driver I met for that short ride said, you don’t have to pay me, Antonio. I just want to thank you for what you did for me growing up, because we loved Starsky and Hutch, we watched it every Friday night after we took our bath and did our homework. And even coming here, if people I meet are around 45 years old, they were like 11 years old then, and they had an impression of Starsky and Hutch…it’s that give and take that happens. And of course in the theater, it’s live, and there is an aliveness to it, it’s an exchange between the audience and the actors.”
On The Next Generation:
“The thing is that the young people who have been taking over such as Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, Will Smith and…
… Snoop Dogg have a sense of history and they know whose shoulders they stand on. They honored me by giving me opportunities to play on Martin, Everybody Hates Chris, and all of the other shows. It also gave them an opportunity to say thank you to those people like myself who paved the way for them.”
On Getting Into The Business:
“Never give up on your dream. It may take different twists and turns. The entertainment business will always be there.”
“It’s about the journey, not about the destination. It’s about the acting classes and pounding the pavement. Put the work in and you will reap the results from the power above. You have to love show business. If you’re in it to be a star and make a lot of money you’re going to be disappointed. If you do it because you love it, you will be happy with the results.”
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