Actor Pedro Armendariz; many roles

MEXICO CITY

- The Mexican government news agency and arts council said that character actor Pedro Armendariz Jr. has died in New York City. He was 71.

Armendariz's most famous roles are sly, cynical characters endowed with wit and charisma. Armendariz played Gov. Riley in the 2005 movie "The Legend of Zorro," and acted in 1989's "Old Gringo" and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" in 2003.

Government news agency Notimex said yesterday that he died of cancer. He acted in more than 100 films, including the Mexican hit "The Crime of Father Amaro."

The president of Mexico's National Arts Council lamented Armendariz's death in her Twitter account.

Armendariz's father bore the same name and was a star of Mexican films in the 1940s and '50s.