Duncan Renaldo
Encyclopedia
Renault Renaldo Duncan better known as Duncan Renaldo, was an American
actor who portrayed The Cisco Kid
in films and on the 1950-1956 American
TV series, The Cisco Kid
.
, Romania as Vasile Dumitru V. Couyanos or Basil Couyanos. Renaldo apparently never knew his biological parents and was raised in several European countries. His birthplace has been generally stated as Romania and he said his first childhood memories were in Romania. He emigrated to America in the 1920s. Failing to support himself as a portrait painter, he tried producing short films. He eventually took up acting and signed with MGM in 1928. In 1934, he was arrested for illegal entry
into the United States, but eventually was pardoned by President Franklin Roosevelt and returned to acting.
Though he starred mostly in B-films
, for example Tiger Fangs
(1943), Renaldo played roles in mainstream films as well, including in Spawn of the North
(1938) with George Raft
, Henry Fonda
and John Barrymore
; and For Whom the Bell Tolls
with Gary Cooper
and Ingrid Bergman
. He was also a producer, writer and director.
, who was 24 years Renaldo's senior. The Cisco Kid always helped where needed, and unlike most Western heroes, rarely killed anyone.
Renaldo illustrated a book of poetry by Moreton B. Price titled Drifter's Dreams. His illustrations are ink sketches of idyllic scenes, primarily seascapes and landscapes.
in 1980, aged 76, in Goleta, California
. His interment took place in Calvary Cemetery in Santa Barbara, California
.
at 1680 Vine Street. He is pictured with the band War on their 1974 album, War Live
, which includes the group's 1973 song, "The Cisco Kid".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor who portrayed The Cisco Kid
The Cisco Kid
The Cisco Kid refers to a character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in the collection Heart of the West...
in films and on the 1950-1956 American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
TV series, The Cisco Kid
The Cisco Kid (TV series)
The Cisco Kid is a half-hour American Western television series starring Duncan Renaldo in the title role, The Cisco Kid, and Leo Carrillo as the jovial sidekick, Pancho...
.
Early years
Renaldo told some interviewers that he actually did not know where he was born. Various sources claim that he was born in Oancea, Galaţi CountyGalati County
Galaţi is a county of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galaţi.-History:Historically Galaţi is part of Moldavia...
, Romania as Vasile Dumitru V. Couyanos or Basil Couyanos. Renaldo apparently never knew his biological parents and was raised in several European countries. His birthplace has been generally stated as Romania and he said his first childhood memories were in Romania. He emigrated to America in the 1920s. Failing to support himself as a portrait painter, he tried producing short films. He eventually took up acting and signed with MGM in 1928. In 1934, he was arrested for illegal entry
Illegal entry
Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law.Migrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like...
into the United States, but eventually was pardoned by President Franklin Roosevelt and returned to acting.
Though he starred mostly in B-films
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
, for example Tiger Fangs
Tiger Fangs
-External links:**...
(1943), Renaldo played roles in mainstream films as well, including in Spawn of the North
Spawn of the North
Spawn of the North is a 1938 film about rival fishermen in Alaska starring George Raft and featuring Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, and John Barrymore...
(1938) with George Raft
George Raft
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
, Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
and John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
; and For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls (film)
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a 1943 film in Technicolor based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. It stars Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff and Katina Paxinou. This was Ingrid Bergman's first technicolor film. Hemingway handpicked Cooper and Bergman for their roles. The film...
with Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
and Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
. He was also a producer, writer and director.
Television star
In the late 1940s, Renaldo starred in several Hollywood Westerns as The Cisco Kid, and in 1950, he began playing the role in a popular television series that ran until 1956. In the age of black-and-white television, the show was filmed in color. As Cisco, Renaldo roamed the Old West on a black-and-white horse named Diablo, accompanied by his constant companion, Pancho, played by Leo CarrilloLeo Carrillo
Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo , was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist.-Family roots:...
, who was 24 years Renaldo's senior. The Cisco Kid always helped where needed, and unlike most Western heroes, rarely killed anyone.
Renaldo illustrated a book of poetry by Moreton B. Price titled Drifter's Dreams. His illustrations are ink sketches of idyllic scenes, primarily seascapes and landscapes.
Death
Renaldo died of lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in 1980, aged 76, in Goleta, California
Goleta, California
Goleta is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, USA. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated, populated area in the county. As of the 2000 census, the Census-designated place had a total population of 55,204, however, a significant...
. His interment took place in Calvary Cemetery in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
.
Legacy
For his contributions to the television industry, Renaldo has a star on the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 1680 Vine Street. He is pictured with the band War on their 1974 album, War Live
War Live (album)
War Live is the first live album by funk group War, recorded during a four-night engagement at Chicago's High Chapparral club and released on United Artists Records in 1974...
, which includes the group's 1973 song, "The Cisco Kid".