LOS ANGELES — The Cervantes Center of Arts and Letters will commemorate the birth-centennial of Mexican film star Mario Moreno “Cantinflas” (1911-1993), this coming Friday, August 12th – 7:30 pm at Broadway’s historic Million Dollar Theater. The event will showcase the film screening of a Columbia Pictures’ print, featuring one of Cantinflas’ early comedies, Miguel M. Delgado’s The Circus / El Circo (1943). The film will be presented in Spanish with English supertitles. The tribute will also feature the digital image presentation – Cantinflas in Los Angeles – an exploration of the work and public appearances of Mario Moreno in Los Angeles. Individuals who knew Moreno have been invited to share with the audience their memories of the actor. The tribute counts with the formal authorization of Mario Moreno Ivanova, son and heir to Mario Moreno Sr., the sponsorship of the Million Dollar Theater, and further support from part of the Mexico Tourism Board and the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles.
Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes was born on August 12 of 1911, in Mexico City, to a family of eight children, and grew up in the poor neighborhood of the Colonia Guerrero. Following a brief stint in the army and a short-lived career in boxing, Moreno discovered a profession he made his own, that of performing as an actor-comedian. He got his start in the humble tent shows and shabby theaters of Mexico City, eventually graduating to more respected venues, such as the Follies Bergère. During this period he met and married dancer Valentina Ivanova Zubareff, and created the world-renowned character of “Cantinflas,” a quick-witted city tramp who makes his way out of difficult situations due a smart – yet incongruous – manner of speaking.
It was at the Follies that filmmaker Miguel Contreras Torres saw Moreno perform. He cast him for the 1937 film No Te Engañes Corazon. Producers Pedro Maus and Federico Mier went on to pair the actor with comedian Manuel Medel in three more films: Asi es Mi Tierra (1937) and Aguila o Sol (1938), directed by Arcady Boytler, and El Signo de la Muerte (1939), directed by Chano Urueta.
Posa Films
The success of Juan Bustillo Oro’s Ahi Está el Detalle (1940), catapulted Cantinflas into stardom. Due to Moreno’s demand for a higher pay in future films, Bustillo Oro lost the actor to publicist Santiago Reachi. Reachi and Moreno established Posa Films along with film distributor, Jacques Gelman. The company went on to produce a ratio of about one film a year, starting with Alejandro Galindo’s Ni Sangre, Ni Arena (1941), and concluding with Miguel M. Delgado’s El Barrendero (1981). In his films, Moreno impersonated a range of “Cantinflas” roles including shoemaker, trash collector, diplomat and even a priest. In all, his “Cantinflas” characters were generally caring and sympathetic to the less privileged; a trait that characterized Mario Moreno in real life, as he devoted a large portion of his fortune to philanthropic endeavors.
Hollywood
Moreno was featured in two English-language productions: Mike Todd’s Around the World in 80 Days (1956), which won him a Golden Globe, and George Sidney’s production of Pepe (1960), surrounded by an all-start cast of Hollywood’s Who’s Who. The premieres of his films in Los Angeles often featured a personal appearance by the actor at venues such as Frank Fouce’s Million Dollar Theater or Bruce Corwin’s United Artists Theater. Mario Moreno passed away on April 20, 1993.
The Million Dollar Theater
The Million Dollar Theater is one of Broadway Blvd’s historic Downtown Los Angeles theaters. It was established in 1918 by Sid Grauman as a venue dedicated to the showcase of live entertainment and film screenings. In 1950, under the management of Frank Fouce, the theater began a successful chapter with the exhibition of primarily Mexican films. These screenings were accompanied by live performances featuring the most outstanding Spanish-language entertainers in the world.
For more information about the Cantinflas Centennial tribute please visit: http://www.milliondollartheater.com/CantinflasCentennial.html