Joaquin Garay III, one of very few native Southern Californian actors, got his start at the ripe old age of 4. He was born into an entertainment family as his dad, Joaquin Garay, was a well-known entertainer and radio personality in the 1930s and 40s. Joaquin Sr. was best known for the voice of Panchito in the Disney film The Three Caballeros.

From gulping down Happy Meals for McDonalds to following his father’s legacy at Disney as a star of Disney’s Herbie Goes Bananas, he’s done it all. He’s appeared in over 100 commercials throughout his career! The comedy bug bit him some years back and he has performed on many stages throughout Southern California including The Groundlings, Improv Olympics, and the L.A. Connection. Throughout the years he has written and performed many sketch comedy shows in L.A. which eventually led to a writing/performing role on SiTV (now Nuvo). Unacceptable Behavior earned a NAMIC Vision award nomination for Best Comedy.

To round out his career, he made his way to Theatre and nabbed lead roles in productions such as Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” and multiple runs of Ray Bradbury’s “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit”, which he was lucky enough to work directly with Ray Bradbury before he passed away.

Since he was young, Joaquin has been a part of the entertainment business in one way or another, and still is. Joaquin is still busy working on different projects, and you may see him pop up here or there in films and TV shows. Whether he is writing, directing, producing, or most recently, teaching, he can always be found doing what he loves to do. He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, and his daughter Carmina Garay, who as you may have guessed, has continued in the family tradition.

Testimonials

“I have worked with Joaquin Garay III on two of my films and I have to say, he is one of my most favorite actors. He’s a gem to work with; professional, so very talented, highly creative and can think on the spot like no one else… Plus he constantly cracks me up. I look forward to more opportunities to work with him in the future.
It excites me to no end to introduce him to the amazing actors in our community. I know their careers will be impacted for the better after working with Joaquin.” – Susan Shearer

“Joaquin is a fantastic teacher! Not only is he knowledge and fun to learn from, he shares great ways that improv can be practical even in scripted material!” – Bryan McClure