Antonio Moreno

Antonio Moreno
Antonio Garrido Monteagudo (September 26, 1887 – February 15, 1967), better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.
Early life and silent films
Born in Madrid, Spain, Moreno emigrated to New York in 1901 and settled in Massachusetts, where he completed his education. Although he claimed to have attended Williston Seminary in Easthampton, Massachusetts, the Archives of the school, now the Williston Northampton School, have no record of his having done so. He became a stage actor in regional theater productions. In 1912, he moved to Hollywood, California, where he was signed to Biograph Studios, and began his career in bit parts. His film debut was in Iola's Promise (1912).
In 1914, Moreno began co-starring in a series of highly successful serials at Vitagraph opposite popular silent film actress Norma Talmadge. These appearances increased Moreno's popularity with nascent filmgoers, and by 1915, he was a highly regarded matinee idol, appearing with successful actors such as Tyrone Power, Sr., Gloria Swanson, Blanche Sweet, Pola Negri, and Dorothy Gish. Moreno often was typecast in his early films as the "Latin Lover". These roles predate Rudolph Valentino's breakthrough as a "Latin Lover" in the 1921 film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
By the early 1920s, Moreno joined film mogul Jesse Lasky's Famous Players and became one of the company's highly paid performers. In 1926, Moreno starred opposite Swedish acting legend Greta Garbo in The Temptress, and the following year, he had a starring role in the enormous box-office hit It with Clara Bow.
Sound films
With the advent of sound films in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Moreno's career began to falter, in part because of his heavy Spanish accent. While still acting in English language films, Moreno began taking parts in Mexican films. During the early 1930s, Moreno directed several well-received Mexican films, including the 1932 drama Santa, which has been hailed by film critics as one of the best Mexican films of the era.
By the mid-1930s, he began rebuilding his faltering Hollywood career by taking notable roles as a character actor. By the mid-1940s and throughout the 1950s, Moreno appeared in a number of well-received roles, most notably, his 1954 role in the classic horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon and his 1955 role as Emilio Figueroa in film director John Ford's epic The Searchers.
Personal life
On January 27, 1923, Moreno married American heiress Daisy Emma Canfield in Los Angeles, California. They moved to an estate known as Crestmount. The union lasted 10 years and ended shortly before she was killed in an automobile accident on February 23, 1933.
Death and legacy
Moreno died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on February 15, 1967, aged 79. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in Glendale, California. His film career spanned more than four decades. In 1994, the Mexican magazine Somos published its list of "The 100 best movies of the cinema of Mexico" in its 100th edition and named the 1931 Moreno directed Santa its 67th choice.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Antonio Moreno was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6651 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, California.
Selected filmography
Iola's Promise (1912, Short) as An Indian (uncredited)
The Voice of the Millions (1912, Short) as One of the Strike Leaders
His Own Fault (1912) as In Gambling Hall
An Unseen Enemy (1912, Short) as On Bridge (uncredited)
Two Daughters of Eve (1912, Short) as An Actor / At Stage Door
So Near, Yet So Far (1912, Short) as In Club
The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912, Short) as Musketeers Gang Member / At Dance (uncredited)
Oil and Water (1913, Short) as Actor in Play (uncredited)
A Misunderstood Boy (1913, Short) as Vigilante (uncredited)
No Place for Father (1913, Short) as The Son
A Cure for Suffragettes (1913, Short)
By Man's Law (1913, Short) as Procurer / Slaver
The House of Discord (1913, Short) as The Sister-in-Law's Sweetheart
Judith of Bethulia (1914) as Extra
Strongheart (1914, Short) as Frank Nelson
Too Many Husbands (1914, Short) as Harry Brown
The Accomplished Mrs. Thompson (1914, Short) as Dick Osborne
The Ladies' War (1914) as Mr. Blenkinsop
The Persistent Mr. Prince (1914, Short) as Prunella's Brother
Fogg's Millions (1914, Short)
The Song of the Ghetto (1914, Short) as Mario Amato - the Composer
John Rance, Gentleman (1914, Short) as Dr. John Rance
Men and Women (1914, Short) as Man in Kirke's Office (uncredited)
Memories in Men's Souls (1914, Short) as Graham's Son
The Hidden Letters (1914, Short) as John Reynolds
Politics and the Press (1914, Short) as John Marsden - the Newspaper Editor
The Loan Shark King (1914, Short) as Harry Graham
The Peacemaker (1914, Short) as Jack Strong
Under False Colors (1914, Short) as Pvt. Jack Warring
Goodbye Summer (1914, Short) as Hugo St. Clair - the Artist
The Old Flute Player (1914, Short) as John Vanderlyn
Sunshine and Shadows (1914, Short)
His Father's House (1914)
In the Latin Quarter (1915, Short) as Andrew Lenique
The Island of Regeneration (1915) as John Charnock Jr
The Quality of Mercy (1915, Short) as Bratton Powers - Van Cortland's Personal Secretary
The Park Honeymooners (1915, Short) as Billy - the Young Husband
Love's Way (1915, Short) as Rand Cornwall
The Dust of Egypt (1915) as Geoffrey Lascelles
Youth (1915, Short) as Harold Harcourt - Sculptor
Anselo Lee (1915) as Anselo Lee
The Gypsy Trail (1915, Short) as Willie Buckland - a Gypsy
A 'Model' Wife (1915, Short) as Robert Blake
A Price for Folly (1915) as M. Jean de Segni
On Her Wedding Night (1915) as Henry Hallam
Kennedy Square (1916) as Harry Rutter
The Supreme Temptation (1916) as Herbert Dubois
Susie, the Sleuth (1916, Short) as Hank Handy
She Won the Prize (1916, Short) as Charles Adams - a Young Businessman
The Shop Girl (1916) as Peter Rolls
The Tarantula (1916) as Pedro Mendoza
The Devil's Prize (1916) as Hugh Roland
Rose of the South (1916) as Dick Randolph
Her Right to Live (1917) as John Oxmore
Money Magic (1917) as Ben Fordyce
Aladdin from Broadway (1917) as Jack Stanton
Captain of the Gray Horse Troop (1917) as Capt. George Curtis
The Magnificent Meddler (1917) as Montague Emerson
A Son of the Hills (1917) as Sandy Morley
By Right of Possession (1917) as Tom Baxter
The Angel Factory (1917) as David Darrow
The Mark of Cain (1917) as Kane Langdon
Sylvia of the Secret Service (1917) as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
The Naulahka (1918) as Nicholas Tarvin
The House of Hate (1918) as Harvey 'Harry' Gresham
The First Law (1918) as Hugh Godwin
The Iron Test (1918) as Albert Beresford
Perils of Thunder Mountain (1919) as John Davis
The Invisible Hand (1920) as John 'The Needle' Sharpe
The Veiled Mystery (1920) as Ralph Moore
Three Sevens (1921) as Daniel Craig
The Secret of the Hills (1921) as Guy Fenton
A Guilty Conscience (1921) as Gilbert Thurstan
My American Wife (1922) as Manuel La Tessa
Lost and Found on a South Sea Island (1923) as Lloyd Warren
Look Your Best (1923) as Carlo Bruni
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1923) as John Hale
The Exciters (1923) as Pierre Martel
The Spanish Dancer (1923) as Don Cesar de Bazan
Flaming Barriers (1924) as Sam Barton
Bluff (1924) as Robert Fitzmaurice
Tiger Love (1924) as The Wildcat
The Border Legion (1924) as Jim Cleve
The Story Without a Name (1924) as Alan Holt
Hello, 'Frisco (1924) as Himself
Learning to Love (1925) as Scott Warner
Her Husband's Secret (1925) as Elliot Owen
One Year to Live (1925) as Captain Tom Kendrick
Mare Nostrum (1926) as Ulysses Ferragut
Beverly of Graustark (1926) as Dantan
The Temptress (1926) as Manuel Robledo
Love's Blindness (1926) as Hubert Culverdale, 8th Earl of St. Austel
The Flaming Forest (1926) as Sergeant David Carrigan
It (1927) as Cyrus T. Waltham
Venus of Venice (1927) as Kenneth Wilson
Madame Pompadour (1927) as Rene Laval
Come to My House (1927) as Floyd Bennings
The Whip Woman (1928) as Count Michael Ferenzi
Nameless Men (1928) as Robert Strong
The Midnight Taxi (1928) as Tony Driscoll
Adoration (1928) as Prince Serge Orloff
Synthetic Sin (1929) as Donald Anthony
The Air Legion (1929) as Steve Rogers
Careers (1929) as Victor Gromaire
Romance of the Rio Grande (1929) as Juan
El cuerpo del delito (1930) as Harry Gray
Rough Romance (1930) as Loup La Tour
El hombre malo (1930) as Pancho Lopez
One Mad Kiss (1930) as Don Estrada
El precio de un beso (1930) as Estrada
La Voluntad del muerto (1930) as Pablo
Los que danzan (1930) as Daniel Hogan / Frank 'Cicatriz' Turner
Primavera en otoño (1933) as Enrique
La ciudad de cartón (1934) as Fred Collins
Señora casada necesita marido (1935) as Tomás Karen
Asegure a su mujer (1935) as Eduardo Martin
Storm Over the Andes (1935) as Maj. Tovar Rojas
Rosa de Francia (1935) as Felipe V
Alas sobre El Chaco (1935) as Comandante Manuel Tovar
The Bohemian Girl (1936) as Devilshoof
Rose of the Rio Grande (1938) as Captain Lugo
Ambush (1939) as Captain Mike Gonzalez
María de la O (1939) as Pedro Lucas / Mr More
Seven Sinners (1940) as Rubio
They Met in Argentina (1941) as Don Carlos, 100 Peso Donor (uncredited)
The Kid from Kansas (1941) as Chief of Police (uncredited)
Two Latins from Manhattan (1941) as Cuban
Fiesta (1941) as Don Hernandez - Cholita's Uncle
Valley of the Sun (1942) as Chief Cochise
Undercover Man (1942) as Don Tomas Gonzales
Tampico (1944) as Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
The Spanish Main (1945) as Commandante
Sol y sombra (1946) as Manuel Campos
Notorious (1946) as Senor Ortiza (uncredited)
Captain from Castile (1947) as Don Francisco De Vargas
Lust for Gold (1949) as Ramon Peralta (uncredited)
Crisis (1950) as Dr. Emilio Nierra (uncredited)
Saddle Tramp (1950) as Martinez
Dallas (1950) as Don Felipe Robles
The Mark of the Renegade (1951) as Jose De Vasquez
Thunder Bay (1953) as Dominique Rigaud
Wings of the Hawk (1953) as Father Perez
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) as Carl Maia
Entre barracas (1954)
Saskatchewan (1954) as Chief Dark Cloud
The Searchers (1956) as Emilio Gabriel Fernandez y Figueroa
Catch Me If You Can (1959)
References
Bibliography
"Antonio Moreno," The Clearfield Progress, August 26, 1920, page 15.
"Antonio Moreno, Silent-Film Star," The New York Times, February 16, 1967.
Bodeen, Dewitt. "Antonio Moreno," Films in Review, June–July, 1967.
Menefee, David W. The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era. Albany: Bear Manor Media, 2007.
"Public Pleased by Vitagraph’s Move to Return Antonio Moreno to Feature Films," The Moving Picture World. New York: Chalmers Publishing Company. December 25, 1920.
Virginia, Violet. "Antonio Moreno of the Vitagraph Players," Motion Picture Magazine, December 1914. Pages 103-105.
External links
Antonio Moreno at Silents Are Golden
Some contemporary articles and interviews with Antonio Moreno
Photographs and literature
1887 births
1967 deaths
Williston Northampton School alumni
American male film actors
American male silent film actors
Spanish male film actors
Spanish male silent film actors
20th-century Spanish male actors
Male Western (genre) film actors
Male actors from Madrid
Spanish emigrants to the United States
20th-century American male actors
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)