MEXICO CITY – Xavier López, the Mexican child comedian better known by his nickname “Chabelo,” has died at the age of 88, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wrote on Saturday. López’s best-known work, the Sunday variety show En Familia con Chabelo, ran for 48 years from 1967 to 2015.
The Mexican president wrote on his Twitter account that his eldest son, José Ramón, “soon got up to see it ( on television) more than 40 years ago.”
López, who was not related to the president, usually appeared in children’s clothing until 1980. He helped create a genre of adult comics dressed as children and became a staple of Mexican television for decades.
His longevity — playing with a hoarse cry throughout his career as a baby — led to joking speculation that he would outlive everyone in show business.
López’s agent, Jessica Nevilley, said he died Saturday morning and funeral plans would be announced later.
López, an American citizen born in Chicago to Mexican parents, returned to Mexico with his family at a young age and trained as a doctor.However, she found her calling in acting.