LOS ANGELES — My late mother didn't have much of a chance to fully assimilate into American life. She moved to the United States from Mexico as a 9-year-old in the early 1960s and went to work almost immediately — first in garlic and strawberry fields, then as a packer in the old Hunt-Wesson cannery in Fullerton. Although she learned English, Mami spoke Spanish almost exclusively for most of her life.
That didn't stop her from enjoying almost everything Hollywood had to offer.
Her tastes over the decades largely mirrored those of mainstream America. She enjoyed the screwball antics of Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and Benny Hill. She swooned over Omar Sharif in "Doctor Zhivago" and Burt Reynolds in the "Smokey and the Bandit" films. She thought Steve Martin was a brilliant actor and loved game shows like "Family Feud" and "The Chase."
