Today’s post will focus on a famous Latinos in movies and
TV. It was very hard to pick just three because there are so many great actors
and actresses who deserve to be celebrate as the talents they are. To me, they
are amazing people, talented actors who just happened to be Latino. Actors who
made us laugh, who made us think and mesmerized us with their beauty. Actors
who helped paved the way for future generations of actors. Individuals who came
from nothing to rise above and become beloved and revered actors. Two of the
names you will recognize as they are household names but one you may not know. My
hope is that you learn something that you didn’t know about these individuals
and see them beyond their profession, beyond their characters and see the
person behind the famous name.
First, Desi Arnaz otherwise known as Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy (1951-1957). Born Desiderio
Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III on March 2, 1917 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. I
featured Arnaz in a post year and learned a great deal about the man. While I
tried to find someone else to profile, I could deny his influence on TV, so I
wanted to feature him again. Leaving Cuba as a young man, he came to America
with nothing. And he learned to deeply love his adopted country. He was deeply
patriotic and devoted to the United States. He wrote in his memoirs that he
knew of no other country in the world where “a sixteen year old, broke and
unable to speak the language” could achieve the success that he had. It is
amazing to me that somewhere in the world, at any point in the day, I Love Lucy is still on the air and
being enjoyed by millions of fans who weren’t even alive when the show first
aired. Arnaz had a successful career after I
Love Lucy. Toward the end of his life, he owned a horse breeding farm and
raced thoroughbreds. He contributed to various charities and nonprofit
organizations including San Diego State University. He also taught classes in
studio production and acting for television at San Diego State. He died
December 2, 1986 at the age of 69 from lung cancer.
Second, Edward James Olmos is an accomplished actor of both
TV and movies. Born February 24, 1947 in Los Angeles, acting wasn’t his first
choice. He really wanted to be a baseball player. At 13, he joined the Los
Angeles Dodgers farm system playing as a catcher. He left at 15 to join a rock
and roll band. He would later pursue acting as he took classes at the East Los
Angeles College. He starred in Miami Vice
(1984-1989) as Lt. Martin Castillo and Battlestar
Galactica (2004-2009) as Admiral William Adama. He is most famous for his
movie roles. In Stand and Deliver (1988)
as Jaime Escalante, the teacher who taught math to Latino students that
everyone else had written off. In American
Me (1992) as gang leader Montoya Santana and in Blade Runner (1982) as Detective Gaff, a role he will be reprising
in the upcoming sequel Blade Runner 2049 (releasing
October 6. 2017). He is also well known for his activism where he devotes most
of his time to causes particularly involving children especially at risk kids.
His main message is that we all have a choice about where life takes us. He
also stresses the importance of education, the risks of gang life and tries to
promote taking responsibility for one’s actions and happiness in life. He once
was quoted, saying “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to
change the world.”
Third, Dolores del Rio had a successful career in TV, movies
and the stage. Born August 3, 1904 as Maria de los Dolores Asúnsolo
Lopez-Negrete, del Rio is considered to be the first Mexican actress to
crossover to Hollywood and have a successful career in the 1920s and 1930s. She
was a silent film star who was among the few who could continue in talkies. She
is considered one of the more important female figures of the Golden Age of
Mexican cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. She was, at first, billed to be the
female Rudolph Valentino, the female Latin lover. However, her beauty and
elegance shined brighter than that image. She embraced her Mexican heritage and
enjoyed playing roles which allowed her to showcase it. Her film debut was in
the film, Joanna (1925) and her first
talkie film was The Bad One (1930) in
which she could speak and sing in English “with a charming accent.” Del Rio was
one of the prototypes of female beauty in the 1930s. She was never played the
stereotypical Latin bombshell. Her image included words like “sophisticated,
aristocratic, elegant, glamourous lady” by her contemporaries such as Marlene
Dietrich and Joan Crawford. Dolores del
Rio died on April 11, 1983 at the age of 78. She is still celebrated as royalty
in Hollywood as well as in Mexican cinema. She had appeared in over 50 films,
none of which, I am sad to say, I have heard of or seen. I hope I can get the
chance to see one of her films.
In conclusion, Desi Arnaz is one of my favorite actors. His
character of Ricky Ricardo is a part of lexicon that when my husband speaks in
rapid Spanish, I always tease him and call him “Ricky.” Although he is always
remembered as Ricky Ricardo and the man who was married to Lucille Ball, he was
also a man who did great work in and out of Hollywood. Edward James Olmos is an
actor that has been an icon for many years and will continue to be held in high
esteem. Dolores del Rio was an actress who broke the image of a Latin bombshell
with her grace and beauty. While she has faded into obscurity for most of us,
she still is remembered as the talented actress of American and Mexican cinema.
Three amazing actors who opened our eyes to amazing characters and stories
through the magic of movies and TV.
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