Tonita Castro, the TV actress and radio personality known for her surging comedy work, succumbed to a battle with stomach cancer on Sunday. The 63-year-old’s agent confirmed the news Wednesday for THR, noting that Castro was a “self-made woman in the industry,” with the ability to make a joke about anything. The actress’s career began in radio not long after she and her family moved to the U.S. from Mexico, in the late 1970s. “We had to start from scratch,” Castro told Fox News Latino three years ago. “My mother was a widow with seven kids and she cleaned and ironed and was proud of the honest work she did.” After roughly two decades of radio work, notably as the co-host of a Spanish-language show, Castro started landing small acting gigs for such shows as The Shield, Little Britain USA, Glee, Two and a Half Men, and The League. She also graced the big screen, thanks to parts in Funny People, Bad Ass, and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. But Castro’s agent told THR that the actress was in the midst of doing her best work, because a recurring role on Matthew Perry’s Go On had helped her net more frequent and substantive offers. Most recently, those had entailed appearances on Kroll Show, Dads, The Grinder, and Life in Pieces, among a handful of other series and films. Castro is survived by her husband.
