Ramon Novarro
| Ramón Novarro | |
|---|---|
Ramón Novarro in 1922
|
|
| Born |
José Ramón Gil Samaniego February 6, 1899 Durango City, Durango, Mexico |
| Died | October 30, 1968 (aged 69) North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Cause of death | Asphyxiation (murdered) |
| Resting place | Calvary Cemetery |
| Other names |
|
| Years active | 1917–1968 |
| Awards |
Hollywood Walk of Fame - Motion Picture 6350 Hollywood Boulevard |
Jose Ramón Gil Samaniego, best known as Ramón Novarro (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), was a Mexican-American film, stage and television actor who began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box office attractions of the 1920s and early 1930s. Novarro was promoted by MGM as a "Latin lover" and became known as a sex symbol after the death of Rudolph Valentino.
Novarro was born José Ramón Gil Samaniego on February 6, 1899 in Durango City, Durango, Mexico, to Dr. Mariano N. Samaniego, and his wife, Leonor (Gavilan). The family moved to Los Angeles, California, to escape the Mexican Revolution in 1913. Novarros's direct ancestors came from the Castilian town of Burgos from where two brothers emigrated to the New World in the seventeenth century.
Allan Ellenberger, Novarro's biographer, writes:
[...t]he Samaniegos were an influential and well-respected family in Mexico. Many Samaniegos had prominent positions in the affairs of state and were held in high esteem by the president. Ramon's grandfather, Mariano Samaniego, was a well-known physician in Juarez. 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 Paso, Texas...
Ramon's father, Dr. Mariano N. Samaniego, was born in Juarez and attended high school in Las Cruces, New Mexico. After receiving his degree in dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania, he moved to Durango, Mexico, and began a flourishing dental practice. In 1891 he married Leonor Pérez-Gavilán, the beautiful daughter of a prosperous landowner. The Pérez-Gaviláns were a mixture of Spanish and Aztec blood, and according to local legend, they were descended from Guerrero, a prince of Montezuma.
...
Wikipedia