Otto Sirgo, Havana-Born Star of Mexican Telenovelas, Dies at 79

October 7, 2026

Otto Sirgo, the Havana-born actor and director who spent more than five decades in Mexican telenovelas, died on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. He was 79. Mexico's National Association of Performers (ANDI), of which he was a member, announced his death, and the National Association of Actors (ANDA) sent condolences to his family. No cause of death has been made public.

Sirgo was born in Havana on December 19, 1946, into a family of performers. His father was Cuban actor Otto Sirgo, his mother was Mexican actress Magda Haller, and his grandmother was actress Conchita Gentil Arcos. He grew up in Mexico, later took Mexican citizenship, and built nearly his entire career there, starting on film with La maestra inolvidable in the late 1960s.

He appeared in about 50 telenovelas. Audiences remember him as Ángel de la Huerta in Rosa salvaje, opposite Verónica Castro, and as Eduardo Rivas in Lazos de amor, the role that won him the 1996 TVyNovelas Award for best supporting actor. His other credits include Morir para vivir, Alcanzar una estrella II, Niña amada mía, Por un beso and Sortilegio.

Behind the camera he directed telenovelas such as Agujetas de color de rosa and El alma no tiene color, and he worked steadily in theater as both actor and director.