Who was the first Mexican actor in Hollywood?

Ramón Novarro was a Mexican-American actor who rose to prominence in silent films as a “Latin lover.” José Ramón Gil Samaniego was born in Durango, Mexico, and fled to Los Angeles, California, with his family to flee the Mexican Revolution in 1913.

Dr. Mariano N. Samaniego and his wife, Leonor (Pérez Gavilán), gave birth to José Ramón Gil Samaniego on February 6, 1899, in Durango City, Durango, north-west Mexico. In 1913, the family relocated to Los Angeles to avoid the Mexican Revolution. Novarro’s direct ancestors came from Burgos, Spain when two brothers went to the United States in the seventeenth century.

Novarro began his cinematic career in 1917, playing small roles and augmenting his money by singing waiters, taxi dancers, and dancing in revues staged by Ernest Belcher (father of Marge Champion).

Novarro’s mixed views about his Roman Catholic faith and his homosexuality plagued him throughout his life. These issues are frequently linked to his lifelong struggle with alcoholism. Novarro had a love relationship with composer Harry Partch, who was working as an usher at the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the time, in the early 1920s, but the relationship ended when Novarro became more successful as an actor.

On October 30, 1968, Novarro was assassinated by brothers Paul and Tom Ferguson, ages 22 and 17, who called him and offered their sexual services. Novarro had previously hired prostitutes from an agency to come to his Laurel Canyon house for sex, and the Fergusons had gotten Novarro’s phone number from a previous visitor.

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