- Born
- 6 February 1899Durango, Mexico
- Died
- 30 October 1968Los Angeles, USA · aged 69
Ramón Novarro
Hollywood’s “Latin lover” of the silent era played Ben-Hur – and had to hide that he loved men.
Ramón Novarro, born José Ramón Gil Samaniego, grew up in a well-off family in Durango, Mexico. During the Mexican Revolution the family fled to Los Angeles, where the young man worked as a waiter, singer and extra.
In the 1920s he became one of the great stars of silent film. MGM marketed him as a “Latin lover”, a successor to Rudolph Valentino. His most famous role was the title role in “Ben-Hur” (1925), one of the most expensive films of the silent era. He was the first Latin American actor to become a major Hollywood star.
Novarro was gay, which was known in Hollywood but hidden from the public. The studio pressured him to marry, but he refused. With the advent of sound film his career declined, and in later years he struggled with alcohol and appeared mainly on television.
On 30 October 1968 he was murdered in his home in Los Angeles by two young brothers he had invited, who were looking for money. He was 69 years old. The trial revealed details of his private life to the public.