12 Facts About Leo Carrillo

Leo Carrillo was notable for playing Pancho in the television series The Cisco Kid and in several films.

Leo Carrillo was a member of the Carrillo family of California, a prominent Californio family, and traced his ancestry through California, Mexico, and Spain to the year 1260.

Leo Carrillo's paternal grandfather, Pedro Carrillo, who was educated in Boston, was a writer.

Leo Carrillo's cousin was Broadway star William Gaxton.

Proud of his heritage, Leo Carrillo wrote the book The California I Love, published shortly before his death in 1961.

Renaldo and Leo Carrillo were teamed for a series of feature films in 1949, and then for a syndicated television series that ran from 1950 until 1956.

Leo Carrillo served on the California Beach and Parks commission for 18 years and played a key role in the state's acquisition of Hearst Castle at San Simeon, Los Angeles Arboretum, and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Leo Carrillo eventually was made a goodwill ambassador by the California governor at the time.

Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park, originally Rancho de los Kiotes, in Carlsbad, California, is a registered California Historical Site.

In 1913, Leo Carrillo married Edith Shakespeare Haeselbarth of Nyack, New York, whom he met backstage at the New York City theater where she had seen him perform.

Leo Carrillo frequently permitted Boy Scout groups to camp on the grounds.

Leo Carrillo died of cancer on September 10,1961, at the age of 81, and is interred at Santa Monica's Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery.