Biography

His great-grandfather, Carlos Antonio Carillo, was the first provisional governor of California. His father was the first mayor of Santa Monica.

Leo Carrillo State Park and Leo Carrillo beach, both in California, were named after the actor, who also served on the State Park and Recreation Commission. He was related by blood and marriage to a long line of distinguished original Californians.

Because he was of old Spanish and Italian families, he bought one of the vast land grant ranchos that California was famous for, called Rancho Los Kiotes.

Having studied at Loyola University in Los Angeles, he obtained an engineering job with the Southern Pacific Railroad. He drew cartoons in his spare time, and, after taking an art course, was signed on as a cartoonist by the San Francisco Examiner. His skills as a mimic then prompted colleagues to suggest that he try his hand at show business. His first appeared on the Keith-Orpheum circuit in vaudeville as a stand-in for an act which failed to show up. His subsequent success led to theatrical engagements, beginning with "Fads and Fancies", and, subsequently, to work in films.

For all the stereotypical comic relief sidekicks he portrayed on screen, Leo Carrillo was actually an intelligent, literate man, the scion of an old, respected Los Angeles family who could trace his heritage back to the conquistadors.