Born and raised in Boyle Heights, California. He starting acting in high school and followed the acting bug to the theater arts department of Los Angeles City College. He joined the Tripoli Circus as Pozo the clown for two tours of the Midwest. He worked as a stage hand for the Bi-Lingual Foundation of the Arts. He broke free and broke through with a role in the Low Rider cult classic Boulevard Nights (1979). That same year he became a member of the Improvisational Theatre Project at the Mark Taper Forum. Since then he has been an improv journeyman working with Cold Tofu, Los Angeles Theatresports, Wrought Irony, and Acme's Zebra Company. To date he has made over 200 appearances as various characters on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992).