Scarface Actor Dies, Mario Machado Remembered

As Scarface actor Mario Machado dies, the actor and broadcaster is remembered for his role in the seminal gangster flick starring Al Pacino — but Machado was also a celebrated television news anchor and reporter.

The Scarface actor appeared, often as a reporter, in films like Oh, God!, Rocky III, RoboCop, and TV movie Brian’s Song.

Machado was born in Shanghai to a Chinese mother and Portuguese father, and may have been the first Chinese-American on-air TV news anchor and reporter.

As the Scarface actor dies, his legacy is remembered by those who knew him well. Fellow broadcasters recalled the veteran anchor, and others spoke of his work advocating for soccer — a sport for which Machado was a major fan.

A local CBS affiliate reports Machado was remembered for his soccer advocacy by family friends, beginning:

“Machado, who played collegiate soccer, called soccer games on CBS and Spanish-language television, and helped found the AYSO soccer organization. A family friend recalls that Machado was a strong advocate for allowing girls to play in the organization.”

The site goes on to quote friend Barbara Begyud:

“Without Mario Machado’s strong voice, school girls today would not be playing AYSO soccer.”

The local network also says as the Scarface actor dies that Machado was part of groundbreaking programming among the first in broadcast news to mainstream content about gay and lesbian people.

Of the programming, called It Takes All Kinds, and Machado’s role in it, his producer Joe Saltzman said:

“Mario was very easy to work with and appreciative of good writing and production.”

The Scarface actor had struggled in recent years with Parkinson’s as well as a bout of pneumonia, of which he ultimately died. He is survived by a wife and four children.