Germán Valdés
Encyclopedia
Germán Genaro Cipriano Gomez Valdés Castillo (September 19, 1915 – June 29, 1973), better known as Tin-Tan, was an actor
, singer and comedian
who was born in Mexico City
but was raised and began his career in Ciudad Juarez
, Chihuahua. He often displayed the pachuco
dress and employed pachuco slang in many of his movies, some with his brothers Manuel "El Loco" Valdés
and Ramón Valdés
. He made the language of the Mexican American
pachuco
s famous in Mexico. A "caló
" based in Spanglish
, it was a mixture of Spanish and English in speech based on that of Mexican immigrants.
He has the record of having kissed the most actresses in his career , some of them the beauties of their day. Some of his co-stars were Marga López
, Rosita Quintana
, Silvia Pinal
, Amalia Aguilar
, Meche Barba
, Ana Bertha Lepe
, Maria Antonieta Pons
, Tongolele and many more. He also collaborated closely with actress and comedian Fannie Kauffman
, who was also known as Vitola, during their careers.
He was also one of several people who were originally intended to be on the front cover of The Beatles
' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
but were ultimately excluded. He requested that Ringo swap him for a Mexican Tree, and he did.
He was the voice of Baloo the bear and Thomas O'Malley the cat in the Spanish translation of the Disney films The Jungle Book
and The Aristocats
; both roles were originally voiced by Phil Harris
.
Tin-Tan was the subject of the 2005 documentary, Ni Muy Muy… Ni Tan Tan… Simplemente Tin Tán, by Manuel Márquez and Carlos Valdés, son of the comedian.
word play
: Hey Vato
, how do you say "window" in English? (window appears verbatim in the original quote in Spanish).
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, singer and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
who was born in Mexico City
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...
but was raised and began his career in Ciudad Juarez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
, Chihuahua. He often displayed the pachuco
Pachuco
Pachucos are Chicano youths who developed their own subculture during the 1930s and 1940s in the Southwestern United States. They wore distinctive clothing and spoke their own dialect of Mexican Spanish, called Caló or Pachuco...
dress and employed pachuco slang in many of his movies, some with his brothers Manuel "El Loco" Valdés
Manuel Valdés
Manuel "El Loco" Valdés is a Mexican actor and comedian, member of the Valdés family. He is the brother of Ramón Valdez , from the sitcom "El Chavo", and Germán Valdez...
and Ramón Valdés
Ramón Valdés
Ramón Gómez Valdés de Castillo often credited as Ramón Valdéz, was a Mexican actor. He was born in Mexico City...
. He made the language of the Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
pachuco
Pachuco
Pachucos are Chicano youths who developed their own subculture during the 1930s and 1940s in the Southwestern United States. They wore distinctive clothing and spoke their own dialect of Mexican Spanish, called Caló or Pachuco...
s famous in Mexico. A "caló
Caló (Chicano)
Caló is an argot or slang of Mexican Spanish which originated during the first half of the 20th century in the Southwestern United States. It is the product of zoot-suit pachuco culture.-Origin:...
" based in Spanglish
Spanglish
.Spanglish refers to the blend of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. The Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of...
, it was a mixture of Spanish and English in speech based on that of Mexican immigrants.
Life
He usually acted with his "Carnal" (brother, from "hermano carnal", flesh brother, meaning two sons of the same mother), Marcelo Chávez, who also accompanied Tin-Tan with a guitar. He was a prominent figure during his golden years of movie making, from 1949. His 1948 movie, Calabacitas tiernas, a comedy, was chosen as one of the best in Mexican cinema .He has the record of having kissed the most actresses in his career , some of them the beauties of their day. Some of his co-stars were Marga López
Marga López
Marga López , born Catalina Margarita López Ramos, was an Argentine-born Mexican actress. Born in Argentina, she later acquired Mexican nationality.-Biography:...
, Rosita Quintana
Rosita Quintana
Rosita Quintana is a Argentinan born Mexican film actress and singer of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema....
, Silvia Pinal
Silvia Pinal
Silvia Pinal is a Mexican actress, who had roles in several of Luis Buñuel's movies such as El ángel exterminador and Viridiana...
, Amalia Aguilar
Amalia Aguilar
Amalia Aguilar is a Cuban and Mexican film actress and dancer of the Golden age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. She was considered one of the icons of the Rumberas film.- Early life :...
, Meche Barba
Meche Barba
Meche Barba was a Mexican film actress and dancer of the Golden age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. Was considered one of the icons of the "Rumberas film"...
, Ana Bertha Lepe
Ana Bertha Lepe
Ana Bertha Lepe is a Mexican actress and third runner up at the Miss Universe contest in 1953. She was born in Tecolotlán, Jalisco....
, Maria Antonieta Pons
María Antonieta Pons
Maria Antonieta Pons was a Cuban born Mexican film actress and Rumba dancer.-Career:Born in Cuba in 1922, from Catalan origin, she was one of the most notorious rumba dancers of her times. She was discovered in Cuba by the Spanish film director Juan Orol. Emigrated to Mexico City to film Siboney...
, Tongolele and many more. He also collaborated closely with actress and comedian Fannie Kauffman
Fannie Kauffman
Fannie Kauffman , who was often known by the stage name Vitola, was a Canadian-born Mexican actress and comedian.-Early life:...
, who was also known as Vitola, during their careers.
He was also one of several people who were originally intended to be on the front cover of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
but were ultimately excluded. He requested that Ringo swap him for a Mexican Tree, and he did.
He was the voice of Baloo the bear and Thomas O'Malley the cat in the Spanish translation of the Disney films The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book (1967 film)
The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released on October 18, 1967, it is the 19th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was inspired by the stories about the feral child Mowgli from the book of the same name by...
and The Aristocats
The Aristocats
The Aristocats is a 1970 American animated feature produced and released by Walt Disney Productions in 1970 and stars Eva Gabor and Phil Harris, with Roddy Maude-Roxby as Edgar the butler, the villain of the story...
; both roles were originally voiced by Phil Harris
Phil Harris
Harris and Faye married in 1941; it was a second marriage for both and lasted 54 years, until Harris's death. Harris engaged in a fistfight at the Trocadero nightclub in 1938 with RKO studio mogul Bob Stevens; the cause was reported to be over Faye after Stevens and Faye had ended a romantic...
.
Tin-Tan was the subject of the 2005 documentary, Ni Muy Muy… Ni Tan Tan… Simplemente Tin Tán, by Manuel Márquez and Carlos Valdés, son of the comedian.
Quotes
An illustration of codeswitchingCode-switching
In linguistics, code-switching is the concurrent use of more than one language, or language variety, in conversation. Multilinguals—people who speak more than one language—sometimes use elements of multiple languages in conversing with each other...
word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
: Hey Vato
Vato
Vato may refer to:* vato, Mexican slang for "man" or "dude".* Vato , a song by Snoop Dogg.* Vato , is also a Georgian name....
, how do you say "window" in English? (window appears verbatim in the original quote in Spanish).
Films
- Acapulco 12-22 (1975)
- Noche de muerte (1975)
- La mafia amarilla (1975)
- La Disputa (1974)
- El capitán Mantarraya (1973)
- Las tarántulas (1973)
- Chanoc contra el tigre y el vampiro (1972)
- El increíble profesor Zovek (1972)
- En esta cama nadie duerme (1971)
- Trampa para una niña (1971)
- Los cacos (1971)
- Abel y el otro Caín (1971)
- El ogro (1971)
- Gregorio y su ángel (1970)
- Chanoc en las garras de las fieras (1970)
- El quelite (1970)
- Duelo en El Dorado (1969)
- Seis días para morirSeis días para morirSeis días para morir is a 1966 Mexican film. It stars Sara García....
(1967) - Viruta y CapulinaViruta y CapulinaMarco Antonio Campos and Gaspar Henaine performed together as Viruta y Capulina, a Mexican comedy duo in film that first appeared in the movie Se los Chupó la bruja, in 1958....
(1967) - Chanoc (1966)
- Loco por ellas (1966)
- El ángel y yo (1966)
- Especialista en chamacasEspecialista en chamacasEspecialista en chamacas is a 1965 Mexican film. It was directed byChano Urueta....
(1965) - Tintansón Crusoe (1965)
- Puerto Rico en carnaval (1965)
- Los fantasmas burlones (1965)
- Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1964)
- Tin-Tan el hombre mono (1963)
- Fuerte, audaz y valiente (1963)
- El tesoro del rey Salomón (1963)
- ¡En peligro de muerte! (1962)
- Pilotos de la muertePilotos de la muertePilotos de la muerte is a 1962 Mexican film. It was directed byChano Urueta....
(1962) - Viva Chihuahua (1961)
- Locura de terror (1961)
- ¡Suicídate, mi amor!¡Suicídate, mi amor!¡Suicídate, mi amor! is a 1961 Mexican film. It was written by Luis Alcoriza....
(1961) - El duende y yo (1961)
- El pandillero (1961)
- Tin-Tan y las modelos (1960)
- Rebelde sin casa (1960)
- Variedades de medianoche (1960)
- Vivir del cuento (1960)
- La casa del terror (1960)
- El fantasma de la operetaEl Fantasma de la operetaEl Fantasma de la opereta is a 1954 Argentine film....
(1960) - El violetero (1960)
- Una estrella y dos estrellados (1960)
- La tijera de oro (1960)
- Vagabundo y millonario (1959)
- Escuela de verano (1959)
- Dos fantasmas y una muchacha (1959)
- El que con niños se acuesta (1959)
- Ferias de México (1959)
- Tres lecciones de amor (1959)
- El cofre del pirata (1959)
- Paso a la juventud (1958)
- Música de siempre (1958)
- Quiero ser artista (1958)
- Viaje a la luna (1958)
- Refifi entre las mujeres (1958)
- Escuela para suegrasEscuela para suegrasEscuela para suegras is a 1958 Mexican film. It was produced byFernando de Fuentes....
(1958) - Las mil y una noches (película) (1958)
- La odalisca No. 13 (1958)
- Locos peligrosos (1957)
- Teatro del crimen (1957)
- Las aventuras de Pito PérezLas aventuras de Pito PérezLas aventuras de Pito Pérez is a 1957 Mexican film. It was produced byFernando de Fuentes....
(1957) - Los tres mosqueteros y medio (1957)
- El gato sin botas (1957)
- El campeón ciclista (1957)
- El médico de las locas (1956)
- El vividor (1956)
- El sultán descalzo (1956)
- Lo que le pasó a Sansón (1955)
- El barba azul (1955)
- El hombre inquietoEl hombre inquietoEl hombre inquieto is a 1953 Mexican film. It stars Sara García....
(1954) - El vizconde de Montecristo (1954)
- Me traes de un ala (1953)
- Reportaje (película) (1953)
- Dios los cría (1953)
- La isla de mujeres (1953)
- El mariachi desconocido (1953)
- El vagabundo (1953)
- Chucho el remendado (1952)
- El bello durmiente (1952)
- El ceniciento (1952)
- ¡¡¡Mátenme porque me muero!!! (1951)
- Cuando las mujeres mandan (1951)
- ¡Ay, amor, cómo me has puesto! (1951)
- El revoltoso (1951)
- Simbad el mareado (1950)
- También de dolor se cantaTambién de Dolor se CantaTambién de dolor se canta is a Mexican film of the golden age of Mexican cinema. It stars Pedro Infante, Irma Dorantes and Guillermina Grin. It also features a number of cameo roles from Mexican actors famous at the time, including Germán "Tin Tan" Valdés, Fannie Kauffman and Pedro Vargas amongst...
(1950) - La marca del zorrillo (1950)
- El rey del barrio (1950)
- Soy charro de levita (1949)
- Calabacitas tiernas (1949)
- No me defiendas, compadre (1949)
- Músico, poeta y loco (1948)
- Con la música por dentro (1947)
- El niño perdido (1947)
- Hay muertos que no hacen ruido (1946)
- Song of Mexico (1945)
- El hijo de su madre obediente (1945)
- Hotel de verano (1944)
External links
- Germán Valdés at IMDb Documentary film contents at TuCinePortal, Perla Schwartz. Así era Tin Tan at SuperMexicanos, Guillermo Aguilera.