Edward James Olmos Page at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

Actor, director and activist Edward James Olmos was born 24 February 1947 in East Los Angeles, California. His early dream was to play professional baseball, but instead he led a successful local rock band called Pacific Ocean, then tried acting, playing many bit parts for tv series and in "aloha, bobby and rose" (1975). His breakthrough role as 'El Pachuco' in the 1978 Luis Valdez play "Zoot Suit" ran for a year and a half in Los Angeles before moving to Broadway, where Olmos was nominated for the Tony Award; the play was filmed in 1981.

After "Zoot Suit", Olmos no longer had to fight for minor 'bad guy' roles, and better jobs soon followed: "Blade Runner" (1982); the title role in "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" (1982); and then the tv series "Miami Vice" (1984-90) made him a household name. He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for "Stand and Deliver" (1988). He directed "American Me" (1992), and "Jack and Marilyn" (2002). His recent Latino-themed tv series "American Family" (2002) lasted only one season, but is now available on DVD. And in December of 2003, the SciFi Channel re-launched "Battlestar Galactica", starring Edward James Olmos as Commander Adama {info below}.

He married Kaija Keel in 1971, and had two sons, Mico and Bodie; his 1994 marriage to actress Lorraine Bracco also ended in divorce. While acting and directing, he continues to maintain a busy schedule as a speaker and activist – stressing the importance of education – and he co-produces several Latino film and book festivals.

"Walkout" TV movie [H.B.O. March 2006]

The true story of a high school student who in 1968 organized 10,000 others at five East Los Angeles high schools to stage a walkout in protest of educational conditions and anti-Mexican educational bias. Produced by Moctesuma Esparza; co-produced & directed by Edward James Olmos; starring Alexa Vega, Michael Peña, Yancey Arias, Laura Harring, Efren Ramirez, David Warshofsky, Holmes Osborne, Tim DeKay, Tonantzin Esparza & Bodie Olmos; nominated for DGA Award
H.B.O. widescreen color DVD [3/2007] for $19.99
full credits from IMDb

"Battlestar Galactica: Razor" 2-hour special [Sci-Fi Nov 2007]
Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá; starring Katee Sackhoff, Edward James Olmos, Tricia Helfer, Michelle Forbes,
Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, Grace Park, John Pyper-Ferguson, Steve Bacic & Kandyse McClure
Universal Studios widescreen color DVD [12/2007] for $19.98
full credits from IMDb

"American Family" P.B.S. TV series
[KCET/El Norte 2002]

Directed by Gregory Nava; starring Edward James Olmos as Jess, Sonia Braga as Berta, Constance Marie as Nina, Esai Morales as Esteban, Raquel Welch as Aunt Dora, A.J. Lamas as Cisco & Rachel Ticotin as Vangie
first season: Fox widescreen DVD [4/2003] 6 disks for $62.98
full credits from IMDb

"The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit"
[1998 Disney tv movie]

Barrio con-man Gomez convinces four strangers to pool $20 each to buy a luminescent vanilla ice-cream-colored suit; he intends to split for El Paso, well-dressed. The first night, each gets the suit for an hour, and each is transformed: Dominguez with his guitar & voice charms women who dance in a parade through the plaza; Martinez's turn gets his lovely neighbor's attention; street poet Villanazul captures a crowd with his political and economic vision. The suit makes Gomez a better man, so he may not bolt; but then, what do they do with the last partner, the filthy ¡Vamanos!, whose juicy-taco-eating, wine-drinking habits could ruin the suit?
Directed by Stuart Gordon; script by Ray Bradbury, based on his story & stageplay; starring Edward James Olmos, Joe Mantegna, Esai Morales, Clifton Collins Jr. & Gregory Sierra
Walt Disney Video color DVD [8/99] out of prodn/used
Touchstone color VHS [8/99] out of prodn/many used
Bantam pb playscript [1972] out of print/used
full credits from IMDb

"Hollywood Confidential"
[Paramount TV April 1997]

Several ex-cops run an agency in Hollywood that investigates and tries to prevent scandals or embarrassment involving entertainment stars, and then to quash the scandal quickly when things get out of hand. Directed by Reynaldo Villalobos; written by Anthony Yerkovich; starring Edward James Olmos, Rick Aiello, Angela Alvarado, Christine Harnos, Richard T. Jones, Brendan Kelly, Charlize Theron, Thomas Jane, Evelina Fernández & Amanda Pays
Paramount color DVD [4/2000] for $17.99
Paramount color VHS [7/99] out of prodn/many used
full credits from IMDb

	Location filming included Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis Brown House in Hollywood, California. Directed by Ridley Scott, from a novel by Philip K. Dick; starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh & Daryl Hannah; music by Vangelis; won Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, listed on National Film Registry in 1993; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (10/2005) Warner Final Cut Special Edition widescreen color DVD [12/2007] 2 disks for $14.49 Warner Ultimate Collector's Edition widescreen color DVD [12/2007] 5 disks for $54.99 Warner Director's Cut Remastered Limited Edition color DVD [9/2006] out of prodn/used Warner Director's Cut DVD [8/97] out of prodn/used Warner Director's Cut VHS [2/99] out of prodn/many used full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 27"x40" poster from Amazon for $19.99
	Atlantic soundtrack CD [6/94] for $11.98 Warner orchestral version CD [10/90] for $11.98 "Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner" book by Paul M. Sammon HarperCollins 9x6 pb [7/96] for $11.53
	"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" [Signet 1968] by Philip K. Dick Ballantine movie tie-in pb [4/90] for $6.99 Del Rey 8x5½ pb [6/96] for $10.40 TimeWarner ABR audio [8/94] for $11.90

Magic Lantern Video & Book StoreEdward James Olmos

Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
Edward James Olmos