Pedro Armendariz

Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings (Mexico City, May 9, 1912 - Los Angeles, June 18, 1963) was a Mexican actor. He participated in several films in his native country, Mexico, and in foreign films in the United States and Europe.

Childhood

Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings was born on May 9, 1912 in Mexico City, the son of Mexican Pedro Armendáriz García Conde and American Adela Hastings, with whom he lived in Texas. He and his younger brother Francisco lived with his uncle Henry Hastings, Sr., in Laredo, Texas, after his mother died. He continued his studies in San Luis Obispo, California, where he finished his engineering degree at California Polytechnic State University. He got his start in the world of acting by participating in plays performed by the University of California Theater Group.^{[citation needed ]}

After finishing his studies, he moved to Mexico City, where he worked as a railway operator, tourist guide and journalist for the bilingual magazine México Real.^{[citation required ]}

Career

It was discovered by film director Miguel Zacarías when Armendáriz was reciting the monologue from Hamlet to an American tourist. She filmed her first film, María Elena, at the age of 22, and since then she has acted in dozens of films alternating between Mexican and American cinema because she spoke English perfectly.^{[citation required]}

He was the favorite actor of Emilio Fernández, with whom he would make some of his best films, such as I am pure Mexican (1941), Flor silvestre (1942), María Candelaria (1943), Bugambilia (1945), In Love (1946), La perla (1947) and Maclovia (1948), alternating with such mythical figures as Dolores del Río and María Félix.

Under the direction of Emilio Fernández, Pedro Armendáriz developed the cinematographic personality traits that would characterize him: tough and masculine men, indigenous people, peasants and revolutionaries.

Armendáriz repeatedly portrayed Pancho Villa and interacted with actresses such as Dolores del Río and María Félix.^{[citation required]}

With Dolores del Río, Armendáriz formed one of the most legendary couples in Mexican cinema. María Candelaria gave Armendáriz international visibility. The film was awarded the Palme d'Or at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. Other prominent titles where Armendáriz appeared with Dolores del Río were Las abandonadas (1944), Bugambilia (1944) and La malquerida (1949). María Félix was his other partner, in films like Enamorada (1946) or Maclovia (1948). ^{[ citation needed ]}

In the late 1940s, he made the leap to Hollywood with John Ford. Armendáriz was one of this filmmaker's favorites, appearing in three of his films: The Fugitive (1947), Fort Apache and 3 Godfathers (the last two from 1948).^{[citation needed]}

He participated in productions in France, Spain, Italy and England. In Hollywood, he was famous for his work in films such as Fort Apache (1948), and directed by John Huston or Michael Curtiz. Armendáriz was fluent in both Spanish and English.^{[citation required]}

His other notable Hollywood films were: We Were Strangers (1949, directed by John Huston), The Torch (1950), Border River (1954), The Conqueror (1956) and Diane (1956), among others. In Europe, she highlighted her participation in the film Lucrèce Borgia (1953), filmed in France. In Mexico, his participation stood out in films as notable as El bruto (1953, directed by Luis Buñuel), La cucaracha (1959) and La bandida (1962).^{[citation needed]}

In 1956, he was in the infamous film The Conqueror, produced by Howard Hughes. This tape was filmed in Utah, near the site where the US government had conducted nuclear tests in the neighboring state of Nevada. Apparently, the radioactivity affected many of the actors participating in the film, who would later die of cancer.^{[citation needed]}

In a span of 25 years, 91 of the 220 people involved in the film's production fell ill with cancer and 46 of these died from the disease, including actors John Wayne (stomach and lung cancer), Susan Hayward (brain cancer), Agnes Moorehead (uterine cancer) and John Hoyt (lung cancer). In addition to these, the director of the film, Dick Powell (cancer of the lymph nodes), and stuntman Chuck Robertson also died of cancer.^{[citation needed]}

Pilar Wayne, the widow of John Wayne, wrote in her autobiography that she did not believe radiation was involved in the deaths of the people associated with the film. She claimed that she had visited the set many times, as had others, and she did so without getting sick. Instead, she believed that the death of her husband and that of the others was due solely to tobacco.^{[citation needed ]}

Final Works and Death

His last appearance in the cinema was in 1963, in the second film of the James Bond series, From Russia with Love (known in Mexico as The Return of Agent 007 and in Spain and other Latin American countries such as From Russia with love), filmed in 1963, in the role of Kerim Bey, head of the Turkish Secret Service, helping James Bond (Sean Connery) in his entrusted intelligence mission. By then, Armendáriz was already showing the first symptoms at hip level, he was already limping when he walked, due to stomach cancer.^{[citation required]}

Armendáriz was terminally ill with cancer during filming, and by the end of the shoot he was too ill to perform his part. His final scenes were performed by his double, director Terence Young. Armendáriz died four months before the film's premiere. Armendáriz began to suffer pain in his hips. Years later, it was discovered that he had cancer in this region. He learned that his condition was terminal while at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, and was reportedly in great pain while filming the film (he visibly limps in most scenes), in which he participated to secure financial resources for his family.^{[citation needed]}

On June 18, 1963, Armendáriz committed suicide at the age of 51, shooting himself with a pistol that he had smuggled into the hospital. He was buried in the Panteón Jardín located in Mexico City. This occurred months before the film was released.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Pedro Armendáriz was the cousin of actress Gloria Marín. He was married to actress Carmelita Bohr (Carmelita Pardo, née), with whom he had a son, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., and a daughter, Carmen Armendáriz, a television producer.

Filmography

Mexico

• 1935 - Maria Elena
• 1935 - Rosario
• 1937 - My candidate
• 1937 - The Adelita
• 1937 - Pole of the way
• 1937 - Jalisco never loses
• 1937 - Four thousand.
• 1938 - The Indian
• 1938 - I sing to my land /Mexico sings
• 1938 - The Chinese Hilaria
• 1938 - The Queen of the River
• 1938 - A light in my way
• 1938 - The millions of Chaflan
• 1939 - With the Dorados de Villa
• 1939 - The forgotten of God
• 1940 - The Fox of Jalisco
• 1940 - The secret of the priest
• 1940 - Poor devil.
• 1940 - Bad.
• 1940 - The top boss
• 1940 - The Black Charge
• 1941 - No blood or sand
• 1941 - Simon Bolivar/Liberator of America
• 1941 - There in the Bajío
• 1941 - From the ranch to the capital
• 1941 - The epic of the road
• 1941 - The island of passion /Clipperton
• 1942 - I am pure Mexican
• 1943 - Land of passions
• 1943 - The Cake War
• 1943 - The skulls of terror
• 1943 - Wildflower
• 1943 - Konga Roja
• 1943 - Different dawn
• 1943 - María Candelaria (Xochimilco)
• 1944 - The Black Corsary
• 1944 - The abandoned / Shadow in love
• 1944 - Soul of bronze
• 1944 - Captain Malacara
• 1944 - Bugambilia
• 1944 - Between brothers
• 1945 - The pearl
• 1945 - Raying the sun
• 1946 - In love
• 1947 Love Albur
• 1947 The colorful house
• 1947 Juan Charrasqueado
• 1948 - In the hacienda of La Flor /El hijo de Juan Charrasqueado
• 1948 - Maclovia /Beauty damned
• 1948 - As the afternoon falls
• 1949 - Pancho Villa returns /Vuelve Pancho Villa
• 1949 - The abandoned
• 1949 - The evil one.
• 1949 - The puddle and the lady
• 1949 - Fire weddings
• 1950 - The crazy house
• 1950 - Groundland
• 1950 - Rosauro Castro
• 1950 - By the false door
• 1951 - The Way of Hell
• 1951 - The three cheerful companions
• 1951 - The night goes on
• 1951 - Prisoner
• 1951 - She and I
• 1951 - For wanting a woman
• 1952 - Gross
• 1952 - The Soledad bounce
• 1953 - Report
• 1953 - Challenge to life
• 1953 - Mulata
• 1954 - Two worlds and a love
• 1954 - The Rebellion of the Hangers
• 1955 - Mexican tale basket
• 1955 - The hidden
• 1956 - The impostor
• 1956 - The conqueror of Mongolia
• 1957 - The savages
• 1957 - The woman who had no childhood
• 1957 - The Zarco
• 1957 - I'm flying low
• 1957 - The neighborhood mailman - I want to be an artist
• 1957 - May Flower /Topolobampo
• 1957 - This was Pancho Villa /Cuentos de Pancho Villa
• 1958 - Pancho Villa and the Valentina /More stories of Pancho Villa
• 1958 - When Villa is alive, it is death
• 1958 - Café Colón
• 1958 - The cockroach
• 1958 - Two disobedient children
• 1958 - The ladies Vivanco
• 1958 - The uprooted
• 1958 - Sed of love
• 1959 - I sin
• 1959 - Our hunger for every day
• 1959 - Calibre 44
• 1960 - Cananea Prison
• 1960 - The pardon
• 1960 - Violent summer
• 1960 - Two disobedient children
• 1961 - The Iron Brothers
• 1961 - The miracle weaver
• 1961 - The brave don't die
• 1962 - The bandit

Documentaries

• 1940 - Remembering is living
• 1976 - Mexico of my love

United States

• 1946 - The Fugitive /The Fugitive
• 1947 - Fort Apache /War Party /Fuerte Apache /Hero Blood
• 1948 - 3 Godfathers /The three sons of the devil /The three godfathers
• 1949 - Tulsa
• 1949 - We Were Strangers / Breaking strings /We were unknown
• 1949 - The Torch/General Bandit /Of hate was born love /The torch /A rebellious woman (EUA)
• 1953 - Border River/Trap on the border
• 1953 - The Littlest Outlaw /The little proscribe
• 1954 - The Conqueror /Conqueror of the desert /The conqueror of Mongolia
• 1955 - Diane. /Diana de France
• 1956 - The Big Boodle/The bribe gang
• 1957 - Manuela/Stowaway Girl
• 1958 - The Wonderful Country / Beyond Rio Grande
• 1958 - The Little Savage /The little savage and the pirates
• 1961 - Francis of Asissi/Francisco de Asís
• 1963 - Captain Sindbad/Captain Sinbad

France

• 1953 - Lucrèce Borgia/Lucrecia Borgia
• 1952 - Les amants de Tolède/The tyrant of Toledo/The lovers of Toledo
• 1954 - Fortune carrée/The Devil of the Desert

Italy

• 1955 - Tam tam mayumbe
• 1955 - Uomini and Lupi/Men and wolves
• 1961 - Arrivano i titani /Titani /The titans /The children of thunder

England

• 1963 - From Russia with Love /From Russia with Love /The Return of Agent 007

Television

TV Episodes

• 1956-1961 - Playhouse 90 (EUA) [Episode: "Target for Three" (1 October 1959)]
• 1958-1960 - Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse /Target mirror (EUA) [Episode: "So Tender, So Profane" (30 October 1959)]

Soap Opera

• 1960 - Here's Pancho Villa (Mexico)