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The beloved Mexican-American actor played Luis, the Fix-It Shop owner, for more than 40 years.

\"He was one of the most positive people that I think I'll ever know,\" Sonia Manzano, who played Delgado's on-screen spouse, Maria, on the hit show, said Friday on \"Good Morning America.\"

She added, \"He was fair and he was kind. He was sincerely kind and I think that's why kids all over the world and all over America gravitated towards him the way that we all did.\"

\"PHOTO:
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
PHOTO: Students of P.S. 234 in Manhattan laugh while Luis and Muppet Rosita tell them about the "You Can Ask!" Sesame Street program, on June 25, 2003 in New York City. "You Can Ask!" is a program that aims to help with stress in children ages 3 to 8.
>

She went on, \"He and I were both raised at a time when there were no people of color on television at all, I'm sure. And I know for myself that I watched a lot of television and wondered what I was going to contribute to a society that did not see me, and I think that when we eventually got on 'Sesame Street,' we were -- we were what we ourselves needed to see growing up in the United States.\"

Delgado took a brief hiatus from the show in the late 80s but returned within a year.

In between \"Sesame Street\" appearances, Delgado appeared in a number of popular primetime TV series, including \"Quincy,\" \"Hawaii Five-O,\" \"Falcon Crest,\" \"House of Cards,\" and three iterations of the \"Law & Order\" franchise.

He was a recurring cast member of \"Lou Grant,\" appearing in 19 episodes as national editor Rubin Castillo.

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