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Abel Gonzalez Fernandez (July 14, 1930 – May 3, 2016) was an American actor who played in movies from 1953 to 2002. He was best known for his role as Federal Agent William "Bill" Youngfellow on the 1959–1963 ABC Television series The Untouchables.
While there he won the title, Middleweight Boxing Champ of the Asiatic Forces. In 1950, as an amateur, he won the light heavyweight title in the Los Angeles Golden Gloves competition. After his discharge, he became a professional boxer from 1950 to 1953. During that time he studied acting and began appearing in films.
In 1964, Fernandez was sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to failing to file state tax returns in California for four years. Additionally, he had to pay $4,750 in taxes, plus penalties, and be on probation for four years.
He was the only cast member from the original Untouchables lineup in the series' 1959 "Scarface Mob" pilot, other than Robert Stack himself, to be cast for the series. His character is based on that of William Jennings Gardner, American Indian member of the real-life Untouchables federal squad.
Fernandez has also appeared in dozens of TV and film roles in series such as Daniel Boone, Bonanza, Time Tunnel, Gunsmoke, Batman, Wagon Train, The Virginian, Have Gun – Will Travel, and Marcus Welby M.D., as well as theatrical films such as Fort Yuma, Target Zero, Second Chance (1953) with Robert Mitchum, Alaska Seas starring Robert Ryan (also 1953), Rose Marie with Fernando Lamas (1954), The Last Wagon (1956), Pork Chop Hill starring Gregory Peck (1959), Madigan with Richard Widmark (1968), Quicksilver (1986), and many more. Abel Fernandez, www.imdb.com. Accessed May 22, 2009. He also appeared in the ABC TV series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (with Lee Aaker) as an Apache warrior.
He occasionally produced theatrical shows for disadvantaged children.
Film and TV
Fernandez' film debut came in Second Chance (1953) in which his character, Rivera, fought a boxing match against star Robert Mitchum.
Death
Fernandez died on May 3, 2016, from lung cancer at a hospital in Whittier, California, at the age of 85. The Telegraph obituary, June 9, 2016 He had four children. A US Army veteran, he was buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.
Partial filmography
External links
Categories: 1930 Births, 2016 Deaths, American Male Actors Of Mexican Descent, American People Of Yaqui Descent, Belmont High School Alumni, Burials At Riverside National Cemetery, Male Actors From Los Angeles, Native American Male Actors, People From East Los Angeles, California, Native American People From California
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