Throwback Thursday: Charo!

Todays 'Throwback Thursday' post is dedicated to a legend. Extremely beautiful, musically gifted and a master at being the butt of a joke, Charo has proven for decades that she has what it takes to succeed in Hollywood. For over 40 years, Charo's pizzazz, character and strong Spanish accent have tickled and entertained audiences around the globe. Fluent in Spanish, English and Japanese, Charo continues to show the world whats she's made of. Her "cuchi cuchi" trademark not only made her a millionaire, but an icon in the hearts of those who love her. A powerful woman living life on her own terms, WTS salutes, CHARO!! We love you!

CHARO

Charo was born María del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza in (born January 15, 1951), in Murcia, Region of Murcia, Spain. She is a Spanish-American actress, comedienne, and flamenco guitarist, best known for her flamboyant stage presence, her provocative outfits, and her trademark phrase ("cuchi-cuchi"). Charo's father was a lawyer who reportedly fled to Casablanca during Francisco Franco's dictatorship while her homemaker mother stayed behind in Murcia, raising their children.  

Charo’s age has always been a question. Official documents in Spain say she was born in 1931. The US said she was born in 1941 but Charo has always insisted she was born in 1951, and that her age was falsified so that she could marry the 66 year old Xavier Cugat who discovered her. Even further in the rumor mill, was that Cugat, already married 4 times, married Charo so that he could legally bring her to the United States. Their marriage was reportedly a contract and in October 1977, she became an American citizen, found love, bought Cugat a Rolls-Royce and divorced him.

She studied classical and flamenco guitar while residing in Murcia, and can claim Andrés Segovia as her guitar teacher. He once spoke of his pupil in an interview and remembered giving her career advice. "Stop saying 'cuchi-cuchi' so much, Charo! Be serious!" he took guitar lessons from him and other teachers from the age of nine. She has been named "Best Flamenco Guitarist" in Guitar Player Magazine's readers' poll twice.

She moved to West 257th Street in the New York City borough of The Bronx with her mother and aunt, and was regularly featured in shows with Cugat's orchestra in New York and Las Vegas, as well as in overseas engagements in Latin America and Europe. 

Charo's first US TV appearance was on The Today Show in the mid-1960s. She later appeared on Laugh-In in 1968. Her almost complete lack of fluency in the English language was played as a comic focus and she would have audiences laughing at her mangled English. This is also the time that the "cuchi cuchi" line passed into the public arena.

Charo on The Carol Burnett Show

She was headlining Vegas shows by 1971 and reportedly being paid as much as Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles or Dean Martin. In 1977, she became a citizen of the United States. That same year she married her second husband, Kjell Rasten, a producer, in California. Rasten became his wife's manager and the couple has one child, a son, Shel Rasten, who was born in 1982.

Throughout the 1970s, she was a highly visible personality, 

appearing eight times on The Love Boat, as well as on almost every talk show being made at that time. Charo was hot-to-trot. Beautiful, funny, and foreign. She took America by storm. She was even on the very short lived, Brady Bunch spinoff.

For much of the late 1980s and 1990s, after being a bit too much in the public eye, she scaled back her appearances and had limited visibility. She moved to Hawaii and opened her own dinner theater that she performed at. She and her husband concentrated on raising their son. Because of the large number of Japanese immigrants to the island state, Charo learned to speak Japanese. In the 2000s, she returned to television in commercials for Sprint wireless phone service and GEICO insurance, as well as guest appearances on Hollywood Squares, a season-three stint on the celebreality series The Surreal Life.  On May 11, 2008, she made a guest appearance on the Latin-themed VH1 reality show Viva Hollywood.

She now has a regular touring show in addition to appearances in Branson, Missouri, and Las Vegas. 

In 2008, Charo returned to the dance music scene with the single "España Cañi". The single was released through Universal Wave Records.

Currently, she performs select dates around the globe, and is an icon and sweetheart.

This skit she did on the Carol Burnett show is hilarious. It demonstrates the humor, sex appeal and charm that made Charo a star. (Carol Burnett is also hilarious in this!!)

Charo's Music Video for "Dance A Little Bit Closer"

Charo poppin' it on The Love Boat..

Finally, what she's most famous for. Playing award winning Flamenco guitar, beautifully..

Cuchi Cuchi, we LOVE Charo! Ole.