Liz Torres

Liz Torres came out of the Bronx as a singer and a comic, and the comic never left the actress. Her characters tend to arrive already mid argument, at volume, with a punchline loaded and the timing to hold it back a beat.

Television found her early. She recurred as Teresa Betancourt on All in the Family in the 1970s and then worked steadily through the sitcom decades that followed. The role that got her the industry's attention was Mahalia Sanchez in The John Larroquette Show, which brought her Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, a heavy return for a supporting turn on a series few people now remember.

The role that got her everybody else's attention was Miss Patty, the dance teacher in Gilmore Girls. Patty is a recurring fixture rather than a lead, built to deliver gossip and innuendo on a town square, and Torres plays her as someone having a genuinely good time, which is exactly why the character was worth bringing back for Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.

Film has mostly used her as comic colour, from Scavenger Hunt in 1979 through Just Cause, Permanent Midnight, Joe Dirt and The Odd Couple II, with the straighter option being Dr. Tamayo on Alien Nation.