Starrlight

Ramon Novarro Profile

It was Halloween, and in the Hollywood Hills one of the screen's most handsome and beloved movie stars had been tortured for hours and murdered in his luxurious Laurel Canyon home.

Ramon Gil Samaniegos was born February 6, 1899, in Durango, Mexico, the same town that six years later produced his gorgeous second cousin, actress Dolores Del Rio. Ramon's father was a prosperous dentist, and the privileged young Ramon was trained in classical piano and sang in his church choir. In 1910, his family, which included his twelve younger siblings, became refugees of the Mexican Revolution as they fled the raids of Pancho Villa and escaped to Mexico City, and then to Los Angeles, leaving their elegant home and wealth behind. There, after his father became gravely ill, charming Ramon, with his beautiful voice, supplemented the family income as a singing waiter, and performed in vaudeville. He worked in a grocery store, taught piano lessons, and ushered at a movie house. He was also a busboy at the elegant Alexandria Hotel, where he befriended Rodolfo Guglielmi, who then called himself Rodolfo Valentini, the future Rudolph Valentino, and who was four years his senior. Soon, Valentini was discovered by film casting agents, as was Samaniegos shortly thereafter.

In 1916, Ramon was given a small part in Cecil B. DeMille's Joan The Woman and began to find work in dozens of silent films. In 1921, his dancing ability helped to put him above scores of other extras when his dance director, Marion Morgan, whose vaudeville troupe Ramon performed in starting in 1919, suggested him for a novelty dance in A Small Town Idol(1921). That same year, his friend Valentino had phenomenal success in The Sheik, and capturing the public's taste for Latin men. Ramon thrilled audiences and inspired in them an almost pathological devotion as he danced while clad in only a turban and loincloth. Ramon also had a small part in Valentino's famous film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). These charismatic performances led him to be picked to star in The Prisoner of Zenda (1922). The director of that film, Rex Ingram, saw a great future for Ramon, put him under a personal contract, suggested he change his name, and gave him a role opposite the reigning beauty of the day, Barbara LaMarr, known as "The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful," in Trifling Woman (1923).

Films that followed include Where The Rainbow Ends (1923), Scaramouche (1923), and The Arab (1924). Standing five-foot-ten, weighing 160, with luminous dark hair and sparkling eyes, Ramon became wildly popular. He appeared in three more films in 1925: Thy Name Is Woman, The Red Lily, and The Midshipman. Then he starred as Judah in Ben-Hur (1925), a beautiful, elaborate film with early Technicolor sequences. Ramon became the first Mexican movie star, working opposite some of the most glamorous actresses in the world, and earning a salary of $10,000 a week. Millions of people joined his fan clubs, and his studio sent a valentine to every woman who wrote him a fan letter. His friend Valentino, then the most famous male star in the world, died in 1926, as did the beautiful, drug-addicted Barbara LaMarr.

Other films starring Ramon include The Student Prince (1927) with Norma Shearer and Across To Singapore (1928) with Joan Crawford. He made his sound debut in Devil May Care (1929)with Dorothy Jordan. Next, he opened his mouth only to sing "The Pagan Love Song" in The Pagan (1929) with Renee Adoree. Other sound films that followed include Son of India (1931) with Madge Evans, Mata Hari (1931) with Greta Garbo, The Son-Daughter (1932) with Helen Hayes, The Barbarian (1933) with Myrna Loy, and The Cat And The Fiddle (1934) with Jeanette McDonald.

Ramon admired George Hurell's photos of Los Angeles society, and hired him to help capture a more forceful, masculine side of his boyish, charming personality. Ramon was so pleased with the results, he showed them to all his friends in the film world, who helped propel Hurrell into fame. The superbly classy Ramon had his sensational modernistic 17-room Lloyd Wright Hollywood mansion decorated completely in black, white and silver in the style of the late 1920's by the famous set designer Cedric Gibbons, who was married to Ramon's cousin, Dolores Del Rio. The sophisticated tubular aluminum furniture by designer Warren McArthur was found throughout the house which boasted gorgeous geometric motif carpets and Art Deco statues. Chromium plated beads hanging against opaque black fabric created dining room walls. Ramon would request his famous dinner guests match the decor by dressing and accessorizing themselves only in black, white and silver, while they would sit in chairs upholstered in black fur.

Throughout his career, the highly religious Ramon often declared his aspirations to enter a monastery. Ramon was very wealthy due to his intelligent investments in real estate, and he was easily able to support his parents and siblings for years. Still, Ramon chose to cling to show business, hanging to the outer fringes. Late in his career, he appeared as a character actor in a variety of movies, which include We Were Strangers (1949), The Big Steal (1949), The Outriders (1950), and Crisis (1950).

Ramon had a propensity for alcohol abuse, had more than a few car accidents, and was arrested several times for drunk driving. In 1962, he spent two weeks in jail. His final film appearance was in Heller In Pink Tights (1960), which starred Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn. Ramon appeared on various televison show including Bonanza, Rawhide, and Dr. Kildare. His fan clubs were still in existence, which caused him to remark, "When they swoon over me now, someone has to help them get up."

In 1968, Ramon was living in retirement in a smaller Spanish style home in Laurel Canyon. Through an escort service, he began seeing Paul Ferguson, a 22-year-old street hustler who moved to Los Angeles from Chicago. After a few weeeks, Paul's 17-year-old brother Tom arrived. They both mistakenly believed Ramon had five thousand dollars stashed in his home. One night, on October 30, 1968, they arrived at Ramon's door, determined to steal the money. The ever gracious Ramon welcomed them, played the piano, sang and drank with them, and had a tryst with Paul. Afterwards, the pair beat and tortured the 69-year-old star. Tom made a forty minute phone call to his girlfriend in Chicago, who heard ghastly screams coming through the wire. Later, after a terrific and fierce struggle, the elegant, naked star choked to death on his own blood. The brothers ripped apart the house, destroying cherished mementos and pictures as they searched in vain for the money they were after.

The despicable men were caught and tried. Paul blamed the younger Tom, hoping that he would not be tried as an adult. He was. Each blamed the other for the murder, and both received life sentences. However, due to California's lenient legal system, both brothers somehow were released. They were later both returned to jail for other, separate crimes, and are still serving time.

It is unfortunate that Ramon Novarro, who created so much beauty and enjoyed such tremendous success, is often remembered only for his demise and the unfounded rumor of the way a gift from Valentino was supposedly used as a weapon. He was a star of a lost Hollywood, a man who created ethereal images and visions that seem as if they could only be drawn from wonderful dreams of lives we all desire to lead.

Sources The Movie Stars by Richard Griffith
Architectural Digest April 1994
Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger
The Great Movie Stars-The Golden Years by David Shipman
The Hollywood Book Of Death by James Robert Parish
Beyond Paradise by Andre Soares
Ramon Novarro 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, writer, and chronicler of movie stars, he is the owner of Steve Starr Studios, specializing in Art Deco artifacts and photo frames, and celebrating its 38th anniversary in 2005. His personal collection of over 950 gorgeous, original Art Deco frames is filled with images of Hollywood's most elegant stars. Steve Starr's column, STARRLIGHT, appears in various publications, including Entertainment Magazine Online, the Windy City Times, and the Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine.

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