
Gilbert Roland
Biography
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.
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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.
Known for
Around the World in 80 DaysAchmed Abdullah6.7
The Bad and the BeautifulVictor "Gaucho" Ribera7.3
Kung FuPadre Braganza7.7
The Lost WorldExtra6.7
The Sea HawkCapt. Lopez7.2
Cheyenne AutumnDull Knife6.7
The Hunchback of Notre DameExtra (uncredited)6.5
She Done Him WrongSerge Stanieff5.9
Combat!Boulanger7.9
GunsmokeLt. Julio Chavez6.7
Night GallerySeries7.8
The FuriesJuan Herrera7.1
Filmography
The 80 most recent of 128 credits.
- 2002The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American CinemaFilm
- 1982BarbarosaFilm: Don Braulio
- 1980CaboblancoFilm: Dr. Rudolfo Ramirez
- 1979The SackettsSeries: Don Luis Alvarado (2 episodes)
- 1977The Black PearlFilm
- 1977Islands in the StreamFilm: Captain Ralph
- 1975The Deadly TowerFilm: Narrator (voice)
- 1974The Pacific ConnectionFilm: Allan
- 1974The Mark of ZorroFilm: Don Alejandro Vega
- 1973Running WildFilm: Chief Tomicito
- 1973Barnaby JonesSeries: Juan DeVarga (1 episode)
- 1973Incident on a Dark StreetFilm: Dominic Leopold
- 1972Kung FuSeries: Padre Braganza (1 episode)
- 1971The Christian Licorice StoreFilm: Jonathan 'JC' Carruthers
- 1970Night GallerySeries (1 episode)
- 1970McCloudSeries: Marshal Ben Melendez
- 1969Medical CenterSeries (1 episode)
- 1968Sartana Does Not ForgiveFilm: Kirchner
- 1968Between God, The Devil and a WinchesterFilm: Juan Chasquido / Jess Guido
- 1968Land's EndSeries: Captain Bravo (1 episode)
- 1968Johnny HamletFilm: Dazio
- 1968The Ruthless FourFilm: Mason
- 1967Any Gun Can PlayFilm: Monetero
- 1967The High ChaparralSeries: Don Domingo Montoya (2 episodes)
- 1967Garrison's GorillasSeries (1 episode)
- 1966The Poppy Is Also a FlowerFilm: Serge Marko
- 1965The F.B.I.Series: Emilio Cruz (1 episode)
- 1965The RewardFilm: Captain Carbajal
- 1964Cheyenne AutumnFilm: Dull Knife
- 1963The Greatest Show on EarthSeries (1 episode)
- 1963The FugitiveSeries: Jose Anza, Gus Priamos (1 episode)
- 1962Combat!Series: Boulanger (1 episode)
- 1962The Alfred Hitchcock HourSeries: Luis Aguilar (1 episode)
- 1962SamarFilm: Col. Juan Sebastian Salazar
- 1960Guns of the TimberlandFilm: Monty Walker
- 1959The Big CircusFilm: Zach Colino (Aerialist)
- 1959The Wild and the InnocentFilm: Paul
- 1959Catch Me If You Can!Film: Gilberto Ramnes
- 1958Westinghouse Desilu PlayhouseSeries (1 episode)
- 1958The Last of the Fast GunsFilm: Miles Lang
- 1957The Midnight StoryFilm: Sylvio Malatesta
- 1957Invitation to a GunfighterFilm: Dancer
- 1956Three Violent PeopleFilm: Innocencio Ortega
- 1956Around the World in 80 DaysFilm: Achmed Abdullah
- 1956Bandido!Film: Col. Escobar
- 1955The Treasure of Pancho VillaFilm: Colonel Juan Castro
- 1955GunsmokeSeries: Lt. Julio Chavez (2 episodes)
- 1955That LadyFilm: Antonio Perez
- 1955Underwater!Film: Dominic Quesada
- 1955The RacersFilm: Dell'Oro
- 1954December BrideSeries (1 episode)
- 1954The French LineFilm: Pierre DuQuesne
- 1953Beneath the 12-Mile ReefFilm: Mike Petrakis
- 1953The Diamond QueenFilm: Baron Paul de Cabannes
- 1953Thunder BayFilm: Teche Bossier
- 1952The Bad and the BeautifulFilm: Victor "Gaucho" Ribera
- 1952Apache War SmokeFilm: Peso Herrera
- 1952The Miracle of Our Lady of FatimaFilm: Hugo da Silva
- 1952Glory AlleyFilm: Peppi Donnato
- 1952My Six ConvictsFilm: Punch Pinero
- 1951Ten Tall MenFilm: Corporal Luis Delgado
- 1951Schlitz Playhouse of StarsSeries: Gino Bardi (1 episode)
- 1951The Mark of the RenegadeFilm: Don Pedro Garcia
- 1951Bullfighter and the LadyFilm: Manolo Estrada
- 1950The FuriesFilm: Juan Herrera
- 1950CrisisFilm: Roland Gonzales
- 1950The TorchFilm: Father Sierra
- 1949MalayaFilm: Romano
- 1949We Were StrangersFilm: Guillermo Montilla
- 1949Revolt of the GhostsFilm: Arturo Ruiz del Rosal
- 1948The Dude Goes WestFilm: Pecos Kid
- 1947Pirates of MontereyFilm: Major de Roja
- 1947King of the BanditsFilm: Cisco Kid aka Ramon Mojica
- 1947Robin Hood of MontereyFilm: The Cisco Kid
- 1947High ConquestFilm: Hugo Lanier
- 1947The Other LoveFilm: Croupier
- 1947Riding the California TrailFilm: The Cisco Kid
- 1946Beauty and the BanditFilm: The Cisco Kid
- 1946South of MontereyFilm: The Cisco Kid
- 1946The Gay CavalierFilm: The Cisco Kid
Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.