Paul Rodriguez (born January 19, 1955 in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico) is a Mexican American comedian. Raised in East Los Angeles, Rodriguez served in the military where he was stationed in Iceland and Duluth, Minnesota among other places. He considered becoming a lawyer, but instead went into comedy. His first shot at national fame, the ABC sitcom a.k.a. Pablo , proved to be a flop and was cancelled after seven episodes. Many of his comedy specials involve serious issues for the Latino community, and Rodriguez is known for his charity work. He is number 74 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Standup Comics of all time. Rodriguez is a part-owner of the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, California, the site of comedian/actor Michael Richards' highly-publicized on-stage rant against two African American men who were heckling him . Of Richards' repeated use of a controversial ethnic slur, Rodriguez said, "Once the word comes out of your mouth and you don't happen to be African American, then you have a whole lot of explaining" . His son Paul Rodriguez Jr. is a professional skateboarder.
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