Leo Carrillo State Beach

Leo Carrillo State Beach, located west of Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway, was named in honor of Leo Carrillo, the actor who portrayed Duncan Renaldo's sidekick, "Pancho", in the popular TV series The Cisco Kid (1950-1956).

Carrillo was born August 6, 1880, in Los Angeles, California and graduated from St. Vincent of Loyola College. After working as a newsman and cartoonist for the San Francisco Examiner, He became a dialect comedian in vaudeville and later on Broadway. In the late 1920s, Carrillo entered films and became one of Hollywood's busiest character actors during the 1930s and 1940s. By the end of his acting career, he had appeared in more than ninety movies. Carrillo played lead roles in his earliest films, but he switched to supporting and character roles in the mid-1930s. Although he often portrayed stereotypical Latinos

designed for comic relief, Carrillo was part of an old and respected Californio family. His great-grandfather was the first provisional governor of California and his grandfather, Pedro Carrillo, was educated in Boston. The Carrillo family moved from San Diego to Los Angeles and then to Santa Monica where Leo Carrillo's father served as the city's first mayor.

In addition to acting, Leo Carrillo also took a special interest in conservation and preservation. He served on the California Beach and Parks Commission for eighteen years, and played a key role in the state's acquisition of Hearst Castle at San Simeon, the Los Angeles Arboretum, and the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Carrillo was eventually made a Goodwill Ambassador by the Governor.

Proud of his heritage and accomplishments, Leo Carrillo wrote a book entitled The California I Love, published in 1961 just before his death from cancer. Carrillo is buried in the Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery in Santa Monica. As a result of his service to the state, the Leo Carrillo State Park was named in his honor. In addition, the City of Westminster named an elementary school for him, and the Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park in Carlsbad has become a registered California Historical Site. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Leo Carrillo has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1635 Vine Street.

A mere half-mile south of the Ventura/Los Angeles County line, Leo Carrillo State Park has served as the backdrop for many of Hollywood's beach and surf flicks. Beginning in the 1950s, its sandy beach, sea cave and coastal reefs have all been used in a variety of cinematic venues such as Republic Pictures' 12-chapter cliffhanger Trader Tom of the China Seas (1954); Roger Corman's Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) starring Richard Garland and Pamela Duncan; and Gidget (1959), Paul Wendkos' screen adaptation of Frederick Kohner's novel about his daughter, starring Sandra Dee and James Darren. In the decades that followed, a number of other movies were also filmed at this locale: I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968), The Karate Kid (1984), The Craft (1996), That Thing You Do! (1996), The Quickie (2001), Crossroads (2002) and Aquanoids (2003).

The Leo Carrillo State Park is located approximately 28 miles northwest of Santa Monica on the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1). The Park has 1.5 miles of beach perfect for beachcombing, swimming, surfboarding, windsurfing, scuba diving, surf fishing and wildlife viewing. The closest Pacific Ocean beach to Thousand Oaks, it may be reached from inland via Decker Canyon Road or Mulholland Highway. The beach offers seasonal lifeguarding, a number of tide pools, kelp beds, coastal reefs and caves ideal for exploring. In fact, this beach is the only one with a cave on the entire Santa Monica Mountain Range. Located across Highway 1 are the Park's campground and picnic sites. Giant sycamores line these sites and offer shady respite for groups of all sizes. Restrooms, showers and barbeques are conveniently available. Additionally, there are a number of backcountry hiking trails. With so much to offer, it is no wonder that Leo Carrillo State Park is one of Southern California’s most popular destinations for outdoor fun.