Jose De Vega

José De Vega Jr. (January 4, 1934 – April 8, 1990) was an American actor, choreographer, and advocate for eliminating ethnic stereotypes in the entertainment industry. Born in San Diego, California, he was the son of José De Vega Sr., a Filipino-born U.S. Navy serviceman, and Socorro De Vega (née Barbosa), who was Colombian. He had one sister, Isabel De Vega Gorre (1936–2005), and received his early education at San Diego High School.

De Vega began his professional career in the theater, joining the original 1957 Broadway production of West Side Story. His involvement with the production started as a replacement for the character Juano, and he subsequently served as understudy and then replacement for the role of Chino, the best friend of Bernardo, leader of the Sharks. In 1958, he traveled to Hawaii, where he was cast as a principal actor and featured dancer in a production of The Music Man at Dillingham Hall. He was later invited to reprise the role of Chino for the 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story, and he also performed the role on the London stage and in Japan.

His film work in 1961 extended beyond West Side Story. That same year he appeared in Blue Hawaii as Ernie Gordon, a friend of the character played by Elvis Presley, and had an uncredited dancer role in Flower Drum Song. Subsequent film credits included Island of the Lost (1967), A Covenant with Death (1967), and Ash Wednesday (1973). On television, he made appearances in series including Bonanza, Wagon Train, The High Chaparral, Mission Impossible, Dynasty, and Hart to Hart.

In the late 1970s, De Vega spent four years with the Modern Dance Company of Rome, known in Italian as Danza Contemporania Di Roma, before returning to the United States in 1981. He then became an active participant in productions by Great Leap, a Los Angeles-based collective of Asian-American artists founded in 1978 and dedicated to eliminating ethnic stereotypes in entertainment. He had been associated with the organization since its founding and remained connected to it for the rest of his life.

In 1986, De Vega choreographed a major dance scene for The Karate Kid Part II, which became his final film credit. His collaboration with performer and activist Nobuko Miyamoto on that project led to the creation of Talk Story, a performance piece the two conceived together drawing on their musical and choreographic contributions to the film. Talk Story was staged at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in 1989.

De Vega died on April 8, 1990, at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Westwood, Los Angeles, from complications related to AIDS. He was 56 years old.