Actor Manolo Villaverde, who starred as Pepe Peña in the first bilingual sitcom on American television, "¿Qué Pasa, U.S.A.?," died on Saturday, according to the show’s executive producer, Pepe Bahamonde.

“I knew from the moment that I started doing the casting for the show that there were certain people that I wanted in certain characters, and Manolo was one of them,” Bahamonde said.

Villaverde played a father, Pepe Peña, in the popular show that was on air from the late 70s to early 80s. It won six regional Emmys and was being broadcast on 121 different stations across America by the time its four-year, 39-episode run was up.

The sitcom was created through a federal grant with the concept of helping young Cuban Americans deal with cross-cultural conflicts, Bahamonde said, adding that Villaverde was a Cuban exile.

It centered around the Peña family, who had three generations – grandparents, parents and children – all living under one roof in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, he said.

“Manolo was such a fine character,” he said. “There was no ego. Manolo was the joker of the group. Whenever we had a break, he would be the one telling the funny stories and the jokes.”

While the show was a local phenomenon, it found a broader appeal by its second season, according to Bahamonde. It played on stations across the country, and the sitcom ultimately attracted more viewers from other backgrounds than its original Cuban viewership.

Many people took to fan pages and social media accounts Saturday and Sunday to praise his groundbreaking role in "¿Qué Pasa, U.S.A.?"

Radio host Enrique Santos said in a Facebook post that the sitcom marked generations. It helped many newly arrived families adapt to America and helped Americans understand Cubans, Santos said.

“Manolo Villaverde, our Pepe Peña, was the head of that family and the reflection of so many fathers and grandparents,” Santos said. “Manolo, thank you for teaching us how to laugh in both languages. Rest in peace.”

Villaverde was a lifelong artist beyond the show. He featured in many plays and series including the Nickelodeon children’s series, Gullah Gullah Island.

That said, it seemed Villaverde was most proud of his work on "¿Qué Pasa, U.S.A.?," Bahamonde said.

People would shout “Pepe Peña” at him on the streets and recognize him when he traveled, and he enjoyed that, Bahamonde said.

Villaverde moved to Daytona Beach about two years ago, he said. When he retired from television and theater, he started painting.

His death comes as a “terrible surprise,” Bahamonde said. They had maintained a friendship throughout the years and chatted recently in the New Year.

The way people are reacting to Villaverde’s death helps to convey how much he was loved, he said. There is a “void that Manolo leaves behind for the people that knew him.”

“He was not just a good actor,” Bahamonde said. “He was a good person.”

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