Mario Machado

Mário Machado (born Mário José de Souza Machado; April 22, 1935 – May 4, 2013)[1] was a television and radio broadcaster and actor. He made television history when, in 1970, when he became the first Chinese-American on-air television news reporter and anchor in Los Angeles and perhaps in the nation.[2]

Machado at his 70th birthday party in 2005.

Early life

Machado was born in Shanghai, China. His father, Carlos Jacinto de Lourdes Gouveia Furtado Machado, was a vice-chancellor of the Portuguese Consulate in Shanghai, and his mother, Chinese-Portuguese Maria Teresa de Sousa, was a homemaker.

After studying for two years at St. John's Military Academy in Los Angeles at the age of 11, Machado's education was obtained at the British Thomas Hanbury School, St. Francis Xavier College in Shanghai, and a business college in Hong Kong. He emigrated to Seattle in 1956, and became a US citizen in 1965.

Career

Before entering the broadcasting field, Machado worked in management for IBM Corporation.

Television

Machado's television career began in 1967, when he signed on at KHJ-TV (now KCAL-TV) as an on-air news reporter, a first for a Chinese American. The following year he began working as a color commentator at CBS owned-and-operated KNXT (now KCBS-TV) in Los Angeles. In 1969, he became the first Consumer Affairs reporter in the nation at KNXT. He became a regular reporter in 1970 on the CBS nightly broadcast, The Big News, which was Los Angeles' most popular newscast in the 1960s. He worked there with news icon, Jerry Dunphy.

In the early and mid-1970s, Machado hosted the daily news and interview show, Noontime, which aired for seven years on KNXT.

In 1982, he was the announcer of the short-lived syndicated game show called That **** Quiz Show (That Awful! Quiz Show), hosted by Greg & John Rice.

As host of the nationally acclaimed medical investigation show, Medix, which ran for 208 episodes over eight seasons, he was nominated three times for "Outstanding Achievement as Host." The show garnered several Emmys and Emmy nominations.

When not hosting his own talk shows or anchoring the news, Machado often played the part of a reporter, news anchor, or himself on many popular television programs.

Film

On the big screen, as well, Machado often portrayed a news anchor or reporter, notably as Casey Wong in the three RoboCop films. Among the other notable films in which he plays the reporter are Brian's Song (1971), Oh, God! (1977), The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979), Rocky III (1982), Scarface (1983), and St. Elmo's Fire (1985).

Machado also appeared as himself in the Banacek episode "Detour to Nowhere" (1972), Blue Thunder (1983), Without Warning (1994), and An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997).

Machado's most recent appearance was in a 2010 documentary, Shanghai Exodus, for which he also acted as consultant.

Machado's distinctive voice can also be heard on a number of films for Retinitis Pigmentosa International's TheatreVision, which provides blind audiences with a description of what is happening on the screen.

Sports

As a star collegiate athlete and former soccer player, Machado was able to indulge his love for soccer by serving as the English language commentator at four FIFA World Cup soccer championships: in Mexico (1970), Germany (1974), Argentina (1978) and Spain (1982) for audiences throughout North America, and also at the 1984 Olympic Games.

He was the Voice of Soccer for the CBS Television Network in 1968 and in 1976, covering the North American Soccer League (NASL). He did the television play-by-play of both legs for CBS' broadcast of the NASL's first championship.[3] He hosted the weekly soccer program, The Best of the World Cup for the Spanish International Network. Machado hosted Star Soccer from England on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television stations for six years.

He served as Commissioner of the American Soccer League in 1981.

Between 1976 and 1984 he published Soccer Corner Magazine, for fellow enthusiasts of the sport.

When the English Premier League was formed in 1992, Machado was the narrator of the weekly Prem highlights program produced in England and syndicated nationally across the United States.

He was one of the founding members of AYSO with his friend Hans Stierle, and in 1971 he helped change AYSO policy to allow girls to play. In recognition for his contributions to the sport, Machado was inducted into the AYSO Hall of Fame in 1999.

Old China Hands

As president of MJM Communications, Machado has produced numerous special events including the Beverly Hills St. Patrick's Day Parades[4] of 1985 and 1986, the Pet Parade, and the Festival of Nations for Los Angeles County's 150th anniversary, and in 1986, he produced the first official Spanish language coverage of the Rose Parade for Telemundo/KVEA.

An event that has produced results that are still ongoing is the Old China Hands Reunion of 1996. Between September 3 and September 9 of that year 1,100 former residents of China from all corners of the world gathered at MGM Grand Las Vegas hotel in Las Vegas for a reunion that has been called by attendees the biggest and best Old China Hands Reunion.[5]

A large collection of oral histories of individuals who left China in the 1940s and 1950s gathered by Machado and co-producer, Barbara Egyud, at this event, in collaboration with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas History Department, formed the nucleus of the Old China Hands Archive housed at the California State University, Northridge. Robert Gohstand, a retired Geography professor at CSUN and Shanghai classmate of Machado, recognized the importance of saving these stories for posterity, and now heads the Old China Hands Archive at California State University, Northridge which was inaugurated in 2002.[6]

Personal life

Machado's marriage to Marie Christine D’Almada Remedios produced four children: Brian, Michelle, Dennis and Andrea.

Machado died on May 4, 2013 in West Hills, California.[7]

Awards and honors

Machado's work on television has earned him eight Emmy Awards and ten nominations. His last Emmy was for his work on the television special U.S. Citizenship: A Dream Come True, which was broadcast in over 120 countries.

  • Howard Blakeslee Award
  • San Francisco's Interceptor Award
  • Mario Machado Day proclaimed by Mayor Benjamin Norton for December 4, 1983 in Beverly Hills, California.
  • Honorary mayor of Granada Hills for eight years.
  • Los Angeles Commissioner of Cultural Affairs.
  • Was one of the founding members of Nosotros,[8] founded by Ricardo Montalbán in 1970 to improve the image of Latino actors.
  • President Ronald Reagan appointed Machado to the Child Safety Partnership in 1986.
  • 1987 commendation by Los Angeles County for "outstanding work on behalf of women, children and families."
  • Announcer for Pope John Paul II Mass at Dodger Stadium
  • Rode on the "Icons of Freedom" float in the 1988 Tournament of Roses Parade celebrating the U.S. Constitution. He rode with Mickey Mouse, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, boxing champion Muhammad Ali, and others.[9]
  • Honda Motors established the Mario J. Machado Scholarships in 1991
  • Induction in 1999 to the AYSO Hall of Fame:[10]
  • Served as Grand Marshal of numerous Los Angeles Chinatown's Chinese New Year Parades.
  • Honored for his contributions by Chinese Historical Society 1999.
  • John Anson Ford Humanitarian Award in 1994
  • Cited for advancing role of Latinos in media[11]
  • 1996 Humanitarian of the Year Award for more than 2,800 hours of service in 27 years.
  • Carried the Olympic Flame through downtown Los Angeles prior to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1971Brian's SongReporter #1
1977Oh, God!TV Reporter
1979The Concorde ... Airport '79Reporter #1
1982Rocky IIIInterviewer
1983ScarfaceInterviewer
1983Blue ThunderHimself
1985St. Elmo's FireKim Sung Ho
1987RoboCopCasey Wong
1988Jack's BackAnchorman
1988Dead Man WalkingHimself
1990RoboCop 2Casey Wong
1993RoboCop 3
1995Casas de fuegoCadaver
1997An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood BurnHimself

References
  1. LA Times Obituary consulted March 17, 2015
  2. Broadcast Pioneers Archived 2011-09-26 at the Wayback Machine consulted march 28, 2010
  3. North American Soccer League Championship, Leg 1 program, published September 1968
  4. Beverly Hills Courier, March 17, 1995
  5. Geiser, Jessica (2012). "Mario J. Machado Collection, 1936-2013" (PDF). Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  6. "Old China Hands Archives". Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  7. LA Times Obituary consulted March 17, 2015
  8. "Buy Immediately or Start a Rental or Purchase Plan for nosotros.org - Epik.com Domain Name Marketplace". www.nosotros.org.
  9. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4753947695658522730#
  10. http://www.ayso.org/special_programs/hall_of_fame/hof_1999_inductees.aspx
  11. "LatinoLA - Forum :: Positive Latino Images Don't Evolve, It Takes Hard Work!". LatinoLA.
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