العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolRAMóN NOVARRO
(Redirected from Ramon Novarro)
'Ramón Novarro' ( – ) was a Mexican actor who achieved fame as a "Latin lover" in silent films.
Born 'José Ramón Gil Samaniego' in Durango, Durango, Mexico, he moved with his family to Los Angeles, California U.S., to escape the Mexican Revolution. A cousin of actress Dolores del Río, he entered films in 1917 playing bit parts, and supplemented his income by working as a singing waiter. His friends, the actor and director Rex Ingram and his wife, the actress Alice Terry, began to promote him as a rival to Rudolph Valentino and Ingram suggested he change his name to "Novarro". From 1923 he began to play more prominent roles. His role in ''Scaramouche'' (1923), brought him his first major success.
In 1925 he achieved his greatest success in ''Ben-Hur'', with his revealing costumes causing a sensation, and Novarro was elevated into the Hollywood elite. With Valentino's death in 1926 he became the screen's leading Latin actor, though ranked behind his MGM stablemate, John Gilbert, as a model lover. He was popular as a swashbuckler in action roles, and was also considered one of the great romantic lead actors of his day.
He appeared with Norma Shearer in ''The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg'' (''The Student Prince'', 1927) and appeared with Joan Crawford in ''Across to Singapore'' in 1928. A silent still shown occasionally on television is his 1929 "The Flying Fleet", an energetic story of early naval aviation. He made his first talking film, starring as a singing French soldier, in ''Devil-May-Care'' (1929). He starred with, Greta Garbo in ''Mata Hari'' in 1932 and was a qualified success opposite Myrna Loy in ''The Barbarian'' (1933). His star was now beginning to fade. His contract with MGM Studios expired in 1935 and the studio did not renew it.
Novarro continued to act sporadically, appearing in a couple of films for Republic Pictures, a Mexican religious drama, a French comedy, and later in the 1940s had several small roles in American films. A Broadway tryout was aborted in the 1960s, though Novarro kept busy on television, appearing in The High Chaparral as late as 1968..
While at the peak of his success in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was earning more than US$100,000 per film. He invested some of his income in real estate. After his career ended he was still able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. There are rumors that MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer tried to coerce Novarro into a "lavender marriage", which he refused. Some claim there is no evidence that Mayer tried to coerce Novarro into contractual marriage, but Novarro himself intimated as much in interviews late in his life.
Novarro had been troubled all his life as a result of his conflicting views over his Roman Catholic religion and his homosexuality, though Rudolph Valentino's close friend Jimmy Quirk wrote that Novarro was far more relaxed and accepting of his sexuality than was Valentino.
Novarro's life ended when he was murdered by two mormon brothers, Tom and Paul Ferguson, whom he had paid to come to his Laurel Canyon home for sex. According to the prosecution in the Novarro murder case, the two young men believed that a large sum of money was hidden in Novarro's house. The prosecution accused them of torturing Novarro for several hours to force him to reveal where the nonexistent money was hidden. They left with a mere twenty dollars they took from his bathrobe pocket before fleeing the scene. Novarro died as a result of asphyxiation, choking to death on his own blood after being brutally beaten. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles. The two brothers were later caught and sentenced to long prison terms, but were quickly released on probation. Both were later rearrested for unrelated crimes, for which they served longer terms than for their murder conviction.
Ramón Novarro has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame commemorating his contribution to the Motion Picture industry, at 6350 Hollywood Boulevard.
In late 2005, the Wings Theatre in New York City staged the world premiere of ''Through a Naked Lens'' by George Barthel. The play combined fact and fiction to depict Novarro's rise to fame and a relationship with Hollywood journalist Herbert Howe.
Novarro's relationship with Herbert Howe is discussed in two biographies: Allan R. Ellenberger's "Ramon Novarro" and Andre Soares's "Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro."
★ Ramón Novarro Photo Gallery
★
★ Photographs of Ramon Novarro
★ Ramon Novarro's Lloyd Wright home
'Ramón Novarro' ( – ) was a Mexican actor who achieved fame as a "Latin lover" in silent films.
| Contents |
| Biography |
| External links |
Biography
Born 'José Ramón Gil Samaniego' in Durango, Durango, Mexico, he moved with his family to Los Angeles, California U.S., to escape the Mexican Revolution. A cousin of actress Dolores del Río, he entered films in 1917 playing bit parts, and supplemented his income by working as a singing waiter. His friends, the actor and director Rex Ingram and his wife, the actress Alice Terry, began to promote him as a rival to Rudolph Valentino and Ingram suggested he change his name to "Novarro". From 1923 he began to play more prominent roles. His role in ''Scaramouche'' (1923), brought him his first major success.
Publicity photo - Ben Hur (1925)
In 1925 he achieved his greatest success in ''Ben-Hur'', with his revealing costumes causing a sensation, and Novarro was elevated into the Hollywood elite. With Valentino's death in 1926 he became the screen's leading Latin actor, though ranked behind his MGM stablemate, John Gilbert, as a model lover. He was popular as a swashbuckler in action roles, and was also considered one of the great romantic lead actors of his day.
He appeared with Norma Shearer in ''The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg'' (''The Student Prince'', 1927) and appeared with Joan Crawford in ''Across to Singapore'' in 1928. A silent still shown occasionally on television is his 1929 "The Flying Fleet", an energetic story of early naval aviation. He made his first talking film, starring as a singing French soldier, in ''Devil-May-Care'' (1929). He starred with, Greta Garbo in ''Mata Hari'' in 1932 and was a qualified success opposite Myrna Loy in ''The Barbarian'' (1933). His star was now beginning to fade. His contract with MGM Studios expired in 1935 and the studio did not renew it.
Cinelandia, March 1931, Ramon Novarro on the cover of the Hispanic-American movie fan magazine
Novarro continued to act sporadically, appearing in a couple of films for Republic Pictures, a Mexican religious drama, a French comedy, and later in the 1940s had several small roles in American films. A Broadway tryout was aborted in the 1960s, though Novarro kept busy on television, appearing in The High Chaparral as late as 1968..
While at the peak of his success in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was earning more than US$100,000 per film. He invested some of his income in real estate. After his career ended he was still able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. There are rumors that MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer tried to coerce Novarro into a "lavender marriage", which he refused. Some claim there is no evidence that Mayer tried to coerce Novarro into contractual marriage, but Novarro himself intimated as much in interviews late in his life.
Publicity photo - "The New Valentino"
Novarro had been troubled all his life as a result of his conflicting views over his Roman Catholic religion and his homosexuality, though Rudolph Valentino's close friend Jimmy Quirk wrote that Novarro was far more relaxed and accepting of his sexuality than was Valentino.
Novarro's life ended when he was murdered by two mormon brothers, Tom and Paul Ferguson, whom he had paid to come to his Laurel Canyon home for sex. According to the prosecution in the Novarro murder case, the two young men believed that a large sum of money was hidden in Novarro's house. The prosecution accused them of torturing Novarro for several hours to force him to reveal where the nonexistent money was hidden. They left with a mere twenty dollars they took from his bathrobe pocket before fleeing the scene. Novarro died as a result of asphyxiation, choking to death on his own blood after being brutally beaten. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles. The two brothers were later caught and sentenced to long prison terms, but were quickly released on probation. Both were later rearrested for unrelated crimes, for which they served longer terms than for their murder conviction.
Ramón Novarro has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame commemorating his contribution to the Motion Picture industry, at 6350 Hollywood Boulevard.
In late 2005, the Wings Theatre in New York City staged the world premiere of ''Through a Naked Lens'' by George Barthel. The play combined fact and fiction to depict Novarro's rise to fame and a relationship with Hollywood journalist Herbert Howe.
Novarro's relationship with Herbert Howe is discussed in two biographies: Allan R. Ellenberger's "Ramon Novarro" and Andre Soares's "Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro."
External links
★ Ramón Novarro Photo Gallery
★
★ Photographs of Ramon Novarro
★ Ramon Novarro's Lloyd Wright home
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
