Gilbert Roland
Gilbert Roland, born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Mexico, became a prominent film actor after moving to Texas with his family in 1910 amid the Mexican Revolution. Initially aspiring to be a bullfighter, he transitioned to acting in the 1920s, adopting the stage name Gilbert Roland, inspired by notable actors John Gilbert and Ruth Roland. His early career saw him working with iconic figures like Rudolph Valentino, who aided in his rise to fame, particularly in silent films. Roland gained recognition for his portrayal of the Cisco Kid, becoming a rare actor of Mexican descent to take on such a role during a time when opportunities for Latinos in film were limited.
Throughout his career, he became known not only for his acting but also for his personal charm and romantic entanglements, including relationships with notable actresses like Clara Bow and Norma Talmadge. He served as a lieutenant in the Army Air Corps during World War II and later married Guillermina Cantú, with whom he spent decades. Roland remained passionate about bullfighting and made appearances in various films and television shows until his last film, Barbarosa, in 1982. He passed away in 1994 at the age of eighty-eight, leaving behind a legacy recognized by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and two Golden Globe nominations.
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Subject Terms
Gilbert Roland
Mexican-born actor
- Born: December 11, 1905
- Birthplace: Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
- Died: May 15, 1994
- Place of death: Beverly Hills, California
Known primarily for playing the Cisco Kid, Roland had leading roles in films from the silent era to the 1980’s. He was nominated twice for Golden Globe Awards for his roles in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964).
Early Life
Gilbert Roland was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso. He moved from Mexico with his family to Texas in 1910 at the onset of the Mexican Revolution. As a child, he wanted to become a bullfighter, like his father. However, in the 1920’s, Roland left his family for Los Angeles, where he would become a film star instead. He changed his name to Gilbert Roland, combining the last names of film actors John Gilbert and Ruth Roland, whom he admired greatly.
It was during the 1920’s, the silent film era, that Roland came to know actorRudolph Valentino. Roland’s knowledge of bullfighting resulted in his landing the job of preparing Valentino for the bullring scenes in Blood and Sand (1922). Legend has it that when a fight broke out among assistants to the stars, Valentino himself tended to the superficial stab wound that Roland endured by using a monogrammed handkerchief for a bandage. Valentino liked Roland and helped create many opportunities for him, not the least of which was the role in the silent film that introduced Roland to actor Clara Bow, The Plastic Age (1925). When Valentino suddenly died of peritonitis, Roland could have been Valentino’s successor as a “Latin lover,” but while Roland would have a lengthy acting career, he would never attain the popularity of his legendary friend.
Life’s Work
As a young man, Roland looked mature beyond his years, but as an older man he seemed to look younger. He was almost 6 feet tall, with hazel eyes and a hairy chest, on which he wore a gold medallion. Not surprisingly, this good-looking young man had numerous romantic encounters. He fell in love with Bow and later with actor Norma Talmadge, with whom he began an affair on the set of Camille (1926). So serious was the relationship between Roland and Talmadge that her husband would not agree to a divorce and made his threats stick when the studios would hire neither actor. Roland and Talmadge never married.
Roland made his first appearance as the Cisco Kid in the 1946 film The Gay Cavalier, and he was the only person of Mexican descent to play the role of the Mexican cowboy. Some of Roland’s films in the Cisco Kid series credited him with “additional dialogue.” Indeed, much of the series’s banter was highly personalized, as when an actor reminded Roland of an uncle, and Roland commented on this in the film. This demonstrativeness was characteristic of Roland, who hugged everyone he knew and was not ashamed to cry when appropriate.
Roland served in the Army Air Corps as a lieutenant during World War II. While he was in the service he received many letters, including two from actor Greta Garbo, who described him as “my little soldier” and hoped that the “ladies don’t bother you too much.” In 1946, Roland divorced actor Constance Bennett, with who he had two daughters, Lorinda and Gyl. He later met Guillermina Cantú, whom he married in 1954 in Yuma, Arizona, and with whom he would spend the remaining forty years of his life. Roland remained interested in bullfighting all his life. In 1951, he starred in the film The Bullfighter and the Lady. Roland became a fan of Manolete, the famed Spanish bullfighter, after he watched him perform in the bullring in Mexico, and Roland enjoyed Barnaby Conrad’s book The Death of Manolete (1958).
In his later years, Roland appeared in small parts in films and made guest appearances on television programs, including Hart to Hart, Barnaby Jones, Combat, and Zorro. He played Zorro’s father in the television film The Mark of Zorro (1974), which gave him the chance to sword fight, proving that the sixty-eight-year-old actor had retained his athletic ability. His last film was Barbarosa (1982). Roland died of cancer in 1994 at the age of eighty-eight.
Significance
At a time when there were few film roles for Latinos, Roland carved a niche for himself in the film industry and later in television. He was nominated for Golden Globe Awards for his roles in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964), and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Bibliography
Flint, Peter B. “Gilbert Roland Is Dead at 88: Actor from Silent Films to TV.” The New York Times, May 18, 1994, p. 8. An obituary tracing Roland’s career.
Roland, Gilbert. “Valentino Smiled, Shook My Hand, and I Trembled.” TV Guide, November 22, 1975. Roland recalls the magnetism of the legendary Valentino.