Our beloved father passed away suddenly last Saturday, February 17th at 8:32pm at Lawrence Hospital from complications associated with stage 4 cancer.

Nestor Rene Rodriguez was born on January 18, 1937 in Buenos Aires to parents Marcelino Rodriguez and Eugenia Pessans Goyheneix - Spanish and Basque immigrants of the post-WWI generation. Rene was the middle child of three. His sisters were Gigi and Norma.

After having been enamored by the acrobat youths who would practice and congregate by the banks of the Rio de La Plata, Rene soon quit school to train with them full time, turning out to be quite talented. In 1957 our father was an opening act for Louis Armstrong during Armstrong's South American tour, launching a new chapter in his performance career. At the age of 20 - in a bittersweet turn - he would leave Buenos Aires forever.

From there our father would go on to perform in the 1950's and 60's international circuit of cabarets, world fairs, theaters and nightclubs in Paris, Amsterdam, Montreal, NYC, Japan, among others. Papi spoke of these years as being among his fondest.

Rene wouldn't start a family and become a father until the age of 44 as a NYC resident. He became father to two daughters, Sasha and Nicole, in the 1980's. We remember him best as the consummate teller of bedtime stories - performer of magic tricks - prince of punch-lines - lover and champion of children, athletes, dogs and race-horses...a child at heart himself.

Into older age he remained deeply embodied - strutting, dancing, posing, impersonating, compelling, offending and entertaining those around him until the very end. Rene is survived by Sasha, Nicole, son-in-law James and his grandson, Hudson Renato Dayton.

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