Édgar Vivar
Édgar Vivar
Dr. Édgar Ángel Vivar Villanueva (born 28 December 1944) is a Mexican actor. He is best remembered as "Señor Barriga" and his son "Ñoño" from El Chavo del Ocho, and as "El Botija" from El Chapulín Colorado and Chespirito. His other notable role is in a Mexico telenovela, Amarte Así as Don Pedro, a lonely man who work as a cashier in the restaurant of his stepson El Frijol. Edgar started his acting career in 1964 as a theater actor. He toured the United States with some of his plays. This gave him vast experience in the acting field. In 1970, Chespirito needed a robust person to play "Señor Barriga" ("Mr. Beliarge" in Spanish) as well as Ñoño in his upcoming Televisa production of El Chavo del 8, and Vivar was hired for the job. Both shows became major international hits, allowing Vivar to become known beyond Mexico and to tour all over Latin America, Spain and, once again, the United States. He also made an attempt at becoming a telenovela actor, participating in his co-star Florinda Meza's production, Alguna vez Tendremos Alas (Someday, we will have wings). His weight caused him serious heart related trouble after the half-hour Chespirito productions were over in 1980 (it is believed that his temporary absence from the show may have been weight-related, and was explained that his character, el Botija, had gone to a weight loss clinic.) In 1992, he left the hour-long Chespirito program briefly for therapy at a weight-loss clinic. He lost a great amount of weight, which helped save his life. He kept touring the countries where Chespirito shows were kept on television as re-runs after the show was over. In 2006, Vivar appeared in the movie Bandidas as a bank manager. Also co-starred in a telenovela made in Argentina, Amarte Así, that became a major success in South America, Spain, and USA. Recently he had a role in the most recent production of Guillermo del Toro El Orfanato, filmed in Spain and released in October 2007. The same year, he voiced Auguste Gusteau in the Latin-American version of Disney-Pixar's Ratatouille. He later voiced Dug in Up In 2008, Vivar underwent gastric bypass surgery at a clinic in Colombia, and has lost approximately 165 pounds. Following his surgery, he has become an advocate for healthy living, particularly for overcoming obesity. Following his weight loss surgery, Vivar retired all of his Chespirito characters, stating that because of his weight loss, they were no longer appropriate. He would, however, reprise the voices of Señor Barriga and his son Ñoño for an episode of the animated Chavo, the only castmember from the original series to do so.