{{Short description|Cuban actor (1931–2023)}} {{Infobox person | name = Nobel Vega | image = Nobel Vega_resize.jpg | birth_date = {{birth date|1931|8|21}} | birth_place = Cuba | death_date = {{death date and age|2023|8|7|1931|8|21}} | death_place = Miami, Florida, United States | other_names = Tio Nobel, Uncle Nobel | occupation = Actor }} '''Nobel Vega''' (August 21, 1931 – August 7, 2023), better known as '''Tio Nobel''' or '''Uncle Nobel''', was a Cuban actor and children's television personality.<ref name = "cite01" >{{Cite web|title=Una mirada al libro de oro del "Tío Nobel"|url=https://www.primerahora.com/opinion/edgardo-huertas/columnas/una-mirada-al-libro-de-oro-del-tio-nobel/|access-date=2020-08-26|website=Primera Hora|date=17 September 2016}}</ref> Vega is mostly remembered for his character as a boat captain who appeared on Puerto Rico's WKAQ-TV's "El Show del Tio Nobel" ("Uncle Nobel's Show"), a daily children's game show he hosted in which children played for prizes, usually Mattel branded toys. His show competed with Spaniard Pacheco's "Cine Recreo", shown on WAPA-TV, Telemundo Puerto Rico's rival television station.
==Early life and career== Nobel Vega became an actor in his native Cuba and he participated in various films before, after the Cuban revolution, he, like many other Cuban nationals of the era, left his country. He settled in Puerto Rico where he found television work and fame, first playing Bozo the Clown for young Puerto Rican audiences on WAPA-TV.<ref>{{Cite web|title=En la casa del Tío Nobel|url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/entretenimiento/television/notas/en-la-casa-del-tio-nobel/|access-date=2020-08-26|website=El Nuevo Día|date=10 February 2012}}</ref> Vega also participated in a telenovela, 1969's Conciencia Culpable.<ref name = "cite01" />
Vega then moved to Telemundo Puerto Rico, where he starred as "Tio Nobel" for more than 20 years on the "Tio Nobel Show" as well as in "El Mundo Infantil del Tio Nobel" ("Uncle Nobel's Children's World") and "El Festival del Tio Nobel" ("Uncle Nobel's Festival"). In later years, he took his "Tio Nobel" character and moved to another Puerto Rican channel, Tele Once.
==Personal life== Vega moved from Puerto Rico during the later stages of his life and he resided in Miami, Florida.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Capitán de todos el Tío Nobel|url=https://www.primerahora.com/entretenimiento/cine-tv/notas/capitan-de-todos-el-tio-nobel/|access-date=2020-08-26|website=Primera Hora|date=29 October 2011}}</ref> He was married to his longtime wife, Nadine Zayas.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Venes|first=Pablo|title=Tío Nobel enfrenta diagnóstico de alzheimer|url=https://www.metro.pr/pr/entretenimiento/2019/10/08/tio-nobel-enfrenta-diagnostico-alzheimer.html|access-date=2020-08-26|website=Metro|language=es}}</ref>
===Illness and death=== Vega in his older age suffered a number of health issues, including having a brain stroke which left him with difficulty to speak, heart problems which led to having a pacemaker installed, several injuries and Alzheimer's disease.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metro.pr/pr/entretenimiento/2019/10/08/tio-nobel-enfrenta-diagnostico-alzheimer.html|title=Tío Nobel enfrenta diagnóstico de alzheimer|date=October 8, 2019|website=Metro Puerto Rico}}</ref>
Nobel Vega died at his home in Miami on August 7, 2023, at the age of 92.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/entretenimiento/television/notas/fallece-nobel-vega-quien-hizo-el-famoso-personaje-infantil-tio-nobel/|title=Fallece Nobel Vega, quien hizo el famoso personaje infantil "Tío Nobel"|date=August 7, 2023|website=El Nuevo Día}}</ref>
==Filmography== Vega participated in three films, including one Hollywood film.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0891884/|title=Nobel Vega|website=IMDb }}</ref>
*"La Justicia de Los Villalobos" (1961, as "Machito") *"Aqui Estan Los Villalobos" (1962, also known as "La Justicia de Los Villalobos 2" and as "El Terror Blanco", as "Machito") *"Calendar Pin-up Girls" (1966)
==See also== *List of Cubans
=== Fellow Cuban expatriates in Puerto Rico === *Luis Aguad Jorge *Carlos Muñiz Varela *Titi Chagua *Marilyn Pupo
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vega, Nobel}} Category:1931 births Category:2023 deaths Category:Cuban children's television presenters Category:Cuban emigrants to Puerto Rico Category:Cuban male actors Category:Male actors from Miami Category:Puerto Rican television personalities