Enrique Acosta

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Enrique Acosta
Enrique Acosta, Mexican American actor 1931 Los Angeles.jpg
Enrique Acosta, age 61, Los Angeles, California, 1931
Born26 February 1870
Mexico City, Mexico
Died22 May 1949(1949-05-22) (aged 79)
Culver City, California, United States
OccupationActor
Children3 sons

Enrique Acosta (26 February 1870 - 22 May 1949) was a Mexican American movie actor. He appeared in multiple films from 1925 to 1947, such as "Don Q, Son of Zorro" (1925) and "A Message to Garcia" (1936).

Contents

Early life

Acosta emigrated with his family to Los Angeles, California, in the United States of America, from Mexico [1] after 1910, to escape the violence [2] created by the Mexican Revolution. His theater career began in Mexico, though there is not yet significant information. [3] After he emigrated, Enrique Acosta, bilingual in English and Spanish, acted in many of Hal Roach's Spanish-language shorts in the early 20th century, as well as films where he spoke English. [4] He lived with his three sons and wife, Josefa A Acosta, in Culver City near the Hal Roach studios. Some of his extended family resided in Playa del Rey, California—including his adult son, Joaquín Enrique Acosta Sr., and daughter in law, Catalina Ortiz Acosta, a pianist working with Juanita Roos, [5] [6] wife of Charles Roos [7] in the Indianist Movement. [8]

In the early 20th Century, Culver City was a Sundown town, [9] making it necessary for the Acosta family to declare themselves "white" to live and work in Culver City during that time. Declaring themselves to be white on birth certificates and other public documents was common practice for many Mexican Americans in Los Angeles County during the 20th century. [10]

Career

Being bilingual in both Spanish and English, Acosta was able to obtain niche opportunities as a Latino supporting actor [11] in the nascent Southern California film industry, [12] Enrique Acosta was both a silent film actor then continued his acting career into "talkies", the name at the time for sound film. He was described as, "... a character actor with Mexican Indian features, a burly frame..." [13]

Behind the camera, he was the listed film director for Hollywood, City of Dreams (Spanish:Hollywood, ciudad de ensueno) in 1931. A Spanish-language film made in the United States.

His acting roles in silent films include Don Q, Son of Zorro , [14] a 1925 silent film by Donald Crisp, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Astor, Enrique Acosta played Ramon. Whispering Sage in 1927, (he played Pedro). [3] In a few short years, the Silent Film Era [15] was almost completely over by 1931, pushed into oblivion by the huge success of The Lights of New York (1928) film.

Enrique Acosta worked with many early 20th Century film stars including Laurel and Hardy in many of Hal Roach Studio's Spanish-language shorts. [4] [16] Politiquerías [17] is a Spanish language version feature film expanded from the English language Chickens Come Home (1931) Laurel and Hardy short film by Hal Roach Studios. [18] He is cited as a Mexican American actor in many early Western films including The Texan. [3] [19]

At age 66, he played General Calixto García [20] in A Message to Garcia (1936), starring a very young Barbara Stanwyck. In many of his film roles he usually played an authority figure such as a judge, military officer or police officer. [21] When he wasn't an authority figure, he was an elegant guest. [22] He had many other uncredited roles. [23] The filmography cross-referenced with the AFI Catalog of Feature Films. [24]

Enrique Acosta died in Culver City, California, May 22, 1949, at the age of 79. [3] [25] He was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. His wife, Josefa A. de Acosta died two years later and shares the headstone. His eldest son, Joaquin Enrique Acosta Sr., also died in 1949 and is buried nearby.

Filmography

DateFilmmediaCharacter
1925 Don Q, Son of Zorro silent filmRamon
1927 Whispering Sage silent filmOld Pedro
1930El Jugador de Golfsound film
1930Tiembla y Titubea (Laurel and Hardy)sound filmPolice Chief
1930Huye, Faldas (Laurel and Hardy)sound filmFather
1930Una Cana Al Aire''sound filmSr. Gilstrom, Charlie's boss
1930 The Texan sound filmSixto
1930 Ladrones (Laurel and Hardy)sound filmPolice Chief
1930Un precio de un Beso''sound film
1930 Estrellados sound filmChamber of Commerce Pres.
1930Locuras de Amorsound film
1930 Así es la Vida sound filmSr. Franklin
1931Moneríassound filmEl Capitán
1931Politiquería (Laurel and Hardy)sound filmJudge / El Juez
1931El Alma de a Fiestasound filmSenador
1931Los Presidiariossound filmWarden
1931 De Bote en Bote sound filmThe Warden
1932 Thunder Below sound filmPacheco
1933Dos Nochessound filmManuel Jiménez Blanco
1933Una Viuda Románticasound filmBartender
1934 One Night of Love sound filmBartender
1934Tres Amoressound filmPresidente
1934 The Prescott Kid sound filmservant
1935 The Black Room sound filmJudge
1935 El Cantante de Nápoles sound filmPapá Daspuro
1935Te Quiero con Lucurasound filmCoronel
1936 A Message to Garcia sound filmGeneral Calixto García
1936 Fatal Lady sound filmParis café guest
1936Desiresound filmPedro
1936Romanasound filmguest
1939 Only Angels Have Wings sound filmtourist
1940 Argentine Nights sound film
1940Cassablancasound filmuncredited character
1941 Six Lessons from Madame La Zonga sound filmexcited Cuban
1942 Crossroads sound filmAdolph Faylauer (assoc. judge)
1946 Masquerade in Mexico sound filmspectator
1947 Twilight on the Rio Grand sound filmLamplighter

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References

  1. ↑ Koegel, John (2006-10-01). "Mexican Musicians in California and the United States, 1910-50". California History. 84 (1): 6–29. doi:10.2307/25161856. ISSN   0162-2897. JSTOR   25161856.
  2. ↑ Keller, Gary D. (1997). A Biographical Handbook of Hispanics in United States Film (1 ed.). United States of America: Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe. p. 1. ISBN   978-0927534659.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Katchmer, George A. (2015-05-20). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. ISBN   978-1-4766-0905-8.
  4. 1 2 "Enrique Acosta". TV Guide. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  5. ↑ Kleinman, Mark L. (1994). Annals of Iowa 53, Searching for the 'Inner Light The Development of Henry A. Wallace's Experimental Spiritualism (53 ed.). pp. 78, 203.
  6. ↑ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1933). Catalogue of Title Entries of Books and Other Articles Entered in the Office of the Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress, at Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  7. ↑ Horowitz, Mitch (2009-09-08). Occult America: White House Seances, Ouija Circles, Masons, and the Secret Mystic History of Our Nation. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-553-90698-1.
  8. ↑ Lush, Paige (2013-07-25). Music in the Chautauqua Movement: From 1874 to the 1930s. McFarland. ISBN   978-0-7864-7315-1.
  9. ↑ Gibbons, Andrea (2018-09-18). City of Segregation: 100 Years of Struggle for Housing in Los Angeles. Verso Books. ISBN   978-1-78663-270-8.
  10. ↑ Almaguer, Tomas (2008-12-30). Racial Fault Lines: The Historical Origins of White Supremacy in California. University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-94290-5.
  11. ↑ Viruet, Rafael J. Rivera; Resto, Max (2008). Hollywood-- Se Habla Español. Terramax Entertainment. ISBN   978-0-9816650-0-9.
  12. ↑ Keller, Gary D. (1994). Hispanics and United States Film: An Overview and Handbook. USA: Bilingual Press. ISBN   978-0927534406.
  13. ↑ Reyes, Luis; Rubie, Peter (2000). Hispanics in Hollywood: A Celebration of 100 Years in Film and Television (2nd ed.). USA: Watson Guptil Pub. ISBN   978-1580650250.
  14. ↑ "Silent Clowns Film Series: Douglas Fairbanks in Don Q, Son of Zorro". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  15. ↑ Crafton, Donald (1999). American Cinema's Transition to Sound 1926-1931, VOlume 4 (History of American Cinema) (1st ed.). USA: University of California Press. ISBN   978-0520221284.
  16. ↑ "Catching Up With Laurel and Hardy in Spanish". UCLA Film & Television Archive. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  17. ↑ Jarvinen, Lisa (2012-06-05). The Rise of Spanish-Language Filmmaking: Out from Hollywood's Shadow, 1929-1939. Rutgers University Press. ISBN   978-0-8135-5328-3.
  18. ↑ Carreras, María de las; Horak, Jan-Christopher (2019-05-01). Hollywood Goes Latin: Spanish-Language Cinema in Los Angeles. Indiana University Press. ISBN   978-2-9600296-7-3.
  19. ↑ Hall, Mordaunt (1930-05-17). "THE SCREEN; The Cisco Kid Returns". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  20. ↑ Madsen, Axel (2001). Stanwyck. iUniverse. ISBN   9780595193981.
  21. ↑ Institute, American Film (1997). Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-20964-0.
  22. ↑ Anthony, Brian; Edmonds, Andy (1997-12-23). Smile When the Raindrops Fall: The Story of Charley Chase. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-1-4617-3418-5.
  23. ↑ "Academy Collections - Casablanca". Academy Collections - Academy Film Archives. March 4, 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  24. ↑ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
  25. ↑ Otterstrom, Samuel M.; Bunker, Brian E.; Farnsworth, Michael A. (2021-02-19). "Development of the Genealogical FamilySearch Database and Expanding Its Use to Map and Measure Multiple Generations of American Migration". Genealogy. 5 (1): 16. doi: 10.3390/genealogy5010016 . ISSN   2313-5778.
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