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Enrique Acosta

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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).

Enrique Acosta
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

Early life

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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

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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

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Date Film media Character
1925 Don Q, Son of Zorro silent film Ramon
1927 Whispering Sage silent film Old Pedro
1930 El Jugador de Golf sound film
1930 Tiembla y Titubea (Laurel and Hardy) sound film Police Chief
1930 Huye, Faldas (Laurel and Hardy) sound film Father
1930 Una Cana Al Aire'' sound film Sr. Gilstrom, Charlie's boss
1930 The Texan sound film Sixto
1930 Ladrones (Laurel and Hardy) sound film Police Chief
1930 Un precio de un Beso'' sound film
1930 Estrellados sound film Chamber of Commerce Pres.
1930 Locuras de Amor sound film
1930 Así es la Vida sound film Sr. Franklin
1931 Monerías sound film El Capitán
1931 Politiquería (Laurel and Hardy) sound film Judge / El Juez
1931 El Alma de a Fiesta sound film Senador
1931 Los Presidiarios sound film Warden
1931 De Bote en Bote sound film The Warden
1932 Thunder Below sound film Pacheco
1933 Dos Noches sound film Manuel Jiménez Blanco
1933 Una Viuda Romántica sound film Bartender
1934 One Night of Love sound film Bartender
1934 Tres Amores sound film Presidente
1934 The Prescott Kid sound film servant
1935 The Black Room sound film Judge
1935 El Cantante de Nápoles sound film Papá Daspuro
1935 Te Quiero con Lucura sound film Coronel
1936 A Message to Garcia sound film General Calixto García
1936 Fatal Lady sound film Paris café guest
1936 Desire sound film Pedro
1936 Romana sound film guest
1939 Only Angels Have Wings sound film tourist
1940 Argentine Nights sound film
1940 Cassablanca sound film uncredited character
1941 Six Lessons from Madame La Zonga sound film excited Cuban
1942 Crossroads sound film Adolph Faylauer (assoc. judge)
1946 Masquerade in Mexico sound film spectator
1947 Twilight on the Rio Grand sound film Lamplighter

References

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  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. ^ a b c d Katchmer, George A. (2015-05-20). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-0905-8.
  4. ^ a b "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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