Dolores del Río
Encyclopedia
Dolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Later in life, she became an important actress in Mexican films.
She was generally thought to be one of the most beautiful actresses of her era, and was the first Latin American movie star to have international appeal.
In the silent film era, del Río was considered a counterpart to Rudolph Valentino
. She was frequently called the "Princess of México".
, Mexico, del Río was the second cousin of actor Ramón Novarro
and a cousin to actress Andrea Palma
. She was born into a wealthy family of Spanish
ancestry. Her parents were Jesus Leonardo Asúnsolo Jacques, director of the Bank of Durango, and Antonia Lopez-Negrete. They were members of the Porfiriato (members of the ruling class from 1876–1911 when Porfirio Díaz
was president) in Mexico. The family lost all its assets during the Mexican Revolution
, and settled in Mexico City. A desire to restore her comfortable lifestyle inspired del Rio to follow a career as an actress.
She studied at the Liceo Franco Mexicano in Mexico City. She had a passion for dancing and admired the great Russian
ballerina Anna Pavlova. Performing as a dancer for gatherings of rich Mexicans, she met Jaime Martinez del Rio
, a scion of one of Mexico's most important families. They fell in love although he was 18 years older. In 1921, at the age of 16, she married him. The couple spent three years in Europe. In 1924, they returned to del Rio's ranch in Durango. The couple moved to Mexico City. Dolores del Río was discovered by movie producer Edwin Carewe
. Struck by Dolores' beauty, Carewe gave the couple work in Hollywood, she as an actress and he as a screenwriter
.
. These films were not blockbusters, but helped increase del Río's popularity. Carewe's intention was to transform her into a star on the order of Rudolph Valentino.
In 1926 the artist Theodore Lukits
painted her portrait. Titled A Souvenir of Seville, it depicted the actress in the dress worn for her presentation to the Spanish Court. Also featured was her pet monkey. The large painting was displayed in the Carthay Circle Theatre for the premier of The Loves of Carmen (1927). It was reproduced in magazine and newspaper articles in the United States and Mexico.
In late 1926, director Raoul Walsh
called del Río to give her a role in What Price Glory. With the character of Charmaine, del Río achieved her desired success. Later, she was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars
in 1926 (along with fellow newcomers Joan Crawford
, Fay Wray
, Janet Gaynor
, and Mary Astor
). She came to be admired as one of the most beautiful women on screen.
After she gained fame, Carewe produced Resurrection
(1927), which was a box office hit. In 1927, Raoul Walsh called del Río for a second version of Carmen
. The first was with Theda Bara
in 1917. Walsh thought del Río to be the best interpreter of all the "Hollywoods Carmen" for his authentically Latin American version, The Loves of Carmen (1927). With Walsh she also filmed The Red Dance.
In 1928, she replaced the actress Renée Adorée
in the MGM film The Trail of '98
, directed by Clarence Brown
. Her career flourished until the end of the silent era. She had successful films such as Ramona
(1928, for which she recorded the famous song "Ramona
" with RCA Victor), and Evangeline
(1929).
While del Río's career was flourishing, her marriage declined. Her husband moved to Germany, where he committed suicide from depression in 1929.
With the arrival of the talkies, del Río left her working relationship with Carewe. He seemed to take revenge by filming a new version of Resurrection
with the alleged Dolores rival, Lupe Vélez
. With the support of United Artists
, del Rio left Carewe and debuted in the talkies with The Bad One
in 1930.
, one of MGM's leading art directors and production designers, whom she met at a party organized by William Randolph Hearst
and Marion Davies
at Hearst Castle
. Her presence in Hollywood of the thirties is not just limited to the world of cinema, also the high society circles. The Gibbons-Del Río house in Hollywood was a frequent meeting place from personalities like Greta Garbo
, Marlene Dietrich
, Errol Flynn
, Lili Damita
, Clark Gable
and many more.
With the advent of talkies, she was relegated to exotic and unimportant roles. The Hollywood executives sought "do not talk too much at her movies", because of her Spanish accent. She scored successes with Bird of Paradise
(1932), directed by King Vidor
. The film was produced by David O. Selznick
that request the script to King Vidor and say: "I want Del Rio in a love story in the South Seas. I don't care the script, but in the end, Del Rio should be thrown into a volcano". The film scandalized audiences when she took a naked swim with Joel McCrea
. This film was made before the Hays Code was enacted so nudity could be shown. Next she filmed Flying Down to Rio
(the film that first paired Fred Astaire
and Ginger Rogers
) (1933); Madame Du Barry
(1934) and Wonder Bar
(1934).
Later, del Río starred in the Busby Berkeley
comedies In Caliente (1935) and I Live for Love (1935), but she refused to participate in the film Viva Villa!
(Fay Wray
took her place). Dolores described the film as an "Anti-Mexican movie".
In 1934, Dolores del Río was one of the victims of the "open season" of the "reds" in Hollywood. With James Cagney
, Ramón Novarro
and Lupe Vélez
, she was accused of promoting communism in California. Twenty years later this would have consequences on her career.
In the late thirties, del Río's career declined. With the support of Warner Bros.
she made a series of police films (such as Lancer Spy
in 1937 and International Settlement
in 1938). But del Río's career in the later 1930s unfortunately suffered from too many exotic, two-dimensional roles designed with Hollywood's cliched ideas of ethnic minorities in mind. She was marked as "box office poison" by exhibitors, along with actresses such as Katharine Hepburn
, Mae West
, Marlene Dietrich
and Joan Crawford
.
In 1940, del Río met Orson Welles
, who at that time was new to Hollywood. Feeling a mutual attraction, the couple began a romance. Welles fell madly in love with her. Reportedly, the affair was the cause of her divorce from Gibbons in 1941. Dolores del Río was with Welles for two years, during which he was at the peak of his career. She was at his side during the filming of Citizen Kane
, and during the attacks of Randolph Hearst against him. Welles initially directed del Río in the Mexican film Santa
, but the project was cancelled. The film directed by Norman Foster
was realized later by the Mexican actress Esther Fernández
.
She also accompanied Welles in vaudeville shows across the United States. She collaborated with Welles in the film Journey into Fear in 1942. After Welles broke from RKO, del Río sympathized with him, though her character (a sexy leopard-woman) in the film, was reduced.
and Frida Kahlo
, and maintained ties with Mexican society and cinema. After breaking off her relationship with Orson Welles, del Río decided to try her luck in Mexico, disappointed by the "American star system". Mexican director Emilio Fernández
asked her to star in Flor silvestre (1942) and the miracle happened: at 37, Dolores del Río became the most famous movie star in her country, filming in the Spanish language for the first time. The production group del Río-Fernández, together with the cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa
and the actor Pedro Armendáriz
had international fame. One of her most successful films was Maria Candelaria
(1943, winner at the Cannes Film Festival
). The movie was written by Emilio as a present for her birthday. Other celebrated movies of the group were Las Abandonadas
(1944, censored in México by six months), Bugambilia (1945), The Fugitive
(1947, directed by John Ford
), and La Malquerida
(1949).
Over her collaborations with Fernández, del Río was given the opportunity to work with the best film directors in Mexico. Roberto Gavaldon
was the one who inherited from Fernández the privilege of creating stories for the flaunting of Del Rio. Under the Gavaldón direction, Dolores filmed the movies La Otra
(1946), La Casa Chica (1949), Deseada (1950) and El Niño y la Niebla, (1953,which competes in the Cannes Film Festival). In 1951, Dolores starred Doña Perfecta, in which she was acclaimed for her great dramatic representation.
Dolores worked in Argentina
in 1947, in a film version of Oscar Wilde
's Lady Windermere's Fan
. The Cinema of Spain
called her twice for the movies Señora Ama (1954, directed by Dolores's cousin Julio Bracho
) and in La Dama del Alba in 1966. Her mother's death in 1961 forced to cancel the Spanish movie Muerte en el otoño, directed by Juan Antonio Bardem.
In 1959, the director Ismael Rodriguez achieved the impossible: bring Dolores del Río and María Félix
together in one film La Cucaracha
. The newspapers speculated a strong rivalry between the two actresses. María Felix said: " With Dolores i don't have any rivalry. On the contrary. We were friends and we always treated each other with great respect".
In 1959, she married theatrical American businessman Lewis "Lou" Riley (a former member of the Hollywood Canteen
), whom she met in Acapulco
ten years before. The house of Dolores in México, called "La Escondida" in Coyoacán
, was very popular with Mexican and foreign celebrities. She won the Silver Ariel (Mexican Academy Award) as best actress four times.
In 1954, del Río was slated to appear in the 20th Century Fox
film Broken Lance
. The U.S. government denied her permission to work in the USA, accusing her of being a sympathizer of international communism. Because del Río did not get permission, the film was made by Katy Jurado
. Dolores del Río became one of the victims of McCarthyism
. Her situation with the U.S. was fixed in 1956 when the actress was able to return to the United States to perform in the theatrical production of Anastasia
with Lili Darvas.
in Flaming Star
directed by Don Siegel
. Del Rio alternated between films in Mexico and the USA, with both television and theater.
In 1964, she appeared in Cheyenne Autumn
directed by John Ford, with a cast that included Richard Widmark
, Carroll Baker
, James Stewart
, Gilbert Roland
and Ricardo Montalbán
. In 1967, she performed for the first time in Italy, with Sophia Loren
and Omar Sharif
in the film More than a Miracle
, produced by Carlo Ponti
.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Dolores del Río starred in theater classics like Anastasia
(1956), Lady Windermere's Fan
(1958) and The Lady of the Camellias
(1968, directed by Jose Quintero
), with great success in Mexico, Latin America and Europe. She also participated in some American TV series, acting with figures like Buster Keaton
, Cesar Romero
, Bill Cosby
and others. In England she starred in a BBC
TV program along with Ben Lyon
. Dolores del Río's last movie was The Children of Sanchez
with Anthony Quinn
and Katy Jurado
.
From the fifties to the seventies, del Río collaborated in some international film festivals like Cannes Film Festival
(1957), Berlin Film Festival
(1962) and San Sebastián Film Festival (1976).
During the sixties and seventies, Dolores del Río became involved in actor union activities in her native country and was the founder of the group known as "Rosa Mexicano". In 1974, she was the founder of the Estancia Infantil of the Asociacion Nacional de Actores in Mexico. In 1966, she was founder of the "Sociedad Protectora del Tesoro Artistico de México" (Society for the Protection of the artistic treasures of Mexico), co-founded with the philanthropist Felipe García Beraza and responsible for protecting buildings, paintings and other works of art and culture in México. In 1972, she helped found the Festival Cervantino in Guanajuato
.
In 1981, del Río was an honoree in the San Francisco Film Critics Circle
.
, but the marriage came to end in 1928. Her former husband committed suicide in Berlin a year later.
She was a devout Roman Catholic.
From 1930 to 1940 Dolores was married to MGM's Art Designer Cedric Gibbons
. Her relationship of four years with Orson Welles came to an end in 1943, and he married Rita Hayworth
shortly afterwards. Rebecca Welles, the daughter of Welles and Hayworth, met Dolores in 1954 and said: "My father considered her the great love of his life", "She was a living legend in the history of my family". Welles once remarked that he was incredibly impressed by her lingerie, which had been made by nuns in France.
In the late 30's, Dolores was also involved with Errol Flynn
and the German writer Erich Maria Remarque
, who compared her beauty with Greta Garbo. Other rumors tried to involve her with Greta Garbo
and Marlene Dietrich
, with whom Dolores maintained a close friendship. In the 40's, she was involved with the Mexican movie producer Archibaldo Burns and with the Dominican playboy Porfirio Rubirosa
. In 1949, Dolores met Lewis A. Riley in Acapulco
. Riley, a theatre producer, was member of the Hollywood Canteen in the 1940s. After ten years together, the couple married in Mexico City in 1959.
at the age of 77, in Newport Beach, California
. She was cremated and her ashes were interred in the Panteón de Dolores
cemetery in Mexico City, Mexico
. In 2005, on the centenary of her birth, her remains were moved to the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres in Mexico City. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
, at 1630 Vine Street
, in recognition of her contributions to the motion picture industry.
. In 1930, when Crawford emerged as beauty personified in the entire world, but especially in Hollywood, the women imitated her style of dress and make-up. Gone was the style of heavy pancake and little heart shaped mouths. In its place the angular face, the sculptured look came into vogue. They produced a new type of beauty, of which Dolores del Río was the precursor. She left her 1920s look, loosened her hairdo, enlarged the shape of her lips and altered her eyebrows to underline her exquisite bone structure. She converted hers into one of the truly Great Faces".
Marlene Dietrich
considered del Río "The most beautiful woman in Hollywood" For many people "She has better legs than Dietrich and better cheekbones than Garbo". Some rumors said that her diet consisted of orchid petals and that she slept 16 hours in the day.
Despite the passage of years, Dolores del Río continued until the end to present an image of an educated lady, elegant and sophisticated, that despite her age still remained pleasant and desirable in the eyes of the public. In 1978, Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times
mentions her as "One of the reigning beauties of the century". She was interpreted by the actress Lucy Cohu
in the TV. film RKO 281
in 1999. Dolores del Río has a statue at Hollywood-La Brea Boulevard in Los Angeles, designed by Catherine Hardwicke built to honor of multi-ethnic leading ladies of the cinema together with Mae West
, Dorothy Dandridge
and Anna May Wong
.
In 1982, Dolores and María Félix were parodied in the Carlos Fuentes
's script Orquídeas à la luz de la luna. Comedia Mexicana that was presented in Spain and at Harvard university
. Since 1983, the Mexican Society of Film Critics has been giving the Diosa de Plata award "Dolores del Río" for the best dramatic female performance. From September 2009 to January 2010, Dolores del Río was honored in the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, with one of the most complete photography compilations of her career.
She was generally thought to be one of the most beautiful actresses of her era, and was the first Latin American movie star to have international appeal.
In the silent film era, del Río was considered a counterpart to Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
. She was frequently called the "Princess of México".
Early life
Born María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete in DurangoDurango
Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
, Mexico, del Río was the second cousin of actor Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro was a Mexican leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "Sex Symbol" after the death of Rudolph Valentino...
and a cousin to actress Andrea Palma
Andrea Palma (Actress)
Andrea Palma was a Mexican film actress. She was considered The First Diva of Mexican and Latin American Cinema after her role in the Mexican film La Mujer del Puerto.-Early life:...
. She was born into a wealthy family of Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
ancestry. Her parents were Jesus Leonardo Asúnsolo Jacques, director of the Bank of Durango, and Antonia Lopez-Negrete. They were members of the Porfiriato (members of the ruling class from 1876–1911 when Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
was president) in Mexico. The family lost all its assets during the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, and settled in Mexico City. A desire to restore her comfortable lifestyle inspired del Rio to follow a career as an actress.
She studied at the Liceo Franco Mexicano in Mexico City. She had a passion for dancing and admired the great Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
ballerina Anna Pavlova. Performing as a dancer for gatherings of rich Mexicans, she met Jaime Martinez del Rio
Martinez del Rio
-The Martinez del Rio Family:The Martinez del Rio family is one of the leading patrician families, prominent in entrepreneurship and cultural circles. The family has helped to shape Mexico's politics, economy and society from the time of Mexican independence from Spain, until the present day...
, a scion of one of Mexico's most important families. They fell in love although he was 18 years older. In 1921, at the age of 16, she married him. The couple spent three years in Europe. In 1924, they returned to del Rio's ranch in Durango. The couple moved to Mexico City. Dolores del Río was discovered by movie producer Edwin Carewe
Edwin Carewe
Edwin Carewe was an American motion picture director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He was born in Gainesville, Texas, as Jay Fox.-Career:...
. Struck by Dolores' beauty, Carewe gave the couple work in Hollywood, she as an actress and he as a screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
Silent cinema
Using her married surname, del Río made her film debut in Joanna, directed by Carewe in 1925 and released that year. Hollywood first noticed her appeal as a sex siren. Del Rio struggled against the "Mexicali Rose" image initially pitched to her by Hollywood executives. Despite her brief appearance, Carewe arranged for much publicity for the actress. In her second film High Steppers, del Rio took the second female credit after Mary AstorMary Astor
Mary Astor was an American actress. Most remembered for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the early 1920s.She eventually made a successful transition to talkies, but almost...
. These films were not blockbusters, but helped increase del Río's popularity. Carewe's intention was to transform her into a star on the order of Rudolph Valentino.
In 1926 the artist Theodore Lukits
Theodore Lukits
Theodore Nikolai Lukits was a California portrait and landscape painter. His initial fame came from his portraits of some of the most glamorous actresses of the Silent Film era, but since his death, his Asian-inspired works, figures drawn from Hispanic California and his pastel landscapes have all...
painted her portrait. Titled A Souvenir of Seville, it depicted the actress in the dress worn for her presentation to the Spanish Court. Also featured was her pet monkey. The large painting was displayed in the Carthay Circle Theatre for the premier of The Loves of Carmen (1927). It was reproduced in magazine and newspaper articles in the United States and Mexico.
In late 1926, director Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
called del Río to give her a role in What Price Glory. With the character of Charmaine, del Río achieved her desired success. Later, she was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars
WAMPAS Baby Stars
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. They were selected from 1922 to 1934, and annual...
in 1926 (along with fellow newcomers Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Fay Wray
Fay Wray
Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
, Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor was an American actress and painter.One of the most popular actresses of the silent film era, in 1928 Gaynor became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in three films: Seventh Heaven , Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Street Angel...
, and Mary Astor
Mary Astor
Mary Astor was an American actress. Most remembered for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the early 1920s.She eventually made a successful transition to talkies, but almost...
). She came to be admired as one of the most beautiful women on screen.
After she gained fame, Carewe produced Resurrection
Resurrection (1927 film)
Resurrection is a 1927 Hollywood adaptation of the Leo Tolstoy novel Resurrection. Filmmaker Edwin Carewe adapted the book to a feature length silent production starring Dolores del Río and featuring an appearance by Ilya Tolstoy. In 1931, Edwin Carewe directed an all-talking remake of this film...
(1927), which was a box office hit. In 1927, Raoul Walsh called del Río for a second version of Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
. The first was with Theda Bara
Theda Bara
Theda Bara , born Theodosia Burr Goodman, was an American silent film actress – one of the most popular of her era, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp" . The term "vamp" soon became a popular slang term for a sexually predatory woman...
in 1917. Walsh thought del Río to be the best interpreter of all the "Hollywoods Carmen" for his authentically Latin American version, The Loves of Carmen (1927). With Walsh she also filmed The Red Dance.
In 1928, she replaced the actress Renée Adorée
Renée Adorée
Renée Adorée was a French actress who had appeared in Hollywood silent movies during the 1920s.-Early life:...
in the MGM film The Trail of '98
The Trail of '98
The Trail of '98 is a 1928 silent drama film featuring Harry Carey. The film was originally released by MGM in a short-lived widescreen process called Fanthom Screen.-Cast:* Dolores del Río as Berna* Ralph Forbes as Larry* Karl Dane as Lars Petersen...
, directed by Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown was an American film director.-Early life:Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to a cotton manufacturer, Brown moved to the South when he was 11. He attended Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, both in Knoxville, Tennessee, graduating from the university at the age of...
. Her career flourished until the end of the silent era. She had successful films such as Ramona
Ramona (1928 film)
Ramona is a 1928 silent drama film directed by Edwin Carewe, based on Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona. It starred Dolores del Rio and Warner Baxter....
(1928, for which she recorded the famous song "Ramona
Ramona (song)
"Ramona" is a 1928 song, with lyrics written by L. Wolfe Gilbert and music by Mabel Wayne.-History:It was created as the title song for the 1928 adventure film-romance Ramona . The song was used again in the 1936 remake of the movie...
" with RCA Victor), and Evangeline
Evangeline
Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie, is an epic poem published in 1847 by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during the time of the Expulsion of the Acadians.The idea for the poem came from...
(1929).
While del Río's career was flourishing, her marriage declined. Her husband moved to Germany, where he committed suicide from depression in 1929.
With the arrival of the talkies, del Río left her working relationship with Carewe. He seemed to take revenge by filming a new version of Resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
with the alleged Dolores rival, Lupe Vélez
Lupe Vélez
Lupe Vélez was a Mexican film actress. Vélez began her career in Mexico as a dancer, before moving to the U.S. where she worked in vaudeville. She was seen by Fanny Brice who promoted her, and Vélez soon entered films, making her first appearance in 1924. By the end of the decade she had...
. With the support of United Artists
United 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....
, del Rio left Carewe and debuted in the talkies with The Bad One
The Bad One
The Bad One is an American black-and-white musical film directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Dolores del Río and featuring Boris Karloff and is a romantic prison drama film...
in 1930.
In the Thirties
In 1930, she married Cedric GibbonsCedric Gibbons
Austin Cedric Gibbons was an Irish American art director who was one of the most important and influential in the field in the history of American film. He also made a great impact on motion picture theater architecture through the 1930s to 1950s, the period considered the golden-era of theater...
, one of MGM's leading art directors and production designers, whom she met at a party organized by William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
and Marion Davies
Marion Davies
Marion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
at Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle is a National Historic Landmark mansion located on the Central Coast of California, United States. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947 for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who died in 1951. In 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to...
. Her presence in Hollywood of the thirties is not just limited to the world of cinema, also the high society circles. The Gibbons-Del Río house in Hollywood was a frequent meeting place from personalities like Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
, Lili Damita
Lili Damita
Lili Damita was a French actress who appeared in 33 movies between 1922 and 1937.-Early life and education:...
, Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
and many more.
With the advent of talkies, she was relegated to exotic and unimportant roles. The Hollywood executives sought "do not talk too much at her movies", because of her Spanish accent. She scored successes with Bird of Paradise
Bird of Paradise (1932 film)
Bird of Paradise is a 1932 American film directed by King Vidor, starring Dolores del Río, Joel McCrea, and Richard "Skeets" Gallagher and released by RKO Radio Pictures.-Plot:...
(1932), directed by King Vidor
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades...
. The film was produced by David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:...
that request the script to King Vidor and say: "I want Del Rio in a love story in the South Seas. I don't care the script, but in the end, Del Rio should be thrown into a volcano". The film scandalized audiences when she took a naked swim with Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
. This film was made before the Hays Code was enacted so nudity could be shown. Next she filmed Flying Down to Rio
Flying Down to Rio
Flying Down to Rio is a 1933 RKO musical film noted for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Astaire and Rogers were not the stars of the film, however, Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond were top-billed. Among the featured players Franklin Pangborn and Eric Blore are...
(the film that first paired Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
) (1933); Madame Du Barry
Madame Du Barry (1934 film)
Madame DuBarry is a 1934 American historical film directed by William Dieterle and starring Dolores del Rio, Reginald Owen, Victor Jory and Osgood Perkins. The film portrays the life of Madame Du Barry, the last mistress of King Louis XV of France...
(1934) and Wonder Bar
Wonder Bar
Wonder Bar is a 1934 pre-code movie adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley...
(1934).
Later, del Río starred in the Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...
comedies In Caliente (1935) and I Live for Love (1935), but she refused to participate in the film Viva Villa!
Viva Villa!
Viva Villa! is a 1934 American film starring Wallace Beery as Pancho Villa and was written by Ben Hecht, adapted from a biography by Edgecumb Pinchon and Odo B. Stade. The picture was directed by Jack Conway. There was special, uncredited help with the script by Howard Hawks, James Kevin...
(Fay Wray
Fay Wray
Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
took her place). Dolores described the film as an "Anti-Mexican movie".
In 1934, Dolores del Río was one of the victims of the "open season" of the "reds" in Hollywood. With James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
, Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro was a Mexican leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "Sex Symbol" after the death of Rudolph Valentino...
and Lupe Vélez
Lupe Vélez
Lupe Vélez was a Mexican film actress. Vélez began her career in Mexico as a dancer, before moving to the U.S. where she worked in vaudeville. She was seen by Fanny Brice who promoted her, and Vélez soon entered films, making her first appearance in 1924. By the end of the decade she had...
, she was accused of promoting communism in California. Twenty years later this would have consequences on her career.
In the late thirties, del Río's career declined. With the support of Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
she made a series of police films (such as Lancer Spy
Lancer Spy
Lancer Spy is a 1937 film about an Englishman who impersonates a German officer, receiving fame upon arriving in Germany. A female German spy is instructed to check on him but falls in love with him instead.-Cast:...
in 1937 and International Settlement
International Settlement (film)
International Settlement is a 1938 American drama film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Dolores del Rio, George Sanders and June Lang. It is set in the Shanghai International Settlement during the Sino-Japanese War...
in 1938). But del Río's career in the later 1930s unfortunately suffered from too many exotic, two-dimensional roles designed with Hollywood's cliched ideas of ethnic minorities in mind. She was marked as "box office poison" by exhibitors, along with actresses such as Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
and Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
.
In 1940, del Río met Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, who at that time was new to Hollywood. Feeling a mutual attraction, the couple began a romance. Welles fell madly in love with her. Reportedly, the affair was the cause of her divorce from Gibbons in 1941. Dolores del Río was with Welles for two years, during which he was at the peak of his career. She was at his side during the filming of Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
, and during the attacks of Randolph Hearst against him. Welles initially directed del Río in the Mexican film Santa
Santa (film)
Santa is the first Mexican narrative sound film. It was directed by Antonio Moreno and starred Lupita Tovar, based on the novel of the same name by Federico Gamboa. In 1994, the Mexican magazine Somos published their list of "The 100 best movies of the cinema of Mexico" in its 100th edition and...
, but the project was cancelled. The film directed by Norman Foster
Norman Foster (director)
Norman Foster was an American film director and actor.Born John Hoeffer in Richmond, Indiana, Foster originally became a cub reporter on a local newspaper in Indiana before going to New York in the hopes of getting a better newspaper job but there were no vacancies...
was realized later by the Mexican actress Esther Fernández
Esther Fernández
Esther Fernández was a Mexican film actress of the Golden age of Mexican cinema in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s....
.
She also accompanied Welles in vaudeville shows across the United States. She collaborated with Welles in the film Journey into Fear in 1942. After Welles broke from RKO, del Río sympathized with him, though her character (a sexy leopard-woman) in the film, was reduced.
Career in Mexico
Since the late thirties, Dolores del Río was sought on several occasions by Mexican film directors. She was friends with noted Mexican artists, such as Diego RiveraDiego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
and Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits....
, and maintained ties with Mexican society and cinema. After breaking off her relationship with Orson Welles, del Río decided to try her luck in Mexico, disappointed by the "American star system". Mexican director Emilio Fernández
Emilio Fernández
Emilio "El Indio" Fernández was an actor, screenwriter and director of the cinema of Mexico. He is best known for his work as director of the film Maria Candelaria which won the Grand Prix at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.-Early life:Fernández was born in Mineral del Hondo, Coahuila...
asked her to star in Flor silvestre (1942) and the miracle happened: at 37, Dolores del Río became the most famous movie star in her country, filming in the Spanish language for the first time. The production group del Río-Fernández, together with the cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa
Gabriel Figueroa
Gabriel Figueroa Mateos was a Mexican cinematographer who worked both in Mexican cinema and Hollywood....
and the actor Pedro Armendáriz
Pedro Armendáriz
Pedro Armendáriz was a Mexican actor of the cinema of Mexico and Hollywood.-Early life:Born Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico to Pedro Armendáriz García-Conde and Adela Hastings . He was also the cousin of actress Gloria Marín...
had international fame. One of her most successful films was Maria Candelaria
Maria Candelaria
María Candelaria is a 1943 Mexican film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. It was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix becoming the first Latin American country to do so...
(1943, winner at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
). The movie was written by Emilio as a present for her birthday. Other celebrated movies of the group were Las Abandonadas
Las Abandonadas
Las Abandonadas is a Mexican film of 1944, directed by Emilio Fernández and starring by Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz.- Curiosities :...
(1944, censored in México by six months), Bugambilia (1945), The Fugitive
The Fugitive (1947 film)
The Fugitive is a 1947 drama film starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, based on the novel The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. It was shot on location in Mexico by Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.-Plot:...
(1947, directed by John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
), and La Malquerida
La Malquerida
La Malquerida is a Mexican film from 1949. It was directed by Emilio Fernández, and starred Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz.-Plot summary:...
(1949).
Over her collaborations with Fernández, del Río was given the opportunity to work with the best film directors in Mexico. Roberto Gavaldon
Roberto Gavaldón
Roberto Gavaldón was a Mexican film director.Eight of Gavaldón's films were featured on the list 100 Best Movies of the Cinema of Mexico...
was the one who inherited from Fernández the privilege of creating stories for the flaunting of Del Rio. Under the Gavaldón direction, Dolores filmed the movies La Otra
La Otra (film)
La Otra is a 1946 Mexican drama film directed by Roberto Gavaldón and starring Dolores del Río. The film inspired the movie Dead Ringer, starred by Bette Davis.-Plot:...
(1946), La Casa Chica (1949), Deseada (1950) and El Niño y la Niebla, (1953,which competes in the Cannes Film Festival). In 1951, Dolores starred Doña Perfecta, in which she was acclaimed for her great dramatic representation.
Dolores worked in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in 1947, in a film version of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. The play was first published in 1893...
. The Cinema of Spain
Cinema of Spain
The art of motion-picture making within the nation of Spain or by Spanish filmmakers abroad is collectively known as Spanish Cinema.In recent years, Spanish cinema has achieved high marks of recognition as a result of its creative and technical excellence...
called her twice for the movies Señora Ama (1954, directed by Dolores's cousin Julio Bracho
Julio Bracho
Julio Bracho Gavilán was a Mexican film director and screenwriter.Bracho was born as ninth of eleven children of Julio Bracho y Zuloaga and his wife Luz Pérez Gavilán...
) and in La Dama del Alba in 1966. Her mother's death in 1961 forced to cancel the Spanish movie Muerte en el otoño, directed by Juan Antonio Bardem.
In 1959, the director Ismael Rodriguez achieved the impossible: bring Dolores del Río and María Félix
María Félix
María Félix was a Mexican film actress and one of the icons of the golden era of the Cinema of Mexico and also one of the myths of the Spanish language Cinema for her life style and personality...
together in one film La Cucaracha
La Cucaracha (1959 film)
The Soldiers of Pancho Villa is a 1959 Mexican film directed by Ismael Rodríguez. At the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, it was nominated for a Golden Palm award.- Plot:...
. The newspapers speculated a strong rivalry between the two actresses. María Felix said: " With Dolores i don't have any rivalry. On the contrary. We were friends and we always treated each other with great respect".
In 1959, she married theatrical American businessman Lewis "Lou" Riley (a former member of the Hollywood Canteen
Hollywood Canteen
The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, California between October 3, 1942 and November 22, 1945 as a club offering food, dancing and entertainment for servicemen, usually on their way overseas...
), whom she met in Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
ten years before. The house of Dolores in México, called "La Escondida" in Coyoacán
Coyoacán
Coyoacán refers to one of the sixteen boroughs of the Federal District of Mexico City as well as the former village which is now the borough’s “historic center.” The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means “place of coyotes,” when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic village on the southern shore...
, was very popular with Mexican and foreign celebrities. She won the Silver Ariel (Mexican Academy Award) as best actress four times.
In 1954, del Río was slated to appear in the 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
film Broken Lance
Broken Lance
Broken Lance is a 1954 Western film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Sol C. Siegel. The movie stars Spencer Tracy and features Katy Jurado, Richard Widmark, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Eduard Franz, Hugh O'Brian and Earl Holliman.Shot in color and...
. The U.S. government denied her permission to work in the USA, accusing her of being a sympathizer of international communism. Because del Río did not get permission, the film was made by Katy Jurado
Katy Jurado
Katy Jurado , born María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García in Mexico, D.F., was a Mexican actress who had a successful film career both in Mexico and in Hollywood....
. Dolores del Río became one of the victims of McCarthyism
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
. Her situation with the U.S. was fixed in 1956 when the actress was able to return to the United States to perform in the theatrical production of Anastasia
Anastasia (1956 film)
Anastasia is a 1956 American historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak for 20th Century Fox. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, and Helen Hayes. Supporting players include Akim Tamiroff, Martita Hunt, and, in a small role, Natalie Schafer...
with Lili Darvas.
Later years
In 1960 Dolores del Río finally returned to Hollywood. She starred with Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
in Flaming Star
Flaming Star
Flaming Star is a 1960 western film starring Elvis Presley, based on the book Flaming Lance by Clair Huffaker. Critics agreed that Presley gave one of his best acting performances as the mixed-blood "Pacer Burton", a dramatic role. The film was directed by Don Siegel, and had a working title of...
directed by Don Siegel
Don Siegel
Donald Siegel was an influential American film director and producer. His name variously appeared in the credits of his films as both Don Siegel and Donald Siegel.-Early life:...
. Del Rio alternated between films in Mexico and the USA, with both television and theater.
In 1964, she appeared in Cheyenne Autumn
Cheyenne Autumn
Cheyenne Autumn is a 1964 western starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, James Stewart, and Edward G. Robinson. Regarded as an epic film it tells the story of a factual event, the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878-9, although it is told in 'Hollywood style' using a great degree of artistic license...
directed by John Ford, with a cast that included Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark
Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
, Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker is a former American actress who has enjoyed popularity as both a serious dramatic actress and, particularly in the 1960s, as a movie sex symbol...
, James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
, Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
and Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
. In 1967, she performed for the first time in Italy, with Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
and Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...
in the film More than a Miracle
More than a Miracle
More Than a Miracle is a 1967 film also titled Cinderella Italian Style and Happily Ever After. It stars Sophia Loren and Omar Sharif, Dolores del Río and has a surreal fairy tale narrative. Filmed in the countryside outside of Naples, this film had Francesco Rosi as its director, and Carlo Ponti,...
, produced by Carlo Ponti
Carlo Ponti
Carlo Ponti was an Italian film producer with over 140 production credits, and the husband of Italian movie star Sophia Loren.-Career:...
.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Dolores del Río starred in theater classics like Anastasia
Anastasia (1956 film)
Anastasia is a 1956 American historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak for 20th Century Fox. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, and Helen Hayes. Supporting players include Akim Tamiroff, Martita Hunt, and, in a small role, Natalie Schafer...
(1956), Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. The play was first published in 1893...
(1958) and The Lady of the Camellias
The Lady of the Camellias
The Lady of the Camellias is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in 1848, and subsequently adapted for the stage. The Lady of the Camellias premiered at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris, France on February 2, 1852. The play was an instant success, and Giuseppe Verdi immediately set...
(1968, directed by Jose Quintero
José Quintero
José Benjamin Quintero was a Panamanian theatre director, producer and pedagogue best known for his interpretations of the works of Eugene O'Neill.-Early years:...
), with great success in Mexico, Latin America and Europe. She also participated in some American TV series, acting with figures like Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
, Cesar Romero
Cesar Romero
Cesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
, Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
and others. In England she starred in a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV program along with Ben Lyon
Ben Lyon
Ben Lyon was an American film actor and a 20th Century Fox studio executive.-Life:Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Lyon entered films in 1918 after a successful appearance on Broadway opposite Jeanne Eagels. He attracted attention in the highly successful film Flaming Youth , and steadily developed into...
. Dolores del Río's last movie was The Children of Sanchez
The Children of Sanchez
The Children of Sanchez is a 1961 book by American anthropologist Oscar Lewis about a Mexican family living in the Mexico City slum of Tepito, which he studied as part of his program to develop his concept of culture of poverty...
with Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
and Katy Jurado
Katy Jurado
Katy Jurado , born María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García in Mexico, D.F., was a Mexican actress who had a successful film career both in Mexico and in Hollywood....
.
From the fifties to the seventies, del Río collaborated in some international film festivals like Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
(1957), Berlin Film Festival
12th Berlin International Film Festival
The 12th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 22 to July 3, 1962.-Jury:* King Vidor * André Michel* Emeric Pressburger* Hideo Kikumori* Dolores del Río* Jurgen Schildt* Max Gammeter* Günther Stapenhorst* Bruno E...
(1962) and San Sebastián Film Festival (1976).
During the sixties and seventies, Dolores del Río became involved in actor union activities in her native country and was the founder of the group known as "Rosa Mexicano". In 1974, she was the founder of the Estancia Infantil of the Asociacion Nacional de Actores in Mexico. In 1966, she was founder of the "Sociedad Protectora del Tesoro Artistico de México" (Society for the Protection of the artistic treasures of Mexico), co-founded with the philanthropist Felipe García Beraza and responsible for protecting buildings, paintings and other works of art and culture in México. In 1972, she helped found the Festival Cervantino in Guanajuato
Guanajuato
Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
.
In 1981, del Río was an honoree in the San Francisco Film Critics Circle
San Francisco Film Critics Circle
The San Francisco Film Critics Circle was founded in 2002 as an organization of film journalists and critics from San Francisco, California based publications....
.
Personal life
In 1921 Dolores del Río married Mexican socialite Jaime Martínez del RíoMartinez del Rio
-The Martinez del Rio Family:The Martinez del Rio family is one of the leading patrician families, prominent in entrepreneurship and cultural circles. The family has helped to shape Mexico's politics, economy and society from the time of Mexican independence from Spain, until the present day...
, but the marriage came to end in 1928. Her former husband committed suicide in Berlin a year later.
She was a devout Roman Catholic.
From 1930 to 1940 Dolores was married to MGM's Art Designer Cedric Gibbons
Cedric Gibbons
Austin Cedric Gibbons was an Irish American art director who was one of the most important and influential in the field in the history of American film. He also made a great impact on motion picture theater architecture through the 1930s to 1950s, the period considered the golden-era of theater...
. Her relationship of four years with Orson Welles came to an end in 1943, and he married Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
shortly afterwards. Rebecca Welles, the daughter of Welles and Hayworth, met Dolores in 1954 and said: "My father considered her the great love of his life", "She was a living legend in the history of my family". Welles once remarked that he was incredibly impressed by her lingerie, which had been made by nuns in France.
In the late 30's, Dolores was also involved with Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
and the German writer Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque was a German author, best known for his novel All Quiet on the Western Front.-Life and work:...
, who compared her beauty with Greta Garbo. Other rumors tried to involve her with Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
and Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, with whom Dolores maintained a close friendship. In the 40's, she was involved with the Mexican movie producer Archibaldo Burns and with the Dominican playboy Porfirio Rubirosa
Porfirio Rubirosa
Porfirio Rubirosa Ariza was a Dominican diplomat and adherent of Rafael Trujillo. He made his mark as an international playboy, for his jet setting lifestyle, and his legendary prowess with women...
. In 1949, Dolores met Lewis A. Riley in Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
. Riley, a theatre producer, was member of the Hollywood Canteen in the 1940s. After ten years together, the couple married in Mexico City in 1959.
Death and memorials
On April 11, 1983, Dolores del Río died from liver diseaseLiver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
at the age of 77, in Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
. She was cremated and her ashes were interred in the Panteón de Dolores
Panteón de Dolores
The Panteón Civil de Dolores is the largest cemetery in Mexico and contains the "Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres" . It is located on Constituyentes Avenue in Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City, between sections two and three of Chapultepec Park...
cemetery in Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. In 2005, on the centenary of her birth, her remains were moved to the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres in Mexico City. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
, at 1630 Vine Street
Vine Street
Vine is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that runs north-south from Melrose Avenue up past Hollywood Boulevard. The intersection of Hollywood and Vine was once a symbol of Hollywood itself...
, in recognition of her contributions to the motion picture industry.
Legacy
She was considered one of the prototypes of the classic woman style of the 1930s: "I think", said Larry Carr (author of More fabulous faces), "that Dolores del Río's appearance at the beginning of the 30's influenced Joan CrawfordJoan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
. In 1930, when Crawford emerged as beauty personified in the entire world, but especially in Hollywood, the women imitated her style of dress and make-up. Gone was the style of heavy pancake and little heart shaped mouths. In its place the angular face, the sculptured look came into vogue. They produced a new type of beauty, of which Dolores del Río was the precursor. She left her 1920s look, loosened her hairdo, enlarged the shape of her lips and altered her eyebrows to underline her exquisite bone structure. She converted hers into one of the truly Great Faces".
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
considered del Río "The most beautiful woman in Hollywood" For many people "She has better legs than Dietrich and better cheekbones than Garbo". Some rumors said that her diet consisted of orchid petals and that she slept 16 hours in the day.
Despite the passage of years, Dolores del Río continued until the end to present an image of an educated lady, elegant and sophisticated, that despite her age still remained pleasant and desirable in the eyes of the public. In 1978, Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
mentions her as "One of the reigning beauties of the century". She was interpreted by the actress Lucy Cohu
Lucy Cohu
Lucy Cohu is an award-winning English stage and film actress, known for portraying Princess Margaret in The Queen's Sister, Evelyn Brogan in Cape Wrath and Alice Carter in Torchwood: Children of Earth.-Background:...
in the TV. film RKO 281
RKO 281
RKO 281 is a 1999 historical drama film directed by Benjamin Ross. It stars Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich, and Roy Scheider and depicts the troubled production behind the 1941 film Citizen Kane...
in 1999. Dolores del Río has a statue at Hollywood-La Brea Boulevard in Los Angeles, designed by Catherine Hardwicke built to honor of multi-ethnic leading ladies of the cinema together with Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress...
and Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...
.
In 1982, Dolores and María Félix were parodied in the Carlos Fuentes
Carlos Fuentes
Carlos Fuentes Macías is a Mexican writer and one of the best-known living novelists and essayists in the Spanish-speaking world. He has influenced contemporary Latin American literature, and his works have been widely translated into English and other languages.-Biography:Fuentes was born in...
's script Orquídeas à la luz de la luna. Comedia Mexicana that was presented in Spain and at Harvard university
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Since 1983, the Mexican Society of Film Critics has been giving the Diosa de Plata award "Dolores del Río" for the best dramatic female performance. From September 2009 to January 2010, Dolores del Río was honored in the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, with one of the most complete photography compilations of her career.
Stage credits
- AnastaciaAnastaciaAnastacia is an American singer-songwriter. Anastacia has been highly successful in Europe, Asia, South Africa and South America, but has had only minor success in her native United States...
(1956) ( New York (Broadway), USA) - El abanico de Lady WindermereEl abanico de Lady WindermereEl abanico de Lady Windermere , is a 1944 Mexican film, directed by Juan José Ortega.-Cast:*Anita Blanch*Diana Bordes*René Cardona*Ángel Di Stefani*Mercedes Ferriz*Miguel Ángel Ferriz*Emma Fink*Emilia Guiú*Susana Guízar...
(1958) (México City, Teatro Virginia Fébregas; Buenos Aires, Argentina) - Camino a Roma (1960) (México City, Teatro de los Insurgentes)
- Espectros (1961) (México City)
- Mi querido embustero (1961) (México City)
- La Vidente, de Roussin (1965) (México City)
- La Reina y los Rebeldes (1966) (México City)
- La Dama de las Camelias (1968) (México City, Monterrey)
- El Espectáculo Rosa Mexicano (1972) (México City)
Further reading
- Dolores del Río, el rostro del cine mexicano (Dolores del Río: The Face of the Mexican Cinema) (1995). In SOMOS. México: Editorial TelevisaTelevisaTelevisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
, S. A. de C. V.
- Dolores del Río, la mexicana divina (Dolores del Río: The Divine Mexican) (2002). In SOMOS. México: Editorial TelevisaTelevisaTelevisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
, S. A. de C. V.
External links
- Dolores Del Río Biography - Yahoo! Movies
- Dolores del Rio Biography at The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- The Dolores del Rio mural 1990 by artist Alfredo de Batuc, 6529 Hollywood Boulevard + Hudson St, Los Angeles, California
- Dolores Del Rio statue on Hollywood-La Brea Boulevard
- Photographs of Dolores Del Rio