~Ramon Novarro~

Born: February 6, 1899 in Durango, Mexico
Died: October 30, 1968 in North Hollywood, California, USA
~Biography~
The son of a prosperous Mexican dentist, Ramon Novarro moved to California with his family to
escape the revolution in his country. The family's wealth having been left behind, young Novarro
took on a number of odd jobs, ranging from piano teacher to cabaret singer. He toured vaudeville in
a musical act, picking up extra and bit work in Hollywood. When cast as the lovable scoundrel
Rupert of Hentzau in director Rex Ingram's The Prisoner of Zenda (1922), Novarro scored an
immediate hit, and was promptly built up by the Hollywood press agent brigade as "the New
Valentino." His most famous silent role was as the title character in MGM's mammoth Ben Hur. At
his peak, Novarro earned 5,000 dollars a week, and was receiving tons of fan mail from devoted
female fans. His pleasant speaking voice and above-average singing prowess enabled Novarro to
weather the talkie revolution, but his films -- with notable exceptions like Mata Hari (1932), in which
he was teamed with Greta Garbo -- became increasingly routine. After leaving MGM in 1935, Novarro
appeared in a flop Broadway play, and attempted several movie comebacks. Though wealthy enough
not to need work, Novarro was restless when not before the cameras; he continued accepting
character roles in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe, and produced and directed (but did not star) in the
1936 Mexican production Contra la Coriente. He remained active into the 1960s with good guest-star
appearances on television. Though touted throughout his career as a ladies' man, Novarro was in
fact a homosexual. His gentlemanly discretion in this and all matters earned him the respect of his
fellow workers; it is doubly tragic, then, that the 69-year-old Ramon Novarro was brutally murdered
in his home in the Hollywood Hills.

Biography by Hal Erickson, Allmovie.com
~Silent Filmography~
The Pagan (1929) .... Henry Shoesmith, Jr.
The Flying Fleet (1929) .... Ens./Ltjg Tommy Winslow
Forbidden Hours (1928) .... His Majesty, Michael IV
A Certain Young Man (1928) .... Lord Gerald Brinsley ... Movie Still Code: 270-X
Across to Singapore (1928) .... Joel Shore ... Movie Still Code: 354-X
The Road to Romance (1927) .... José Armando
... aka Romance
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) .... Crown Prince Karl Heinrich
... aka Old Heidelberg
... aka The Student Prince (UK)
Lovers? (1927) .... José
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) .... Judah Ben-Hur
... aka Ben-Hur (USA: short title)
The Midshipman (1925) .... Dick Randall
A Lover's Oath (1925) .... Ben Ali
The Red Lily (1924) .... Jean Leonnec
The Arab (1924) .... Jamil Abdullah Azam
Thy Name Is Woman (1924) .... Juan Ricardo
Scaramouche (1923) .... André-Louis Moreau, Quintin's Godson
Where the Pavement Ends (1923) .... Motauri
Trifling Women (1922) .... Henri/Ivan de Maupin
The Prisoner of Zenda (1922) (as Ramon Samaniegos) .... Rupert of Hentzau
Mr. Barnes of New York (1922) (as Ramon Samaniego) .... Antonio
Man-Woman-Marriage (1921) (uncredited) .... Dancer
... aka Man, Woman, Marriage (copyright title)
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) (uncredited) .... Guest at Ball
The Concert (1921) (uncredited) .... Dancing Shepherd
A Small Town Idol (1921) (as Ramón Samaniego) .... Dancer
The Goat (1918) (uncredited)
The Woman God Forgot (1917) (uncredited) .... Aztec man
The Hostage (1917) (uncredited)
The Little American (1917) (uncredited) .... Wounded Soldier
The Jaguar's Claws (1917) (uncredited) .... Bandit
Joan the Woman (1917) (uncredited) .... Starving Peasant
.