Antonio Fargas

Antonio Juan Fargas (born August 14, 1946) is an American actor known for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation movies, as well as his portrayal of Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky & Hutch.

Early life
Fargas was born in New York City to Mildred (née Bailey) and Manuel Fargas; he was one of eleven children.[1][2] His father was a Puerto Rican who worked for the City of New York. His mother was from Trinidad and Tobago.[2]

Acting career
His breakout role began in the late 1960s comedy, Putney Swope, today a cult film. After starring in a string of blaxploitation movies in the early 1970s, such as his role as Link Brown in the movie Foxy Brown and in Across 110th Street, he gained recognition as streetwise informant "Huggy Bear" in the mid-1970s television series Starsky & Hutch.

He appeared in ABC's All My Children in the mid-1980s as the father of Angie Hubbard.

As a nod to his early roles, he had a part in the 1988 blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, as well as another Wayans brothers "hood" parody, Don't Be a Menace, in 1996. He guest starred in the mid-1990s sitcoms Living Single, Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The Steve Harvey Show.

Fargas played the driver in the 1998 music video of Backstreet Boys hit "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)".

Some notable appearances on British television shows include participating in series 4 of the reality series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2004 and an appearance on Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show in early 2006.

He played the part of Toledo in a revival of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in 2006. He had a regular role as "Doc" on the 2005-2009 television series Everybody Hates Chris.

In 2008 Fargas acted in the British boxing film Sucker Punch.

Fargas appeared on an episode of Fox's Lie to Me as the father of a murdered firefighter.

Personal life
Fargas's son Justin Fargas, a University of Southern California alumnus, was the starting running back for the NFL team the Oakland Raiders. Fargas's daughter-in-law is LSU women's basketball coach Nikki Caldwell.[3]

In popular culture
The 1998 song "Antonio Fargas" by Argentine band Babasónicos, from their 1998 B-sides album Vórtice Marxista, repeats the phrase "Antonio Fargas is Huggy Bear" in Spanish.

Selected filmography

 * Putney Swope (1969) - The Arab
 * Pound (1970) - Greyhound
 * Shaft (1971) - Bunky
 * Cisco Pike (1972) - Buffalo
 * Across 110th Street (1972) - Henry J. Jackson
 * Cleopatra Jones (1973) - Doodlebug Simkins
 * Busting (1974) - Stephen
 * Conrack (1974) - Quickfellow
 * Foxy Brown (1974) - Link Brown
 * Sanford and Son (TV Episode 1974) - Sonny Cochran
 * The Gambler (1974) - Pimp
 * Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975) - One-Eye
 * Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976) - Bernstein Chandler
 * Car Wash (1976) - Lindy
 * Pretty Baby (1978) - Professor
 * Up the Academy (1980) - Coach
 * Firestarter (1984) - Taxi Driver
 * Crimewave (1985) - Blind Man
 * Night of the Sharks (1988) - Paco
 * Shakedown (1988) - Nicky 'N.C.' Carr
 * I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) - Flyguy
 * The Borrower (1991) - Julius
 * Howling VI: The Freaks (1991) - Bellamey
 * Whore (1991) - Rasta
 * Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996) - Old School
 * The Suburbans (1999) - Magee
 * 3 Strikes (2000) - Uncle Jim Douglas
 * Driver 2 (2000, video game) - Detective Tobias Jones
 * Osmosis Jones (2001) - Chill
 * Starsky & Hutch (2003, video game) - Huggy Bear
 * Fist of the Warrior (2007) - Father Riley
 * Sucker Punch (2008) - Baz
 * Vegas Cinefest (2011) - Himself
 * Silver Bells (2013) - Major Melvin Lowell
 * Beyond Skyline (2017) - Sarge
 * Cherif (2018) - Huggy Bear