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Gilbert Roland

Gilbert Roland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gilbert Roland (born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso, December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994) was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice nominated for the Golden Globe Award in 1952 and 1964, and inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

Roland was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. When Pancho Villa took control of their town, Roland and his family fled to the United States. He lived in Texas until at age 14 he hopped on a freight train and went to Hollywood. He chose his screen name by combining the names of his favorite actors, John Gilbert and Ruth Roland. He was often cast in the stereotypical Latin lover role.

Roland's first film contract was with Paramount. His first major role was in the collegiate comedy The Plastic Age (1925) together with Clara Bow, to whom he became engaged. In 1926, he played Armand in Camille opposite Norma Talmadge, with whom he was romantically involved, and they starred together in several productions. With the advent of sound films, Roland frequently appeared in Spanish language adaptations of American films, in romantic lead roles. Roland served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II.

Beginning in the 1940s, critics began to take notice of his acting and he was praised for his supporting roles in John Huston's We Were Strangers (1949), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). He also appeared in a series of films in the mid-1940s as the popular character "The Cisco Kid". He played Hugo, the agnostic friend of the three shepherd children in The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima. In 1953, Roland played Greek-American sponge diver Mike Petrakis in the epic Beneath the 12-Mile Reef. His last film appearance was in the 1982 western Barbarosa.

Roland married actress Constance Bennett in 1941. They were married until 1946 and had two daughters. His second marriage, to Guillermina Cantú in 1954, lasted until his death 40 years later.

Gilbert Roland died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California in 1994, aged 88.

  • BIRTH 11/12/1905
  • DEATH 15/05/1994
  • Country Mexico
  • SHOWS 7
  • MOVIES 29

Shows (7)

Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Lt. Julio Chavez
Combat!
Combat!
Boulanger
The Fugitive
The Fugitive
Gus Priamos / Jose Anza
The F.B.I.
The F.B.I.
Emilio Cruz
The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral
Don Domingo Montoya
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Luis Aguilar
Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones
Juan DeVarga

Movies (29)

Around the World in Eighty Days
Around the World in Eighty Days
Achmed Abdullah
Cheyenne Autumn
Cheyenne Autumn
Dull Knife
The Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk
Capt. Lopez
Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
Teche Bossier
The Lost World
The Lost World
Extra
Crisis
Crisis
Roland Gonzales
That Lady
That Lady
Antonio Perez
The Dude Goes West
The Dude Goes West
Pecos Kid
Bandido!
Bandido!
Col. Escobar
Underwater!
Underwater!
Dominic Quesada
She Done Him Wrong
She Done Him Wrong
Serge Stanieff
Ognuno per sé
Ognuno per sé
Mason
The Treasure of Pancho Villa
The Treasure of Pancho Villa
Colonel Juan Castro
King of the Bandits
King of the Bandits
Cisco Kid aka Ramon Mojica
Vado... l'ammazzo e torno
Vado... l'ammazzo e torno
Monetero
The Big Circus
The Big Circus
Zach Colino - the aerialist
Islands in the Stream
Islands in the Stream
Captain Ralph
The Bad and the Beautiful
The Bad and the Beautiful
Victor "Gaucho" Ribera
The Racers
The Racers
Dell'Oro
The Last of the Fast Guns
The Last of the Fast Guns
Miles Lang
Three Violent People
Three Violent People
Innocencio Ortega, Grand Vacaro
The Last Train from Madrid
The Last Train from Madrid
Eduardo de Soto
Malaya
Malaya
Romano
We Were Strangers
We Were Strangers
Guillermo Montilla
The Mark of Zorro
The Mark of Zorro
Don Alejandro Vega
Beauty and the Bandit
Beauty and the Bandit
The Cisco Kid
Call Her Savage
Call Her Savage
Moonglow
The Wild and the Innocent
The Wild and the Innocent
Paul
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
Mike Petrakis