Ramon Novarro

Ramon Novarro was Ben-Hur to moviegoers long before Charlton Heston. The 1926 film made Novarro—known as “Ravishing Ramon”—one of Hollywood’s most beloved silent film idols. His bright and varied career, spanning silents, talkies, the concert stage, theater, and television, came to a dark conclusion with his murder in 1968.
This comprehensive work details both the private and public aspects of Novarro’s life to return him to his rightful place in film history. Includes a complete filmography and numerous photos.

Allan R. Ellenberger, the author of numerous books about the cinema, has written for such publications as Classic Images and Films of the Golden Age. He lives in Hollywood, California.

Allan R. Ellenberger
Foreword by Kevin Brownlow
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 272
Bibliographic Info: 36 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009 [1999]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4676-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0782-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
Foreword by Kevin Brownlow      1
Prologue      3

1. Childhood and the Revolution (1899–1915)      5
2. Remember My Name, Mr. DeMille (1915–1920)      11
3. Stardom (1920–1922)      18
4. Rex Ingram (1922–1923)      26
5. Mayer and Thalberg (1923–1924)      33
6. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1924)      39
7. Ben-Hur (1924)      45
8. Rebellion in Italy (1924–1925)      51
9. The Chariot Race (1925)      58
10. Novarro’s Teatro Intimo (1925)      65
11. The Student Prince (1926–1927)      72
12. Talking Pictures (1927–1928)      80
13. Hurrell (1928)      86
14. Pagan Love Song (1928–1929)      93
15. The Director’s Chair (1930)      100
16. Secret Life (1931)      107
17. Garbo (1931–1932)      113
18. European Concert Tour (1932–1933)      120
19. Nothing to Laugh At (1933–1934)      127
20. Farewell, MGM (1934–1936)      133
21. The Republic Years (1937–1941)      140
22. The Loss of Stardom (1941–1944)      147
23. Comeback (1944–1951)      155
24. Ramon Novarro Film Club (1952–1959)      161
25. Broadway (1960–1965)      166
26. Final Years (1966–1968)      173
27. Murder (1968–1969)      179
28. The Trial (1969)      186

Epilogue      195
Filmography      199
Notes      225
Bibliography      249
Index      253

• Winner, Bronze Halo Award—Southern California Motion Picture Council
• “[A] well-illustrated biography”—Booklist
• “The life and career of the silent star is well researched”—Classic Images
• “An extensive amount of information about each of Novarro’s motion pictures”—International Gay & Lesbian Review
• “Detailed…a fascinating look at Hollywood before talkies”—Lamba Book Report
• “If you want an unsentimental look at the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood, Ellenberger’s book will supply it”—Movie Magazine International
• “Pieces together Novarro’s last moments in blood-stopping detail…captivating read…Ellenberger provides an exhaustive filmography…and makes a case for Novarro as a fascinating, frightening casualty of intolerance, self-destruction and fleeting stardom”—Bay Area Reporter
• “Comprehensive, frank, and long-overdue…. Ellenberger’s fine biography should at last shift the focus from the gruesome details of Novarro’s death to the remarkable life of Hollywood’s first and only known gay Mexican movie star”—The San Francisco Bay Guardian
• “Comprehensive”—Edge
• “Ellenberger tells the story well”—Frontiers Newsmagazine
• “Ramon Novarro is…[an] example of our ‘Gente’ who [has] survived and triumphed against adversity”—La Prensa San Diego
• “A well-researched biography…a must read”—The Silents Majority