Actor Tony Plana’s career was filled with landmark roles in projects that changed Hollywood’s portrayal of Latinos and their culture. The Cuban-born and London-trained actor, who appeared in numerous movie and television projects, gained prominence after starring in the theatrical and 1981 film version of “Zoot Suit,” a musical about the wrongful persecution of a group of young Mexican-Americans in the 1940s. The character actor’s raw and emotional intensity often found him cast in tough guy roles, from a Mohawk-sporting flight trainee in “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1982) to a Mexican bandit
