Antonia Rey

Maria Antonia Rey^[2] (October 12, 1927^[3] – February 21, 2019^[2]) was a Cuban-born American actress.

Antonia Rey
Born	Maria Antonia Rey October 12, 1927 Camajuaní, Villa Clara, Cuba
Died	February 21, 2019 (aged 91)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1954–2019
Spouse	Andres Castro (m. 1958; died 2000[1])

Life and career

Born in Camajuaní and educated in Havana,^[4] Rey was the only child of Emilia Rey and dentist Antonio Francesch. Due to her father's premature death, she was given her mother's surname at birth. Over the course of her adolescence, Rey acquired two stepbrothers following her mother's remarriage, to banker Rafael Rangel.^[2]

Rey married theatre director Andres Castro in 1958 – during the intermission of a play. Despite offers of prominence in their fields, they chose to flee communist Cuba in 1961.^[2]

Rey's Broadway credits include The Rose Tattoo (1995), The Ritz (1975), A Streetcar Named Desire (1973), 42 Seconds from Broadway (1973), The Engagement Baby (1970), Camino Real (1970), Mike Downstairs (1968), and Bajour (1964).^[5]

Rey is better known for her cameos in various movies like Kiss Me, Guido (1997),^[6] Jacob's Ladder and King of the Gypsies, as well as the TV-movie pilot for Kojak entitled The Marcus-Nelson Murders. She has also appeared in shows such as Who's the Boss?, Third Watch, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Rey's final role was Assunta Bianchi, in the television series Happy!; her character dies in the second to last episode of the series, which aired three months after Rey's death, and featured a closing “In Memory” credit dedicated to Rey.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	Coogan's Bluff	Mrs. Amador
1969	Popi	Mrs. Cruz
1971	Klute	Mrs. Vasek
1971	'Doc'	Concha
1971	Who Killed Mary Whats 'ername?	Waitress
1971	Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow!
1972	To Find a Man	Modesta
1974	The Lords of Flatbush	Mrs. Rosiello
1976	The Money	Pearl
1978	King of the Gypsies	Danitza Giorgio
1979	Hair	Mrs. Berger, George's Mother
1979	Boardwalk	Carmelita
1980	The Changeling	Estancia
1981	Time Bandits	Daisy
1982	The Clairvoyant	Spanish Woman
1984	Moscow on the Hudson	Counter Woman at McDonald's
1984	Beat Street	Flora
1984	Garbo Talks	Esmeralda
1986	Wise Guys	Aunt Sadie
1987	Forever, Lulu	Clara
1987	Spaceballs	Clarie
1988	White Hot	Market Woman
1988	Spike of Bensonhurst	Bandanas Mother
1989	Simple Justice	Mrs. Maria Pajarro
1990	Jacob's Ladder	Woman on Subway
1991	True Colors	Soledad
1991	I Was On Mars	La Mama
1992	Chain of Desire	Jesus' Mother
1994	Only You	Fortune Teller
1994	It Runs in the Family	Gypsy Woman
1995	Die Hard with a Vengeance	Mrs. Stella
1995	Tarantella	Grandmother
1997	Kiss Me, Guido	Josephia Zito
1997	The Full Monty	Emmy
1998	The Object of My Affection	Mrs. Ochoa
1999	Gloria	Tenant
2001	Piñero	Senora
2005	The Reality Trap	Consuela
2014	Match	Mrs. Trujillo
2015	Alto	Nonna Del Vecchio”

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000–2010	Dora the Explorer	Abuela, Wizzles (voice)	11 episodes
2001–2002	Courage the Cowardly Dog	Maria Ladrones, Space Chicken's Wife (voice)	2 episodes
2017–2019	Happy!	Assunta Bianchi