Tommy Muiz Lucas Tomas Muiz Ramirez (February 4, 1922 January 15, 2009), better known as Tommy Muiz,

, was a Puerto Rican comedy and drama actor, media producer, businessman and network owner. He is considered to be one of the pioneering figures of the television business in Puerto Rico. Muiz Ramirez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on February 4, 1922, to Don Toms Muz Souffront and Montserrat "Nena" Ramirez. His father, Don Toms, was a marketing executive who later became the administrator of various radio stations, as well as a radio producer. Although Muz was born in Ponce, he was raised in the capital city of San Juan where he studied. Muz developed an interest in the entertainment business thanks to his father and to his uncle and godfather Felix Muz, who also produced radio programs. He started by being the messenger of the marketing firm where his father and uncle used to work, and eventually became a radio scriptwriter. Muiz was a very successful radio producer in Puerto Rico during the mid- to late 1940s. Five of his radio programs -comedies for which he was often the scriptwriter, sometimes with the assistance of Sylvia Rexach- would consistently earn a strong following, as judged by the attendance to personal presentations of the artists featured in them. He was responsible for introducing more than a dozen new artists to the media. He bought Radio Luz 1600 (WLUZ-AM) a radio station at Bayamon, Puerto Rico. During the first years of commercial television in Puerto Rico, and after a brief period during which revenues from his radio productions trickled down, Muiz opted to start producing television programs as well. He was producer or executive producer for dozens of television programs and specials between 1955 and 1995. At one time in the early 1960s, five programs produced by Muiz were in the top five television rankings in local audience surveys. One of the programs even spawned a 1967 film, "La Criada Malcriada", starring Velda Gonzlez, Shorty Castro and Muiz, among others. He is credited for producing most of Jos Miguel Agrelot's television programs during his career. He is also credited with discovering and promoting other television artists as well, particularly Otilio Warrington. In the 70's he was the channel 7 owner (WLUZ-TV San Juan, Puerto Rico). Muiz was persuaded by his executive staff to produce Spanish soap operas, known as novelas. The lackluster performance of these programs as measured by television ratings contrasted significantly with the enormous success of his comedy productions. As a result, decisions were made to reduce the number of novelas produced and cut the company's payroll. As a consequence, at least one local actor, Jose Reymundi, lost his

job. As a result, in November 1973, Puerto Rico witnessed one of the largest labor disputes between the local Actors Union and Tommy Muiz Productions. In solidarity with Reymundi, seven actors left Muiz's productions demanding fringe benefits from the company. Production on Muiz's programs stopped for two weeks, with many unionized technicians joining the protesting actors at the picket line. The actors then formed Astra, an actors' conglomerate inspired by the origins of United Artists. Astra produced the experimental television programs Ah va eso and Sin ton ni son. Muz was married to Luz Mara Garca de la Noceda and they had eight children: Rafael (aka Rafo), Ruby, Hilda, Mario, Luzie, Tomito, Manolo, Pedro and Flix Antonio (Too). Rafo and Pedro are both well-known actors and producers and Too currently is Production Manager for various promoters in Puerto Rico. In the 80's and 90's Too was the producer of the yearly top Salsa event in the Caribbean, "Festival de Salsa Winston; Pedro directed a dramatic film, Cayo. Manolo was a businessman before his untimely death in July 1995. Tommy Muz died January 15, 2009 in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. Luz Mara Garca de la Noceda died a day after her 87th. Birthday, on October 21, 2011. Tommy Muiz's life is described in two books: an autobiography named "As he vivido and "Juan, Juan, Juan! Crnicas de la televisin en tiempos de don Tommy" by Puerto Rican author Beba Garca.