Walter Mercado got his break as a tap-dancer in his native Puerto Rico, before a staff shortage at a local TV station gave him a role in the world of astrology. His camp, Liberace-but-embalmed demeanour and appearance made him an instant sensation, and his popularity soon exploded out of Puerto Rico and across the rest of Latin America. He also became a crossover star into the United States, with Hispanic grannies a-plenty falling for his charms and believing that Mercury in retrograde meant anything. This is the part of every astrologer’s obituary where we crack the “he should have seen that coming” gag.
Walter Mercado
9 March 1932 – 2 November 2019
Died aged 87 (unique pick)