LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Kjell Rasten, 79, the husband to Charo for more than 40 years, was found dead today in his home of an apparent, self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Rasten died of a wound from a semi-automatic pistol and Charo was home at the time, law enforcement sources told The Blast. The sources added it was unclear what led up to the death and no note appeared to be left behind. According to a source on the scene, Charo was seen running out of the house screaming and covered with blood, then rode with Rasten in the ambulance.
An unidentified person dialed 911.
The couple, married in 1978, appeared together on a 2015 episode of “Celebrity Wife Swap” where Charo swapped Rasten with former “Love Boat” co-star Jill Whelan. Charo rarely posted social media photos of her husband.
It was her second husband, having been married to bandleader Xavier Cugat from 1966 to 1978 but she has said the marriage was a mere business arrangement. Charo, born Maria del Rosario Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza, and Rasten had one child together, Shel, who is the drummer for heavy metal band Treazen and appeared alongside his parents in “Celebrity Wife Swap” and supported his mother when she made her way to the stage during “Dancing With The Stars” in 2017. He appeared in “Baskets” as a Farm Boy, and in “Sharknado 5: Global Swimming.”
Charo, an accomplished flamenco guitarist as well as actress and comedian, came to prominence in America because of her sexy persona, heavy Spanish accent and exuberance, becoming a staple of ’70s television with appearances on “Fantasy Island” to “Laugh-In” to “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”
