Angel Salazar — best known as Al Pacino’s trusted sidekick “Chi Chi” in the iconic gangster film “Scarface” — has passed away, as reported by TMZ.
Salazar’s representative and closest friend, Ann Wingsong, informed TMZ that the actor died peacefully in his sleep at his friend’s residence in Brooklyn over the weekend.
On Sunday morning, Wingsong mentioned that the friend went to see Salazar in a room and discovered his body in bed. The cause of death was not revealed, but the representative mentioned that Salazar had heart problems.
Early in his acting career, Salazar landed the role of Chi Chi, the devoted henchman of Pacino’s famous Tony Montana character in the 1983 Brian DePalma-directed film “Scarface.”
Fans of the legendary film will never forget Chi Chi saving Tony’s life during the so-called “chainsaw scene.” They will also never forget Chi Chi’s bloody demise at the end of the film when his back gets riddled with bullets from a hit squad hired by drug kingpin Alejandro Sosa.
Of course, Tony Montana also meets his end in a hail of bullets at the hands of Sosa’s gun-wielding assassins.
Outside of his work in “Scarface,” Salazar was also known for working opposite Tom Hanks in the 1988 dramedy, “Punchline” and Pacino again in the 1993 drama, “Carlito’s Way.”
Salazar was also a celebrated comedian, who had a number of HBO comedy specials and an appearance on “Last Comic Standing.”
Other notable credits include “Boulevard Nights,” “Walk Proud,” “Hot to Trot,” “Maniac Cop 2,” among other titles.
He was 68 years old.
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