Roberto Clemente (1934-1972)
It has been decades since his unfortunate death, but Roberto is still remembered as one of the greatest athletes and humanitarians of all time. Roberto was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. During his 18-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1955-72), he compiled a lifetime batting average of 317 and was considered baseball’s premier defensive outfielder. After he obtained his 3,000th hit in the last game of the 1972 season, his life tragically cut short when he perished in a plane crash. On New Year’s Eve, Roberto’s plane was taking medical, food, and clothing supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua. Despite bad weather, an unstable cargo plane, and the advice of his friends and family, Roberto was determined to take off. He was infuriated that the previous supplies had not made it to the victims. Roberto was going to personally see to it that the victims received the much-needed supplies. Unfortunately, the plane went down off the coast of Puerto Rico. Clemente’s body was never found. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.
Raúl Júlia (1944-1994)
Many theatergoers mourned Júlia when he passed away at the early age of 50. After graduating from the University of Puerto Rico (1964), where he majored in drama, he moved to New York City to pursue a stage career. In the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared in a number of Broadway productions. He also worked steadily for the New York Shakespeare Festival. He was nominated for a Tony for his proposal of Macheath in Brecht’s The Three-Penny Opera (1978). Mr. Júlia created the role of Valentine in the Broadway musical, Two Gentlemen of Verona. In the 1970s, he began his movie career, which brought him great success in films such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), Tequila Sunrise (1988), and The Addams Family I and II (1991 & 1993). In addition to his successful stage career, Júlia frequently appeared as a spokesperson for Puerto Rican tourism.
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