Xavier López
Date of birth: 1935-02-17
Place of birth: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Chabelo, Xavier López Rodríguez, Javier López
Biography
Xavier López Rodríguez (17 February, 1935 - 25 March, 2023), better known as Chabelo, was a Mexican-American actor, comedian and television host. He hosted a children's program entitled En familia con Chabelo, which aired for forty-eight years. He studied medicine, which he practiced for four years in a private sanatorium where he was a partner. At the same time and while still studying, he missed classes in order to make frequent visits to the facilities of the building known as Televicentro, inaugurated in 1952, owned by the alliance of Mexican radio stations, Telesistema Mexicano, which would later become Televisa. There he met the producer, Luis de Llano Palmer, who offered him work as a production assistant, a job he accepted and opted to abandon his career in medicine. At the same place, he also worked as a cameraman and floor manager. This experience was what helped him make the decision to become an actor and later he began to study drama for four years. Later, he would begin to have brief appearances in television broadcasts called teleteatros (of which there is not much information), and in which he would participate as a substitute for actors who were late or absent. He got his nickname after telling a joke about a boy named Chabelo and would embody that boy as a character for most of his acting career. He participated in 10 television programs, 34 movies and 4 soap operas, in addition to recording several albums as his character "Chabelo". In 2003 he was awarded a Diosa de Plata for his artistic career. In 2005 he received the Legend Award from the MTV Movie Awards Mexico. In 2006 he received the Gaviota International Award for his artistic career. In June 2010, at the Lunas del Auditorio Awards, he received the special recognition Una Vida en el Escenario (A Life on Stage). During the last broadcast in 2012, he received a tribute for his two thousand three hundred programs of En familia con Chabelo. During that same broadcast, he was awarded two Guinness World Records: the first for the longest career as host of a children's program (forty-four years), and the second for the longest time representing a character, Chabelo (fifty-seven years), "the friend of all children". On March 25, 2023, Chabelo passed away in Mexico City at the age of 88, due to a septic shock caused by an acute abdominal condition. The following day, his body was cremated and his ashes were given to his family.
Movie Credits
Amar
2009-02-27
Five stories blend with love, sex, the emptiness of being unloved, passion and desire: Carlos and Su
Chabelo and Pepito vs. the Monsters
1973-08-02
An ordinary day's hike gets rough when two youngsters escape from the main group into the woods and,
The Crime of Cacaro Gumaro
2014-03-15
After their fathers death, two brothers dispute the inheritance: the local movie theater known as Li
Chistelandia
1958-10-26
Short-attention-span sketch comedy and black-out gags, assembled into a movie. Structured like TV sh
Cartas a Elena
2012-06-08
In the beautiful hills of the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico, a young boy (Emilio) is adopted by
Nueva Chistelandia
1958-10-28
Sketch comedy and blackout gags -- format like Laugh-In. Number two in a series.
¡Buenas noches, año nuevo!
1964-12-17
Backstage comedy; singer-dancer and her songwriter husband pretend to have an open relationship, bec
Autopsy of a Ghost
1968-11-07
Satan offers a weary ghost a chance for redemption through true love.
Vuelve Chistelandia
1958-10-30
Collection of comedy sketches and blackout gags edited into feature-length movie. Laugh-In style.
Los reyes del volante
1965-11-25
Comedy film starring Viruta and Capulina.
Mi fantasma y yo
1988-10-27
A family of three moves to a haunted house. The couple's 10-year-old son runs into the ghost of the
Escuela para solteras
1965-03-25
All-star ranchera fest, rom-com style. Four charros, four eligible young ladies.
Flying low
2013-11-15
Chuyín Venegas and Cornelio Barraza were the biggest stars of popular music and cinema of the 80's.
Mision W2M
2013-11-01
Famous internet celebrity Werevertumorro is called by a strange person to carry out an operation, if
Trip to the Moon
1958-04-02
In this movie a couple of comedians try to disappear for a while and end up in an asylum, where conf
Pepito y la lámpara maravillosa
1972-06-22
Pepito The child misbehaves because his stepfather is scolding. Buy a sauceboat but when his cat rub
Chabelo y Pepito detectives
1974-02-14
A commanding friend Pepito and Chabelo ask them to help uncover a gang who kidnaps children. They ac
Agente 0013: Hermelinda linda II
1986-01-01
A sophisticated device falls into Hermelinda's hands and when the Soviets and Arabs try to retrieve
La tumba de Matías
1988-05-14
Gambler with a heart condition races the clock to get his mausoleum finished. His wife and her lover
Los dos rivales
1966-12-22
Ranchera comedy -- the hero thinks his girlfriend has another suitor... but the suitor is really she
Bang bang al hoyo
1971-09-30
Parody western about a poofy gunslinger and his brothers.
Club eutanasia
2005-04-22
El aviso inoportuno
1969-05-17
The farce starring Polivoces , creative Mexican comedians duo formed by Enrique Cuenca and Eduardo M
El Extra
1962-10-04
Cantinflas is a man who hangs around the studios and helps anyone who needs his advice while at the
La criada bien criada
1972-02-02
Saucy-but-naive country girl moves to the big city to look for work.
La princesa hippie
1969-05-14
Twins separated at birth; one grows up to inherit the crown of San Marciano, and the other works in
Los pepenadores de aca
1985-07-03
Street-vendor believes he's wanted for a murder he didn't commit, so he hides among the "gleaners" a
Dos machos que ladran no muerden
1988-09-08
Constancio has to leave his wife and son because they're making him crazy. He leaves his fortune beh
Macho que ladra no muerde
1984-01-01
An old man punishes his son for not having children, so he tells him his inheritance will go to some
The Mongolian Conspiracy
2019-04-18
1963, the Soviet Union intercepts a rumour that China pretends to assassinate the president of the U
La Chilindrina en apuros
1994-04-29