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Mexican
Beauty:
Dolores del Rio
by
Maggie Van Ostrand |
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In
a Canadian magazine interview, I was asked who had the most beautiful
face of all time. I unhesitatingly answered, "Dolores Del Rio."
Not Garbo, Dietrich, or Elizabeth Taylor can compare with Dolores
Del Rio. Though only five foot three inches in height, slim Dolores
del Rio appeared tall on international cinema screens. Sinuous and
sensual, she was widely regarded as the female Rudolph Valentino.
She starred in "Flying Down to Rio" (1933), with Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers in supporting roles in their first film, and she was
still a star when she appeared in Woody Allen's 1983 film, "Zelig."
Precious few other actresses have retained both beauty and stardom
for over fifty professional years. |
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Delores del Rio - Mural - Hollywood, California
Photo courtesy Maggie Van Ostrand |
Born
into an aristocratic Mexican family as Lolita Dolores Martinez Asunsolo
Lopez Negrette in Durango Mexico on August 3, 1905, she was always
called Lolita by family, including her second cousin, silent screen
idol, Ramon Novarro. Her father, a prominent banker, lost the family
fortune during the Mexican Revolution, but his daughter's beauty was
never lost.
Educated in a convent, she married writer Jaime Martinez Del Rio at
the age of 16, and the couple moved to Mexico City where they were
very socially active, until the dissolution of their marriage. At
a Mexico City tea party, Hollywood film director Edwin Carewe, was
struck by her dark beauty, and invited her to star in his 1925 silent
production of "Joanna." She emmigrated to California, and starred
in many silent films of his and other directors.
Although Del Rio spoke fluent English, the advent of sound exaggerated
her accent, limiting her range of roles. Nevertheless, fans found
her accent charming and flocked to her movies, and she retained Hollywood
stardom through the forties. Unlike today's stars, Del Rio looked
as magnificent with all her clothes on, as in the title role of 1934's
"Madame Du Barry," as when she appeared all but nude in 1932's "Bird
of Paradise."
In 1930, she married famed MGM art director and production designer,
Cedric Gibbons, from whom she was divorced in 1941. Just in time,
too, since Orson Welles (10 years her junior) fell madly in love with
her. In fact, she collaborated with him on his 1942 film, "Journey
Into Fear," in which she starred.
In American films, Del Rio's leading men ran the gamut from Henry
Fonda, in 1947's "The Fugitive," to Elvis Presley, in 1960's "Flaming
Star." Though she looked far too young to play Elvis' mother, he was
so enchanted with her that he insisted she be cast.
Del Rio was a brilliant businesswoman and in 1943, when she returned
to Mexico to star in films (frequently with Pedro Armendariz), she
negotiated a percentage-of-profits deal, increasing her already vast
fortune. Her loyalty was legendary, and she went back to Hollywood
occasionally, only to accommodate old industry friends, such as director
John Ford ("Cheyenne Autumn" 1964).
Her ageless beauty and magnificent complexion were the source of envy
among female colleagues in Hollywood. Today, we have plastic surgery
and Botox, but Dolores Del Rio maintained her looks solely through
a self-invented diet and exercise program, diligently followed.
She retired from films in 1978 (except for appearing as herself in
the aforementioned "Zelig"), and devoted her time to managing her
financial and real estate holdings, and to her lifelong hobbies of
writing and painting, until her death in 1983.
There are many kinds of beauty, I know, but for traditional drop dead
gorgeousness, no one has ever come close to Dolores del Rio. |
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