Ramón Novarro
Encyclopedia
Ramón Novarro was a Mexican
leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "Sex Symbol
" after the death of Rudolph Valentino
. Novarro was the victim of a violent extortion attempt which resulted in his death.
, Mexico
to Dr. Mariano N. Samaniego
. He moved with his family to Los Angeles
, California
, to escape the Mexican Revolution
in 1913.
Allan Ellenberger, Novarro's biographer, writes:
The family estate was called the "Garden of Eden
". Thirteen children were born there: Emilio; Guadalupe; Rosa; Ramon; Leonor; Mariano; Luz; Antonio; a stillborn child; Carmen; Angel and Eduardo.
At the time of the revolution in Mexico the family moved from Durango to Mexico City and then back to Durango. Ramon's three sisters, Guadalupe, Rosa, and Leonor became nuns.
and Andrea Palma
, he entered films in 1917
in bit parts; and he 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
, his revealing costumes causing a sensation, and was elevated into the Hollywood elite. As with many stars, Novarro engaged Sylvia of Hollywood
as a therapist (although in her tell-all book, Sylvia erroneously claimed Novarro slept in a coffin). With Valentino's death in 1926, Novarro 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 considered one of the great romantic lead actors of his day. Novarro appeared with Norma Shearer
in The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
(1927) and with Joan Crawford
in Across to Singapore
(1928). He made his first talking film
, starring as a singing French soldier, in Devil-May-Care
(1929). He also starred with the French actress Renée Adorée
in The Pagan (1929). Novarro starred with Greta Garbo
in Mata Hari (1932) and was a qualified success opposite Myrna Loy
in The Barbarian
(1933).
When Novarro's contract with MGM Studios expired in 1935, the studio did not renew it. He continued to act sporadically, appearing in films for Republic Pictures
, a Mexican religious drama, and a French comedy. In the 1940s, he had several small roles in American films, including John Huston
's We Were Strangers
(1949) starring Jennifer Jones
and John Garfield
. In 1958, he was considered for a role in a television series, The Green Peacock with Howard Duff
and Ida Lupino
after the demise of their CBS
sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve
. The project, however, never materialized. A Broadway
tryout was aborted in the 1960s; but Novarro kept busy on television, appearing in NBC
's The High Chaparral
as late as 1968.
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
, and his Hollywood Hills residence is one of the more renowned designs (1927) by architect Lloyd Wright
. After his career ended, he was still able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.
, and his life-long struggle with alcoholism
is often traced to these issues. MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer
reportedly tried to coerce Novarro into a "lavender marriage
", which he refused. He was a friend of adventurer and author Richard Halliburton
, also a celebrity in the closet, and was romantically involved with journalist Herbert Howe
, who was also his publicist during the late 1920s.
ed on October 30, 1968, by two brothers, Paul and Tom Ferguson (aged 22 and 17, respectively), whom he had hired from an agency to come to his Laurel Canyon
home for sex. According to the prosecution in the 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 20 dollars they took from his bathrobe pocket before fleeing the scene. Novarro allegedly died as a result of asphyxiation, choking to death on his own blood after being brutally beaten. 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 is buried in Calvary Cemetery
, in Los Angeles. Ramón Novarro's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
is at 6350 Hollywood Boulevard.
, The Murder of Ramon Vasquez, and the song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
, "Tango," recorded by Peggy Lee
on her Mirrors
album.
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 Ramón Novarro and André Soares's Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramón Novarro. A recounting of Novarro's murder can be found in Kenneth Anger
's Hollywood Babylon
.
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "Sex Symbol
Sex symbol
A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...
" after the death of Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
. Novarro was the victim of a violent extortion attempt which resulted in his death.
Early life
Navarro was born José Ramón Gil Samaniego on February 6, 1899 in DurangoDurango
Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to Dr. Mariano N. Samaniego
Samaniego
For the town in Colombia, see Samaniego, NariñoSamaniego is a town and municipality located in the province of Araba , in the Basque Country , northern Spain.-External links:*...
. He moved with his family to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, to escape the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
in 1913.
Allan Ellenberger, Novarro's biographer, writes:
...the Samaniegos were an influential and well-respected family in Mexico. Many Samaniegos had prominent positions the affairs of state and were held in high esteem by the president. Ramon's grandfather, Mariano Samaniego, was a well-known physician in JuarezJuárezJuárez may refer to a number of places and things, most of which are named after Benito Juárez, President of Mexico on several occasions during the 19th century.Mexican cities and towns...
. Known as a charitable and outgoing man, he was once an interim governor for the State of Chihuahua and was the first city councilman of El PasoEl PasoEl Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
, Texas...
Ramon's father, Dr. Mariano N. Samaniego, was born in JuarezJuárezJuárez may refer to a number of places and things, most of which are named after Benito Juárez, President of Mexico on several occasions during the 19th century.Mexican cities and towns...
and attended high school in Las CrucesLas CrucesLas Cruces could refer to:* Battle of Monte de las Cruces* Las Cruces, California* Las Cruces, Chile* Las Cruces, New Mexico ** The main campus of New Mexico State University...
, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. After receiving his degree in dentistry at the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, he moved to Durango, Mexico, and began a flourishing dental practice. In 1891 he married Leonor Gavilan, the beautiful daughter of a prosperous landowner. The Gavilans were a mixture of Spanish and AztecAztecThe Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
blood, and according to local legend, they were descended from Guerrero, a prince of MontezumaMontezumaMontezuma, Moctezuma, Moteczoma, Motecuhzoma, Moteuczomah, Mwatazuma, are variant spellings and may refer to:*Moctezuma II , ninth Aztec Emperor, ruler at the beginning of the Spanish conquest of Mexico...
.
The family estate was called the "Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
". Thirteen children were born there: Emilio; Guadalupe; Rosa; Ramon; Leonor; Mariano; Luz; Antonio; a stillborn child; Carmen; Angel and Eduardo.
At the time of the revolution in Mexico the family moved from Durango to Mexico City and then back to Durango. Ramon's three sisters, Guadalupe, Rosa, and Leonor became nuns.
Career
A second cousin of the Mexican actresses Dolores del RíoDolores del Río
Dolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood...
and Andrea Palma
Andrea Palma (Actress)
Andrea Palma was a Mexican film actress. She was considered The First Diva of Mexican and Latin American Cinema after her role in the Mexican film La Mujer del Puerto.-Early life:...
, he entered films in 1917
1917 in film
The year 1917 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Foundation of Universum Film AG , as a propaganda film company, in Berlin.*Technicolor System 1, a two-color process, is introduced...
in bit parts; and he supplemented his income by working as a singing waiter. His friends, the actor and director Rex Ingram
Rex Ingram (director)
Rex Ingram was an Irish film director, producer, writer and actor. Legendary director Erich von Stroheim once called him "the world's greatest director."-Early life:...
and his wife, the actress Alice Terry
Alice Terry
Alice Terry was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era, appearing in thirty-nine films between 1916 and 1933.-Career:...
, began to promote him as a rival to Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
, and Ingram suggested he change his name to "Novarro." From 1923, he began to play more prominent roles. His role in Scaramouche
Scaramouche (1923 film)
Scaramouche is a silent costume adventure based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini, directed by Rex Ingram, released by Metro Pictures, and starring Ramón Novarro, Alice Terry, Lewis Stone, and Lloyd Ingraham....
(1923) brought him his first major success.
In 1925, he achieved his greatest success in Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1925 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1925 silent film directed by Fred Niblo. It was a blockbuster hit for newly merged Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This was the second film based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace...
, his revealing costumes causing a sensation, and was elevated into the Hollywood elite. As with many stars, Novarro engaged Sylvia of Hollywood
Sylvia of Hollywood
Sylvia Ulback , known as Sylvia of Hollywood, was an early Hollywood fitness guru. Between 1926 and 1932, "Madame Sylvia", as she was also known, specialised in keeping movie stars camera-ready through stringent massage, diet and exercise.-Early life:Sylvia was born Symnove Johanne Waaler in Oslo ...
as a therapist (although in her tell-all book, Sylvia erroneously claimed Novarro slept in a coffin). With Valentino's death in 1926, Novarro became the screen's leading Latin actor, though ranked behind his MGM stablemate, John Gilbert
John Gilbert (actor)
John Gilbert was an American actor and a major star of the silent film era.Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw...
, as a model lover. He was popular as a swashbuckler
Swashbuckler
Swashbuckler or swasher is a term that emerged in the 16th century and has been used for rough, noisy and boastful swordsmen ever since. A possible explanation for this term is that it derives from a fighting style using a side-sword with a buckler in the off-hand, which was applied with much...
in action roles and was considered one of the great romantic lead actors of his day. Novarro appeared with Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
in The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg, also known as The Student Prince and Old Heidelberg, is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1927 silent film based on a novel by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster. Ernst Lubitsch directed the picture...
(1927) and with Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
in Across to Singapore
Across to Singapore
Across to Singapore is a 1928 silent film by director William Nigh starring Ramon Novarro and Joan Crawford. The plot involves a love triangle between a woman and two brothers, set on board ship and in Singapore...
(1928). He made his first talking film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
, starring as a singing French soldier, in Devil-May-Care
Devil-May-Care
Devil-May-Care is a sound American musical film with Technicolor sequences released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on 27 December 1929...
(1929). He also starred with the French actress Renée Adorée
Renée Adorée
Renée Adorée was a French actress who had appeared in Hollywood silent movies during the 1920s.-Early life:...
in The Pagan (1929). Novarro starred with Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
in Mata Hari (1932) and was a qualified success opposite Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
in The Barbarian
The Barbarian (1933 film)
The Barbarian is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film about an American woman tourist in Egypt who has several suitors, among them an Arab guide who is more than he seems. The Barbarian stars Ramon Novarro and Myrna Loy...
(1933).
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
, a Mexican religious drama, and a French comedy. In the 1940s, he had several small roles in American films, including John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
's We Were Strangers
We Were Strangers
We Were Strangers is a 1949 adventure–drama film directed by John Huston and starring Jennifer Jones and John Garfield.The film, set in 1933, concerns a group of revolutionaries attempting to overthrow the Cuban regime...
(1949) starring Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones
Phylis Lee Isley , better known by her stage name Jennifer Jones, was an American actress. A five-time Academy Award nominee, Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Song of Bernadette .-Early life:Jones was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Flora Mae and...
and John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
. In 1958, he was considered for a role in a television series, The Green Peacock with Howard Duff
Howard Duff
Howard Green Duff was an American actor of film, television, stage, and radio.Duff was born in Charleston, Washington, now a part of Bremerton. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle in 1932 where he began acting in school plays only after he was cut from the basketball team...
and Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
after the demise of their CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve
Mr. Adams and Eve
Mr. Adams and Eve is a CBS sitcom starring Howard Duff and his then wife, Ida Lupino, as a fictitious acting couple, Howard and Eve Adams, residing in Beverly Hills, California. In the television series, Lupino is known professionally as Eve Drake. The program aired sixty-six episodes from January...
. The project, however, never materialized. A Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
tryout was aborted in the 1960s; but Novarro kept busy on television, appearing in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network...
as late as 1968.
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
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
, and his Hollywood Hills residence is one of the more renowned designs (1927) by architect Lloyd Wright
Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr. , commonly known as Lloyd Wright, was an American landscape architect and architect, most active in Los Angeles and Southern California...
. After his career ended, he was still able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.
Personal life
Novarro had been troubled all his life as a result of his conflicting views over his Roman Catholic religion and his homosexualityHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, and his life-long struggle with alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
is often traced to these issues. MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
reportedly tried to coerce Novarro into a "lavender marriage
Lavender marriage
Lavender marriage is a type of male-female marriage of convenience in which the couple are not both heterosexual and conceal the homosexual or bisexual orientation of one or both spouses...
", which he refused. He was a friend of adventurer and author Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author. Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cents—Halliburton was headline news for most of his brief career...
, also a celebrity in the closet, and was romantically involved with journalist Herbert Howe
Herbert Howe
-Career:Howe was one of the most popular Hollywood news writers of his day during the 1920s and 30s, writing for early film fan magazine Photoplay.-Personal life:...
, who was also his publicist during the late 1920s.
Death
Novarro was murderMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed on October 30, 1968, by two brothers, Paul and Tom Ferguson (aged 22 and 17, respectively), whom he had hired from an agency to come to his Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, California
Laurel Canyon is a canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was first developed in the 1910s, and became a part of the city of Los Angeles in 1923 ....
home for sex. According to the prosecution in the 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 20 dollars they took from his bathrobe pocket before fleeing the scene. Novarro allegedly died as a result of asphyxiation, choking to death on his own blood after being brutally beaten. 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 is buried in Calvary Cemetery
Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles
The Calvary Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery operated by the Los Angeles Archdiocese, located at 4201 Whittier Boulevard in Los Angeles, California...
, in Los Angeles. Ramón Novarro's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood 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...
is at 6350 Hollywood Boulevard.
In popular culture
Novarro's murder served as the influence for the short story by Charles BukowskiCharles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
, The Murder of Ramon Vasquez, and the song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
, "Tango," recorded by Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
on her Mirrors
Mirrors (Peggy Lee album)
Mirrors is a 1975 album by Peggy Lee, being an A&M Records album of neo-cabaret "art songs" sung by that same Peggy Lee, written and produced by rock & roll pioneers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, mostly arranged & conducted by Johnny Mandel.-Track listing:#"Is That All There Is?" – 4:21 #"Ready...
album.
In late 2005, the Wings Theatre in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
staged the world premiere of Through a Naked Lens
Through a Naked Lens
Through a Naked Lens is an American play by author George Barthel. It received its world premiere Off-Broadway at the Wings Theatre in New York City. The play itself uses historical evidence and imagined circumstances to depict the rise of early Hollywood film star Ramón Novarro...
by George Barthel. The play combined fact and fiction to depict Novarro's rise to fame and a relationship with Hollywood journalist Herbert Howe
Herbert Howe
-Career:Howe was one of the most popular Hollywood news writers of his day during the 1920s and 30s, writing for early film fan magazine Photoplay.-Personal life:...
.
Novarro's relationship with Herbert Howe is discussed in two biographies: Allan R. Ellenberger's Ramón Novarro and André Soares's Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramón Novarro. A recounting of Novarro's murder can be found in Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, occasional actor and author...
's Hollywood Babylon
Hollywood Babylon
Hollywood Babylon is a book by avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger which details the sordid scandals of many famous and infamous Hollywood denizens from the 1900s to the 1950s. First published in the US in 1965, it was banned ten days later and would not be republished until 1975...
.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | Joan the Woman Joan the Woman Joan the Woman is a 1916 silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Geraldine Farrar as Joan of Arc.It was the first film to use the Handschiegl Color Process for certain scenes... |
Starving Peasant | Uncredited |
| 1917 | The Jaguar's Claws | Bandit | Uncredited |
| 1917 | The Little American The Little American The Little American is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Mary Pickford as an American woman who is in love with both a German and a French soldier during World War I.-Plot:... |
Wounded Soldier | Uncredited |
| 1917 | The Hostage | Uncredited | |
| 1917 | The Woman God Forgot The Woman God Forgot -Cast:* Wallace Reid - Alvarado* Raymond Hatton - Montezuma* Hobart Bosworth - Cortez* Theodore Kosloff - Guatemoco* Walter Long - Taloc * Julia Faye - Tecza's handmaiden* Olga Grey - Aztec woman* Geraldine Farrar - Tecza... |
Aztec man | Uncredited |
| 1918 | The Goat | Uncredited | |
| 1921 | A Small Town Idol | Dancer | as Ramón Samaniego |
| 1921 | The Concert | Dancing shepherd | Uncredited |
| 1921 | The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film) The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1921 silent movie produced by Metro Pictures Corporation, adapted by June Mathis, directed by Rex Ingram and starring Rudolph Valentino, Pomeroy Cannon, Josef Swickard, Wallace Beery, and Alice Terry... |
Guest at Ball | Uncredited |
| 1921 | Man-Woman-Marriage | Dancer | Uncredited |
| 1922 | Mr. Barnes of New York | Antonio | as Ramon Samaniego |
| 1922 | The Prisoner of Zenda The Prisoner of Zenda (1922 film) The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1922 silent adventure film, one of the many adaptations of Anthony Hope's popular 1894 novel of the same name and the subsequent 1896 play by Hope and Edward Rose.-Plot:... |
Rupert of Hentzau | as Ramon Samaniegos |
| 1922 | Trifling Women Trifling Women Trifling Women was a 1922 silent romantic drama film directed by Rex Ingram. It is credited with boosting the careers of its leads, Barbara La Marr and Ramon Novarro. It has been described as Ingram's most personal film. The film is considered lost.-Plot:... |
Henri/Ivan de Maupin | |
| 1923 | Where the Pavement Ends Where the Pavement Ends (1923 film) Where the Pavement Ends is a silent tropical romance drama directed by Rex Ingram on location in Cuba and starring his wife Alice Terry and Ramón Novarro. The film was produced and distributed by Metro Pictures. It is now considered a lost film.... |
Motauri | |
| 1923 | Scaramouche Scaramouche (1923 film) Scaramouche is a silent costume adventure based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini, directed by Rex Ingram, released by Metro Pictures, and starring Ramón Novarro, Alice Terry, Lewis Stone, and Lloyd Ingraham.... |
André-Louis Moreau, Quintin's Godson | |
| 1924 | Thy Name Is Woman Thy Name Is Woman Thy Name Is Woman is a 1924 silent comedy film directed by Fred Niblo.-Cast:* Ramon Novarro - Juan Ricardo* Barbara La Marr - Guerita* William V. Mong - Pedro the Fox * Wallace MacDonald - Capt. Rodrigo de Castelar... |
Juan Ricardo | |
| 1924 | The Arab The Arab (1924 film) The Arab is a silent film starring Ramon Novarro and Alice Terry, written and directed by Rex Ingram, based on a 1911 play by Edgar Selwyn.-Production background:... |
Jamil Abdullah Azam | |
| 1924 | The Red Lily The Red Lily The Red Lily is a 1924 silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo, starring Ramon Novarro, Enid Bennett and Wallace Beery.-Plot:Jean Leonnec and Marise La Noue are pennyless lovers who eloped to Paris, she to become a prostitute known as 'the red lily', he to learn the ways of the underworld from... |
Jean Leonnec | |
| 1925 | A Lover's Oath | Ben Ali | |
| 1925 | The Midshipman The Midshipman The Midshipman is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by Christy Cabanne. The film stars Ramon Novarro and Harriet Hammond. Joan Crawford had an early uncredited role as an extra. -Cast:*Ramon Novarro as Dick Randall... |
Dick Randall | |
| 1925 | Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ Ben-Hur (1925 film) Ben-Hur is a 1925 silent film directed by Fred Niblo. It was a blockbuster hit for newly merged Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This was the second film based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace... |
Judah Ben-Hur | |
| 1927 | Lovers? | José | |
| 1927 | The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg, also known as The Student Prince and Old Heidelberg, is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1927 silent film based on a novel by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster. Ernst Lubitsch directed the picture... |
Crown Prince Karl Heinrich | |
| 1927 | The Road to Romance The Road to Romance The Road to Romance is a 1927 film directed by John S. Robertson, based upon a Joseph Conrad-Ford Madox Ford novel, Romance. The film is considered lost... |
José Armando | |
| 1928 | Across to Singapore Across to Singapore Across to Singapore is a 1928 silent film by director William Nigh starring Ramon Novarro and Joan Crawford. The plot involves a love triangle between a woman and two brothers, set on board ship and in Singapore... |
Joel Shore | |
| 1928 | A Certain Young Man A Certain Young Man A Certain Young Man is a 1928 comedy film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Ramon Novarro, Marceline Day, Renée Adorée, Carmel Myers and Bert Roach. The film is considered lost.-Production:... |
Lord Gerald Brinsley | |
| 1928 | Forbidden Hours | His Majesty, Michael IV | |
| 1929 | The Flying Fleet | Ens./Ltjg Tommy Winslow | |
| 1929 | The Pagan The Pagan (1929 film) The Pagan is a 1929 silent/part talking film romance filmed in Tahiti and produced and distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer. The director of the picture was W. S. Van Dyke, and the cinematographer was Clyde De Vinna, both who had previously visited Tahiti in 1928 to film White Shadows in the South... |
Henry Shoesmith, Jr. | |
| 1929 | Devil-May-Care Devil-May-Care Devil-May-Care is a sound American musical film with Technicolor sequences released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on 27 December 1929... |
Armand | |
| 1930 | Le chanteur de Séville | Juan | French version of Call of the Flesh |
| 1930 | In Gay Madrid In Gay Madrid In Gay Madrid is an American musical comedy, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Ramón Novarro and Dorothy Jordan, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-Production:... |
Ricardo | |
| 1930 | The March of Time | Himself | Unfinished film |
| 1930 | Call of the Flesh Call of the Flesh Call of the Flesh is an American musical film directed by Charles Brabin. The film stars Ramon Novarro, Dorothy Jordan, and Renée Adorée... |
Juan de Dios | |
| 1930 | Sevilla de mis amores | Juan de Dios Carbajal | Spanish version of Call of the Flesh |
| 1931 | Daybreak | Willi Kasder | |
| 1931 | Son of India | Karim | |
| 1931 | Mata Hari | Lt. Alexis Rosanoff | |
| 1932 | Huddle | Antonio "Tony" Amatto | |
| 1932 | The Son-Daughter | Tom Lee/Prince Chun | |
| 1933 | The Barbarian The Barbarian (1933 film) The Barbarian is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film about an American woman tourist in Egypt who has several suitors, among them an Arab guide who is more than he seems. The Barbarian stars Ramon Novarro and Myrna Loy... |
Jamil El Shehab | |
| 1934 | The Cat and the Fiddle | Victor Florescu | |
| 1934 | Laughing Boy Laughing Boy (1934 film) Laughing Boy is a 1934 film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and is based on the novel of the same name by Oliver La Farge- Cast :... |
Laughing Boy | |
| 1935 | The Night Is Young | Archduke Paul "Gustl" Gustave | |
| 1936 | Against the Current | |
Director, writer |
| 1937 | The Sheik Steps Out | Ahmed Ben Nesib | |
| 1938 | A Desperate Adventure | André Friezan | Alternative title: It Happened in Paris |
| 1940 | Ecco la felicità | Felice Ciatti | Italian version of La comédie du bonheur |
| 1940 | La comédie du bonheur | Félix | French film |
| 1942 | The Saint That Forged a Country | Juan Diego | Mexican film |
| 1949 | We Were Strangers We Were Strangers We Were Strangers is a 1949 adventure–drama film directed by John Huston and starring Jennifer Jones and John Garfield.The film, set in 1933, concerns a group of revolutionaries attempting to overthrow the Cuban regime... |
Chief | |
| 1949 | The Big Steal The Big Steal The Big Steal is a 1949 black-and-white film noir/comedy reteaming Out of the Past stars Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer. The film was directed by Don Siegel, based on the short story "The Road to Carmichael's" by Richard Wormser.-Plot:... |
Inspector General Ortega | |
| 1950 | The Outriders | Don Antonio Chaves | |
| 1950 | Crisis Crisis (1950 film) Crisis is a 1950 drama film starring Cary Grant, directed by Richard Brooks. The story of an American couple who inadvertently become embroiled in a revolution, it was based on the short story "The Doubters" by George Tabori.-Plot:Dr... |
Colonel Adragon | |
| 1958 | Disney's Wonderful World | Don Esteban Miranda | 2 episodes |
| 1960 | Heller in Pink Tights Heller in Pink Tights Heller In Pink Tights is a 1960 Technicolor western film adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel, Heller with a Gun. It stars Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn and was directed by George Cukor.... |
De Leon | |
| 1962 | Thriller | Maestro Giuliano | Episode: "La Strega" |
| 1964 | Dr. Kildare | Gaspero Paolini | 3 episodes |
| 1964 to 1966 | Combat! | Charles Gireaux Count De Roy |
2 episodes |
| 1965 | Bonanza Bonanza Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the... |
Jose Ortega | Episode: "The Brass Box" |
| 1967 | The Wild Wild West The Wild Wild West The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969.... |
Don Tomas | Episode: "The Night of the Assassin" |
| 1968 | The High Chaparral The High Chaparral The High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network... |
Padre Guillermo | Episode: "A Joyful Noise" |