A leading man in silent films who alternated with stars such as Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, and Mary Pickford, he was the first Spanish actor to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
If you ask some Spaniards, who was their first compatriot to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, perhaps the youngest can think of Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Javier Bardem, and the least, perhaps consider Sara Montiel or Fernando Rey, is possible that very few mention Antonio Moreno, a true star in the silent cinema of Hollywood, who survived the talkies and became a lucky director. Here's his story.
Antonio Moreno was born in Madrid in 1887 and at the age of 14, he emigrated with his family to Massachusetts in the United States where he continued his studies. He moved to Los Angeles where he developed his career, working with studios such as Paramount or Metro Golden Maier. He married the heiress of an oil millionaire, although she died in a car accident ten years after their marriage, near the famous Mulholland Drive. He died of a heart attack in 1967.
Antonio Moreno's filmography as an actor is impressive, with more than 150 titles to his credit. One of the so-called 'Latin lovers', an expression popularized by performers like Rodolfo Valentino, there were years in which Moreno worked in 6 or more films, an impossible frequency in today's cinema. A leading man in silent movies, he alternated with stars like Greta Garbo -in the image above with Antonio Moreno-, Gloria Swanson, and Mary Pickford. With the arrival of sound, his star declined, supposedly due to his strong Spanish accent, although in his later years, he participated in two legendary films, 'The Creature from the Black Lagoon' (1954) and 'desert centaurs' ( 1956).
Antonio Moreno's facet as a director is almost unknown and is very attractive, at least with a film that made history. Moreno directs 'Santa' (1932), a mythical film in Mexico. It is neither more nor less than the first Mexican sound tape, which some consider the true turning point of Mexican cinema that set technical, artistic, and thematic aspects of what would be the golden cinema period of that country.
The protagonist of 'Santa' was Lupita Tovar, a Mexican star in Hollywood, who plays a beautiful young peasant girl who, after being deceived by a soldier, ends up as a prostitute in the city, becoming the platonic love of a blind pianist. The film, which is a classic, was not uncontroversial due to the issue of prostitution, as well as being a surprise to many, because due to the name and the poster, it was thought that it effectively recounted the life of a pious woman. The argument permanently plays with the name of the protagonist.
There is an interesting relationship with Colombia. 'Santa' is the first film in which Sofía Álvarez, an actress born in Bogotá, who moved to Mexico with her family as a teenager, developed one of the most successful careers on record. The Colombian actress, to whom we will return in the future, God willing, would become the 'queen of the operetta' in Mexico and star in transcendental films such as 'The Girl With My Eyes' or 'The Golden Boat'.
The star of the Walk of Fame, to whom Antonio Garrido Monteagudo was born, is located at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard and was awarded on February 8, 1960. Important information for Spaniards and moviegoers who have the opportunity to walk on that walk strewn with stars, some forgotten like Antonio Moreno.
