Elizabeth Peña died earlier this week. Here’s how Hollywood failed her

*So much to process: celebrating a wonderful career, mourning the loss of an outstanding Latina actor and anger at how Hollywood stereotypes stifle careers and authentic storytelling. VL

By Todd VanDerWerff, Vox

Many who wrote about the death of the wonderful actress Elizabeth Peña on Wednesday wrote about her recent work on Modern Family, her voice role in The Incredibles (her most popular movie), or her frequent performances in the movies of American indie director John Sayles. Where my mind went, almost immediately, was to her role in one of the most bizarre fourth-wall breaks in American TV history, the series finale of 1987 sitcom I Married Dora. You can watch the clip above.

Dora was meant to be Peña’s big breakthrough to a larger audience. Instead, it quietly sank and only aired 13 episodes. The premise was that a well-to-do white guy became so dependent upon his Latina maid, an undocumented immigrant, that when she’s threatened with deportation, the two engage in a fraudulent, quickie marriage, so she won’t have to leave the country. She becomes the stepmother to his two kids, who included a young Juliette Lewis.

There was much concern over people emulating this strategy themselves, such that the pilot aired with a literal warning not to try this at home. Of less concern, apparently, was the fact that Peña was asked to play a walking stereotype, complete with thick, impenetrable accent hung out to dry for laughs.

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Photo Ingrid Richter/Flickr]

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