STARRLIGHT

Dolores Del Rio

The icon of beauty and style, a movie star perpetually dazzling into her seventies, confided in an interview, "The secret of youth is work--keep busy, and never be bored."

Dolores Asunsolo Martinez y Lopez Negrete, nicknamed Lolita, was born August 3, 1905, in Durango, Mexico. Her elegant mother was descended from the Toltecs. As the only child of an aristocratic family, the stunning girl led a privileged life.

In 1910, the legendary Pancho Villa seized their home and the Bank of Durango, where her father was director. The family lost everything, and they fled to Mexico City. There, Lolita was educated by French Nuns at the Convent of St. Joseph. Later, she studied voice and dance in Spain, and the gifted Lolita learned to speak seven languages.

In 1920, when she was just 15, Lolita married Jaime Martinez del Rio, a prominent attorney eighteen years her senior. After honeymooning in Europe for two years, they returned to Mexico City to live luxuriously together on a ranch that was owned by Jaime's family for 300 years. Just 17, Lolita posed as "Justice" for Diego Rivera's first mural, La Creation, -- considerd a scandalous thing to do for a woman in her social position. Later, Lolita began to tire of her elegant but boring life, and encouraged Jaimie to change his career and to follow his dream of becoming a playwright. They made plans to move to Paris, where they felt they could better pursue their creativity.

In 1925, American director Edwin Carewe and Mary Aiken were honeymooning in Mexico City along with married Hollywood film stars Claire Windsor and Bert Lytell. A friend of the del Rios, painter Adolfo Best Maugard, invited the newlyweds and the Lytells to a tea party at the del Rio's home. Socialite Senora del Rio entertained her delighted guests by dancing the tango. Highly enchanted, Carewe suggested Lolita consider making movies, and convinced Jaime it would be advantageous for him to become a screenwriter in Hollywood. The couple moved to California where they stayed with Lolita's second cousin, handsome Ramon Novarro, who was already becoming a huge success and a symbol of male beauty and would soon star in the elaborate Ben Hur (1925).

That same year, Dolores Del Rio made her first film, Joanna (1925), directed by Carewe. After she appeared in What Price Glory(1926), Dolores quickly became the first female Mexican movie star in Hollywood. For artistic reasons, the "d" in del Rio was capitalized. Her parents were horrified. An early publicity photo was captioned by her studio with the statement, "Dolores Del Rio, Mexico's heiress-social leader, who recently arrived in Hollywood with $50,000 in shawls and combs, is...said to be the richest girl in Mexico."

In 1927, when sound films were soon to take over the industry, Del Rio began an affair with Carewe. Humiliated, Senor del Rio left Dolores and travelled to London. In 1928, he died in Berlin following a minor operation from which he contracted blood poisoning. Fan magazines were critical when Dolores sent him only a loving cable which read, "Wish I were with you because I love you. God bless you. I love you." Jaime died clutching the note in his hand. The next year, in her film Evangeline (1929), her lover Roland Drew died immediately after she serenaded him with the title song written for her by Al Jolson. A critic quipped "not surprisingly." The unpopular film marked the end of the artistic association of Carewe and Del Rio.

Subdued and shy in her silent films, Dolores became alive and radiant in the sound era.

Elegant and gorgeous, her beauty described as orchidaceous, she was envied by millions around the world for her sense of fashion and her ability to always look perfect and glamorous while wearing some of the most sensational gowns and jewels ever created by the most esteemed designers.

In 1930, the widow Dolores wed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production designer Cedric Gibbons, designer of the the Oscar Award statuette. He would go on to win 12 of them himself for films each considered a classic. He also designed a spectacular "moderne" oceanview home in Santa Monica for his new bride. There, Dolores played the magnificent hostess, throwing lavish parties every Sunday afternoon for Hollywood's most glittering stars.

When Dolores visited Chicago, she embarked from Pasadena, snuggled into the private Sunset Limited car at the end of the Santa Fe Super Chief. Traveling with 32 pieces of luggage, a masseur, a staff of six, and two studio executives to handle publicity and arrival plans, the luxurious Del Rio sped across the plains, arriving at the exciting city in only two and a half days.

In 1933, Photoplay Magazine voted Del Rio as having "the most perfect feminine figure in Hollywood." While standing only 5 foot 3, with jet-black hair and eyes, and a flawless complexion, the films Dolores made during the 1930's were mainly conceived to showcase her beauty and fashion style, often in Warner Bros. musicals. Among her movies were "Bird of Paradise"(1932) with Joel McCrea, Flying Down To Rio (1933) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their first pairing, and Wonder Bar (1934) with Al Jolson and Kay Francis, which included the song "Tango Del Rio".

Her film Madame Du Barry (1934), an entertaining costume epic with elaborate production values and incredibly opulent gowns by Orry-Kelly, was historically innacurate and condemned by the Catholic Church. Extra guards were hired on the set to watch over the valuable jewelry and antiques used in the picture. Other films include "In Caliente" (1935) with Pat O'Brien, Accused (1936) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., The Devil's Playground(1937) with Richard Dix, and International Settlement (1938) with George Sanders. Del Rio, though always visually fantastic, believed her acting talent was wasted in these pictures, and felt typecast.

Dolores began a highly publicized and stormy affair with Orson Welles, who was ten years her junior. She divorced Cedric in 1941, and appeared with her lover in Journey Into Fear (1943). After Orson left Dolores to pursue and marry Rita Hayworth, Del Rio felt her Hollywood career was over. Depressed, she sold her magnificent home and returned to Mexico. There in her native land she made her first film in Spanish, Flor Silvestri (1943), directed by Emilo Fernandez, with whom she signed a lucrative contract that earned her a percentage of the profits.

At age 37, Del Rio became the most famous and revered movie star in her country, touching off what is known as the Mexican Cinema Golden Era. Her next film, Maria Candelaria (1944), won numerous international awards. Two years later in 1946 the movie was awarded best picture at the very first Cannes International Film Festival. Del Rio was awarded Mexico's equivalent of the Oscar, the Ariel, three times for Best Actress. Helen Hayes, known as the "First Lady of American Theatre", awarded Del Rio the honor of "First Lady of Mexican Theatre" for her stage appearances.

In 1947, Dolores filmed John Ford's The Fugitive (1947) in Mexico with Henry Fonda. She returned to Hollywood several times when lured by roles in such films as Flaming Star (1960), in which she played Elvis Presley's mother, and John Ford's Cheyenne Autumn (1964). At age 62 and still gorgeous, she played Sophia Loren's mother in More Than A Miracle (1967), co-starring Omar Shariff. Her last film was The Children of Sanchez (1978) with Anthony Quinn. Dolores Del Rio appeared in 56 movies throughout her career. She remarked of Hollywood, "I'm so happy I was there for the exciting days that are gone."

Speaking of beauty, Del Rio once said, "God can give us beauty, and genes can give us our features. But whether that beauty remains or changes is determined by our thoughts and deeds. We have the face we created over the years. For beauty does not come in creams and lotions---it comes with moderation in eating, good digestion, and discipline in life."

In 1959, Del Rio married television producer Lewis Riley. They lived in the elegant Mexico City suburb of Coyoacan, where they filled their splendorous home at Santa Rosalia 37 with fantastic paintings, sculpture, and pre-Columbian art. Del Rio believed that inner peace was absolutely necessary, for any stress or disharmony would be etched onto the face. Dolores Del Rio must have led a very happy life, for she remained amazingly and breathtakingly beautiful until her death from liver failure April 11, 1983.

Sources

They Had Faces Then by John Springer and Jack Hamilton
The Movies by Richard Griffith and Arthur Mayer
Willhoite's Hollywood by Michael Willhoite
More Fabulous Faces by Larry Carr
Hollywood The Glamour Years (1919-1941) by Robin Langley Sommer
Hollywood Land and Legend by Zelda Cini and Bob Crane
The Invention of Dolores Del Rio by Joanne Hershfield
Screen Dreams The Hollywood Pinup by Tony Crawley
Celebrity Register edited by Cleveland Amory
Dolores Del Rio Websites

Steve Starr is the author of "Picture Perfect" Art Deco Photo Frames 1926-1946, published by Rizzoli International Publications, 1991. A photographer, designer, artist, and chronicler of movie stars, he is the owner of Steve Starr Studios, specializing in original Art Deco artifacts and photo frames and celebrating its 39th anniversary in 2006. His collection of over 950 gorgeous frames is filled with photos of Hollywood's most elegant stars.

Visit www.SteveStarrStudios.com. where you can read other STARRLIGHT stories, view part of Starr's frame collection, and enjoy photos, autographs, and letters from some of his favorite luminaries. You are welcome to email Steve at SSSChicago@ameritech.net. Visit the Steve Starr Studios Satellite location at the Ravenswood Antique Mart, 4727 North Damen Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60640.

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