Armida Vendrell
Encyclopedia
Armida, born Armida Vendrell, (29 May 1911 – 23 October 1989) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and vaudevillian
born in Aguascalientes
, Mexico
.
, Spain
. She also had two sisters that were performers as well, Lydia Vendrell and Lola Vendrell. By the time she reached the age of nineteen she had a lucrative, long-term screen contract. She purchased a beautiful home where she lived with her family. She aspired to send her younger sisters to college.
Armida was discovered in the old Hidalgo theater in the Plaza in Los Angeles
. The Plaza was the oldest section of the city. Armida was appearing in a small, home-manufactured vaudeville
skit, along with her sister Delores. A spotter for a coast vaudeville circuit was in the audience and offered her a chance at a four-a-day. Armida progressed from the drama marts of the Plaza to various Broadway
productions after being discovered by Gus Edwards, stage and screen actor, song writer, and dance instructor. She participated in as many as twenty-four vaudeville numbers a day while in New York. Edwards brought her back to Hollywood with him and began to feature her in colortone novelties. Gus once said of Armida, that she possessed "the emotional temperament of an actress capable of surmounting the most difficult of histrionic roles".
. Her first film of note featured her in a role opposite actor John Barrymore
. In On The Border (1930) Vendrell played Pepita, a Spanish girl. She is protected from the leader of a band of desperadoes by her lover and her pet dog, Rin-Tin-Tin. The story was an exciting one about Orientals being smuggled over the Mexican border into the United States.
Armida appeared in films like Border Romance (1929), The Show of Shows
(1929), General Crack
(1930), Under A Texas Moon (1930), The Marines Are Coming
(1934), Under The Pampas Moon (1935), Patio Serenade (1938), Bad Men of the Border (1945), Congo Bill
(1948), and The Gay Amigo (1949). Her final role was in Rhythm Inn (1951), in which she played a specialty dancer.
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
born in Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 11 municipalities and its capital city is Aguascalientes....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Early life
Armida came from a theatrical family; her father Joaquin Vendrell was a well known magician "The Great Arnold" who immigrated to Mexico from BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. She also had two sisters that were performers as well, Lydia Vendrell and Lola Vendrell. By the time she reached the age of nineteen she had a lucrative, long-term screen contract. She purchased a beautiful home where she lived with her family. She aspired to send her younger sisters to college.
Appearance
Vendrell was just five feet tall with high heels and two inches less without them. Armida had a tiny face with two dark eyes of radiant beauty. She spoke quickly, without pausing. As a small child she spoke Spanish only. Her personality was vivacious, piquant, fiery in temper, typically Latin in sparkling cleverness.Vaudeville in California
Armida started performing at a young age, when her family moved from Mexico to the United States, her father opened the first movie theater in Douglas, Arizona. She and her sisters would sing and dance during intermission and her father would perform an illusionist act.Armida was discovered in the old Hidalgo theater in the Plaza in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The Plaza was the oldest section of the city. Armida was appearing in a small, home-manufactured vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
skit, along with her sister Delores. A spotter for a coast vaudeville circuit was in the audience and offered her a chance at a four-a-day. Armida progressed from the drama marts of the Plaza to various Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
productions after being discovered by Gus Edwards, stage and screen actor, song writer, and dance instructor. She participated in as many as twenty-four vaudeville numbers a day while in New York. Edwards brought her back to Hollywood with him and began to feature her in colortone novelties. Gus once said of Armida, that she possessed "the emotional temperament of an actress capable of surmounting the most difficult of histrionic roles".
Film career
The young Mexican actress was a success and soon progressed into short subjects in the films and was under contract to United ArtistsUnited Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. Her first film of note featured her in a role opposite actor John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
. In On The Border (1930) Vendrell played Pepita, a Spanish girl. She is protected from the leader of a band of desperadoes by her lover and her pet dog, Rin-Tin-Tin. The story was an exciting one about Orientals being smuggled over the Mexican border into the United States.
Armida appeared in films like Border Romance (1929), The Show of Shows
The Show of Shows (film)
The Show of Shows is a lavish all talking Vitaphone musical revue film which cost $850,000 to make. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros. fifth color movie, the first four were The Desert Song , On With the Show , Gold Diggers of Broadway and Paris . This movie featured most of the contemporary...
(1929), General Crack
General Crack
General Crack is an all-talking historical costume drama film with Technicolor sequences which was produced by Warner Bros. in 1929 and released early in 1930...
(1930), Under A Texas Moon (1930), The Marines Are Coming
The Marines Are Coming
The Marines Are Coming is a 1934 American film directed by David Howard.- Cast :*William Haines as Lt. William "Wild Bill" Traylor*Conrad Nagel as Capt. Edward "Ned" Benton*Esther Ralston as Dorothy Manning...
(1934), Under The Pampas Moon (1935), Patio Serenade (1938), Bad Men of the Border (1945), Congo Bill
Congo Bill (serial)
Congo Bill is a Columbia movie serial based on the DC Comics character Congo Bill.-Plot:Congo Bill searches Africa following rumours of a "White Goddess" and for an heiress, missing since her plane crashed in the wilderness...
(1948), and The Gay Amigo (1949). Her final role was in Rhythm Inn (1951), in which she played a specialty dancer.
Filmography
- Rhythm InnRhythm InnRhythm Inn is a 1951 American film starring Jane Frazee....
(1951) .....specialty dancer - The Gay Amigo (1949) ..... Rosita
- Congo BillCongo Bill (serial)Congo Bill is a Columbia movie serial based on the DC Comics character Congo Bill.-Plot:Congo Bill searches Africa following rumours of a "White Goddess" and for an heiress, missing since her plane crashed in the wilderness...
(1948) ..... Zalea - Jungle Goddess (1948) ..... Wanama
- Cuban Madness (1946) ..... Armida
- Bad Men of the Border (1945) ..... Dolores Mendoza
- South of the Rio Grande (1945) ..... Pepita
- Machine Gun MamaMachine Gun MamaMachine Gun Mama is a 1944 American muscial comedy film directed by Harold Young. It was PRC's attempt to feature a comedy team to compete with Universal's Abbott and Costello and Paramount's Road to … movies and their entry in the Good Neighbor Policy film genre of the time where the United...
(1944) ..... Nita - Here Comes Kelly (1943)
- Melody Parade (1943) ..... Armida
- The Girl from MonterreyThe Girl from MonterreyThe Girl from Monterrey is a 1943 American film directed by Wallace Fox.The film is also known as The Girl from Monterey .- Cast :*Armida Vendrell as Lita Valdez*Edgar Kennedy as Doc Hogan, Fight Promoter...
(1943) ..... Lita Valdez - Always in My Heart (1942) ..... Lolita
- FiestaFiesta (1941 film)Fiesta is a 1941 American Technicolor film directed by LeRoy Prinz that was one of Hal Roach's Streamliners. The film was the motion picture debut of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera star Anne Ayars....
(1941) ..... Cuca - South of Tahiti (1941) ..... Putara
- La Conga Nights (1940
- The Marines Are ComingThe Marines Are ComingThe Marines Are Coming is a 1934 American film directed by David Howard.- Cast :*William Haines as Lt. William "Wild Bill" Traylor*Conrad Nagel as Capt. Edward "Ned" Benton*Esther Ralston as Dorothy Manning...
(1934) - Under The Pampas Moon (1935)
- Patio Serenade (1938)
- General CrackGeneral CrackGeneral Crack is an all-talking historical costume drama film with Technicolor sequences which was produced by Warner Bros. in 1929 and released early in 1930...
(1930) - Under A Texas Moon (1930)
- The Show of ShowsThe Show of Shows (film)The Show of Shows is a lavish all talking Vitaphone musical revue film which cost $850,000 to make. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros. fifth color movie, the first four were The Desert Song , On With the Show , Gold Diggers of Broadway and Paris . This movie featured most of the contemporary...
(1929) - Border Romance (1929)