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Gilbert Roland

Gilbert Roland

Birthday: 1905-12-11 | Place of Birth: Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gilbert Roland (born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso, December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994) was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice nominated for the Golden Globe Award in 1952 and 1964, and inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Roland was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. When Pancho Villa took control of their town, Roland and his family fled to the United States. He lived in Texas until at age 14 he hopped on a freight train and went to Hollywood. He chose his screen name by combining the names of his favorite actors, John Gilbert and Ruth Roland. He was often cast in the stereotypical Latin lover role. Roland's first film contract was with Paramount. His first major role was in the collegiate comedy The Plastic Age (1925) together with Clara Bow, to whom he became engaged. In 1926, he played Armand in Camille opposite Norma Talmadge, with whom he was romantically involved, and they starred together in several productions. With the advent of sound films, Roland frequently appeared in Spanish language adaptations of American films, in romantic lead roles. Roland served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. Beginning in the 1940s, critics began to take notice of his acting and he was praised for his supporting roles in John Huston's We Were Strangers (1949), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), and Cheyenne Autumn (1964). He also appeared in a series of films in the mid-1940s as the popular character "The Cisco Kid". He played Hugo, the agnostic friend of the three shepherd children in The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima. In 1953, Roland played Greek-American sponge diver Mike Petrakis in the epic Beneath the 12-Mile Reef. His last film appearance was in the 1982 western Barbarosa. Roland married actress Constance Bennett in 1941. They were married until 1946 and had two daughters. His second marriage, to Guillermina Cantú in 1954, lasted until his death 40 years later. Gilbert Roland died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California in 1994, aged 88.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1982
Barbarosa

as    Don Braulio

1980
Cabo Blanco

as    Dr. Rudolfo Ramirez

1979
The Sacketts

as    Don Luis Alvarado

1975
The Deadly Tower

as    Narrator (voice)

1974
The Mark of Zorro

as    Don Alejandro Vega

1974
Treasure of Tayopa

as    Himself - Host

1968
The Ruthless Four

as    Mason

1968
Any Gun Can Play

as    Monetero

1965
The Reward

as    Captain Carbajal

1964
Cheyenne Autumn

as    Dull Knife

1960
Guns of the Timberland

as    Monty Walker

1959
The Wild and the Innocent

as    Paul

1959
The Big Circus

as    Zach Colino - the aerialist

1958
The Last of the Fast Guns

as    Miles Lang

1957
The Midnight Story

as    Sylvio Malatesta

1956
Around the World in Eighty Days

as    Achmed Abdullah

1956
Bandit!

as    Col. Escobar

1956
Three Violent People

as    Innocencio Ortega, Grand Vacaro

1955
The Treasure of Pancho Villa

as    Colonel Juan Castro

1955
Underwater!

as    Dominic Quesada

1954
The French Line

as    Pierre DuQuesne

1953
The Diamond Queen

as    Baron Paul de Cabannes

1953
Thunder Bay

as    Teche Bossier

1952
Glory Alley

as    Peppi Donnato

1952
The Bad and the Beautiful

as    Victor "Gaucho" Ribera

1951
Ten Tall Men

as    Corporal Luis Delgado

1951
Bullfighter and the Lady

as    Manolo Estrada

1950
The Furies

as    Juan Herrera

1950
Crisis

as    Roland Gonzales