George Lopez

Photo courtesy of GeorgeLopez.com

George Lopez

George Lopez wants to be sure you know his name. His various television vehicles can be hard to keep track of because they’re all variations on it: the semi-autobiographical ABC sitcom George Lopez in the aughties, followed by his late-night talk show Lopez Tonight, followed by his TV Land single-cam sitcom Lopez. (Can a web series called George! be far behind?) Also a successful film actor and guest on other TV shows, Lopez’s career through lines are his continual return to his troubled childhood for material and his continual breaking of boundaries for Mexican Americans, whose prominence in this country has long lagged behind their representation in media. Of course, it all sprang from Lopez’s stand-up, which he brings to Raleigh this week on his “The Wall” world tour—a reference to the one between his Mexican and American identities as well as the ones he has torn down in the entertainment industry. —Brian Howe