‘Romancing The Stone’ Star Manuel Ojeda Dies At 81

Milton Martínez / Secretaría de Cultura CDMX

Mexican actor Manuel Ojeda is best known for portraying Zolo in the 1984 movie “Romancing the Stone” which also stared Danny DeVito, Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. Ojeda has been acting consistently throughout his long career, and his list of film credits is quite long.

Many of Ojeda’ credits include TV series such as “La traición,” “De pura sangre,” “Herencia maldita,” “Al filo de la muerte,” “El vuelo del águila,” “La paloma,” “La culpa,” “Desencuentro,” “Labyrinths of Passion,” “El precio de tu amor,” “The Other Woman,” “Misión S.O.S. aventura y amor,” “Storm Over Paradise,” “Wild Heart,” “Por ella soy Eva,” “The Tempest,” “The Stray Cat,” “Ask God for Forgiveness… Not Me,” and most recently “Corazón guerrero” which is dated 2022. He was one of Mexico’s very first soap opera stars, and he never stopped acting. That long list is just a small taste of his acting career.

Ojeda has died at the age of 81. Mexico’s National Association of Actors announced the sad news on Facebook. A translation of the original post, which was written in Spanish, reads, “The National Actors Association deeply regrets the passing of our Comrade Manuel Salvador Ojeda ‘Manuel Ojeda’, a member of our union. Our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues of him. Rest in Peace.”

Ojeda was born on November 4, 1940, in Baja California Sur, Mexico. He died on August 11, 2022, in Mexico City. The cause of death was listed as natural causes.

In his most well-known role, Ojeda played a Colombian lawman named Zolo. If you are not familiar with this role, you can see Ojeda in action in the trailer of the movie “Romancing the Stone” in the video below.

Many of Ojedo’s fans have turned to social media to express their sadness at his death.

Sergio Olhovich Greene, a director who worked with Ojedo on several projects, praised Ojedo on Twitter for his “penetrating gaze” and “enormous acting talent.” He also mentioned that Ojedo received the Ariel award for best actor in 1979 for portraying the main character in “The Hell of All So Feared.”