Luis Ávalos was an actor best known for his work on the PBS children’s program The Electric Company.

On The Electric Company, Ávalos played several characters, perhaps most memorably Doctor Doolots, a composite of Doctor Dolittle and Groucho Marx who cured his patients using words. He joined the show during its second season and remained until it ended in 1977.

A native of Havana, Cuba, Ávalos eventually immgrated to the U.S. and earned his first credit with a role in the 1973 feature film Badge 373, starring Robert Duvall. He went on to apper in other features, including The Butcher's Wife, Hot Stuff, Jungle 2 Jungle, Hollywood Homicide, The Ringer and $5 a Day, but worked most widely in television.

In addition to The Electric Company, his many other TV credits included Kojak, The Jeffersons, Hill Street Blues, Soap, Fame, Archie Bunker’s Place, Barney Miller, Simon & Simon, Full House, NYPD Blue, JAG and Walker, Texas Ranger. In addition, he had regular roles on E/R, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Condo, I Had Three Wives and Resurrection Blvd.

In 2000, Ávalos founded the Americas Theatre Arts Foundation in Los Angeles and served as its artistic director to support productions of Latin American-inspired dramas.

Ávalos died January 22, in Burbank, California. He was 67