Lupita Tovar
Lupita Tovar | |
---|---|
Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery |
Other names | Lupita Kohner |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1929–1945 |
Notable work | Drácula Santa |
Spouse | |
Children | 2; including Susan Kohner |
Relatives | Frederick Kohner (brother‑in‑law) John Weitz (son-in-law) Paul Weitz (grandson) Chris Weitz (grandson) |
Signature | |
Guadalupe Natalia Tovar Sullivan
Early life
Tovar was born in
In 1918, Tovar's family moved north to Mexico City where her father worked for the National Railroad of Mexico in an administrative position.[6]: 220
Career
Early career
Tovar was discovered by
Tovar, under contract, was required to study intensively to enhance her skills for films. Her weekly schedule included guitar, two hours four days; Spanish dances, one hour three days; dramatics, one-half hour two days; and English, one hour every day. Her accent was considered an asset in talking motion pictures.[
In 1930, she was mentioned for leads in two talkies starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Richard Barthelmess. Fairbanks put off the filming of what became The Exile. After his death, the film was made in 1947 by his son, Douglas, Jr., directed by Max Ophüls.
Spanish language remakes
Lupita's future husband, producer
In 1930, Tovar starred opposite
Tovar shot Drácula, in 1930, when she was 20 years old. The film was produced by her soon-to-be husband, Paul Kohner.[3]
Santa
In 1932, Tovar starred in the film Santa, the first to have synchronized sound and image on the same celluloid strip.[9]
The film was based on a famous book featuring an innocent girl from the country who has an affair with a soldier and then tragically becomes a prostitute. Santa was such a hit that the Mexican government issued a postage stamp featuring Tovar as Santa.[3][7] "I tell you I could not walk on the streets when Santa came out," Tovar said. "People tore my dress for souvenirs. It was something."[10]
In 2006, Santa was shown in a celebratory screening by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences called "A Salute to Lupita Tovar" that featured a conversation between Tovar and film historian Bob Dickson. The event was in honor of Tovar.[11]
Other films
In 1931, Melford directed Tovar in another Universal picture,
Personal life
Tovar went by the nickname Lupita from the time she was a child.[5]: 1
During the filming of Santa in Mexico, producer Paul Kohner had to return to Europe because his father was sick. It was this separation, and another the next year when Kohner was producing a film for Universal in Europe, that made Tovar realize she loved Kohner. Kohner proposed on the phone—he had previously tried to give her a ring—and Tovar went to Czechoslovakia to meet him. They were married, by a rabbi, in Czechoslovakia on October 30, 1932, at Kohner's parents' home.[6]: 226–227
In 1936, the couple had a daughter, Susan Kohner, later a film and television actress, and, in 1939, a son, Paul Julius "Pancho" Kohner Jr., a director and producer.[12][13] Their grandsons, Chris and Paul Weitz, are successful film directors.
Tovar owned a bassinet that would be used by several well known New Yorkers, including Julie Baumgold, a writer and her husband Edward Kosner, publisher of New York; Elizabeth Sobieski, a novelist and mother of actress Leelee Sobieski, Judy Licht, a TV newswoman, and her husband Jerry Della Femina, an advertising executive.[14]
The release of the Spanish-language Drácula on home video in the early 1990s caused a revival of Tovar's films. "It's like a dream being invited to all of these festivals and showings of my films. Was that really me up there on the screen? I had almost forgotten I was an actress. It has been absolutely wonderful how people have been so nice. Usually people die and then they get the award, but to be alive and receive this honor is fantastic!"[15]
Death
Tovar died at the age of 106 on 12 November 2016 in Los Angeles of heart disease, just one day after her daughter Susan Kohner's 80th birthday.[16][17][18]
Awards
- 2001: Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas (Mexican Academy of Arts and Sciences), Lifetime Achievement Award at the XLIII Ceremonia de Entrega del Arielrecibió el Ariel de Oro[19]
Filmography
- 1929: The Veiled Woman (Fox) as Young girl
- 1929: Joy Street (Fox)
- 1929: The Cock-Eyed World (Fox) as Minor Role (uncredited)
- 1929: The Black Watch (Fox) as Minor Role (uncredited)
- 1930: King of Jazz as Emcee's Assistant - Spanish Version
- 1930: La Voluntad del Muerto (Universal) (Spanish-language version of The Cat Creeps) as Anita
- 1931: Estamos en París (Short)
- 1931: Drácula (Universal) (Spanish-language version of Dracula) as Eva
- 1931: Carne de Cabaret (Columbia) (Spanish version of Ten Cents a Dance) as Dorothy O'Neil
- 1931: Yankee Don (Richard Talmadge Productions) as Juanita
- 1931: El Tenorio del Harem (Universal) as Fátima
- 1931: East of Borneo (Universal) as Neila
- 1931: Border Law (Columbia) as Tonita
- 1932: Santa (Compañia Nacional Productora de Peliculas) as Santa
- 1934: Vidas Rotas (Inca) (Spanish)
- 1935: Broken Lives as Marcela
- 1935: Alas Sobre del Chaco (Universal) (Spanish-language version of Storm Over the Andes) as Teresa
- 1936: The Invader aka An Old Spanish Custom (British & Continental Films) as Lupita Melez
- 1936: Mariguana (Mexican) as Irene Heredia
- 1936: El Capitán Tormenta (Grand National) (Spanish-language version of Captain Calamity) as Magda
- 1938: Blockade (United Artists) as Cabaret Girl
- 1938: El Rosario de Amozoc (Mexican) as Rosario
- 1938: María (Mexican) as María
- 1939: The Fighting Gringo (RKO) as Anita "Nita" del Campo
- 1939: Tropic Fury (Universal) as Maria Scipio
- 1939: South of the Border (Republic) as Dolores Mendoza
- 1940: Green Hell (Universal) as Native Girl
- 1940: The Westerner (United Artists) as Teresita (uncredited)
- 1941: Two Gun Sheriff (Republic) as Nita
- 1943: Resurrección (Mexican) as María
- 1944: Gun to Gun (Warner Bros.) (Short) as Dolores Diego
- 1944: Miguel Strogoff(El Correo del Zar) (Mexican) as Nadia Fedorova
- 1945: The Crime Doctor's Courage (Columbia) as Dolores Bragga
- 1952: Invitation Playhouse: Mind Over Murder (TV Series, Episode: "Winner Take Nothing") (final appearance)
- 1998: Universal Horror (TV Movie documentary) as Interviewee
See also
References
- ^ "Guadalupe Lupita Kohner (1952) – New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists". FamilySearch. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ "Passenger Manifest – Pan American World Airways, Inc.: Guadalupe Lupita Kohner -- Paris to New York (1952)". FamilySearch. 28 October 1952. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d Montagne, Renee (15 February 2008). "Lupita Tovar, Mexico's Sultry Screen 'Sweetheart'". Morning Edition. NPR. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ Marble, Steve (15 November 2016). "Lupita Tovar, a Mexican star in Hollywood's golden era, dies at 106". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
"Santa" was probably not the first Mexican "talkie," but it was certainly one of the first commercial breakthroughs of the sound era in Spanish-language cinema.
- ^ OCLC 755706899. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ OCLC 743217471. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ a b Ankerich, Michael G. (28 July 2013). "Lupita Tovar, Still Carrying On". Close-Ups and Long Shots. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ Ankerich, Michael G. The Sound of Silence: Conversations with 16 Film and Stage Personalities. McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC: 1998. p. 222.
- ^ Gurza, Agustin (10 July 2001). "Milestone Mexican Film to Screen in L.A.: Movies * Its lead actress will appear at the showing of 'Santa', which synchronized image and sound on the same strip". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ Ankerich, Michael G. The Sound of Silence: Conversations with 16 Film and Stage Personalities. McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC: 1998. p. 226.
- ^ King, Susan (6 December 2006). "Cine File: Academy parties like it's 1906". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ "Susanna Kohner – California Birth Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ "Paul Julius Kohner – California Birth Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ Nemy, Enid (9 April 1989). "New Yorkers, Etc". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ Ankerich, Michael G. The Sound of Silence: Conversations with 16 Film and Stage Personalities. McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC: 1998. p. 231.
- ^ "Muere Lupita Tovar, la primera "Santa" del cine sonoro mexicano" (in Spanish). eluniversal.com.mx. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ "Lupita Tovar, protagonista de la primera película del cine sonoro mexicano, fallece a los 106 años – Periódico Noroeste" (in Spanish). Beta.noroeste.com.mx. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ "Lupita Tovar Dead: 'Dracula' Actress Was 106". Hollywood Reporter. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Mike (2010). "An Interview With... Lupita Tovar". Western Clippings. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
Further reading
Articles
- Babcock, Muriel. "Wave of Popularity Sweeping Mexican Stars to Top Goes Marching On: Directors Tell How Latin-American Beauties Have Carved Niche for Themselves in Filmdom's Hall of Fame." Los Angeles Times. January 27, 1929. p. C11 (1 page).
- Olean Herald, "Hollywood Sights and Sounds." Saturday Evening. July 20, 1929. p. 4.
- Boland, Elena. "Aliens Retain Screen Niche: Sound Films Disclose Need of Many Accents Separate Pictures Made For Different Countries Certainty of Future Held as Settled Fact." Los Angeles Times. February 2, 1930, p. B11 (2 pages).
- Kingsley, Grace. "Browning Picks Story and Star: Fairbanks Will Play Bandit in Tale of Spanish Days; Richard Keene Loaned to First National; Paul Page Has "Man Crazy" Role." Los Angeles Times. March 12, 1930, p. A8 (1 page).
- Kingsley, Grace. "Duncan Sisters May Go Abroad: Joseph Santley Writes Story for Helen Twelvetrees Toreador Signs With First National for Film Norman Taurog Will Direct Ed Wynn Comedy." Los Angeles Times. July 23, 1930. p. 6 (1 page).
- Kingsley, Grace. "Lupita Tovar Goes Abroad: Actress Will Meet Fiance, Paul Kohner, in Paris Capt. Mollison Decides Not to Become Actor Helen Mack Wins Lead With Ken Maynard." Los Angeles Times. August 27, 1932. p. 5 (1 page).
- Kingsley, Grace. "Lupita Tovar, Kohner Marry: Producer and Actress Wed in Czechlo-Slovakia Gloria Stuart Takes Novel Trip as Air Mail Howard Hughes Searches for Beauty in New York." Los Angeles Times. November 2, 1932. p. 11 (1 page).
- Weaver, Tom. "Bitten in Spanish," "Fangoria" #119. December 1992.
Archival material
Monographs
- Ankerich, Michael G. The Sound of Silence: Conversations with 16 Film and Stage Personalities Who Bridged the Gap between Silents and Talkies. Reprinted. ed. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2011. Chapter 15, pp. 218–233. OCLC 743217471
- Tovar, Lupita, and Pancho Kohner. Lupita Tovar: The Sweetheart of Mexico: A Memoir As Told to Her Son Pancho Kohner. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corp, 2011. ]
- Kohner, Pancho. Lupita Tovar: La novia de México: Memorias, Tal y Como Fueron Relatadas a su Hijo. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform, 2012. OCLC 797334304
External links
- Lupita Tovar at IMDb
- Lupita Tovar in Cine Mexicano (ITESM)
- Kohner Family Papers, ~1970-2008[permanent dead link] at University of California, Riverside