Mexican-American actor who was the star of silent films and who won wide acclaim for dashing roles in “The Prisoner of Zenda” and “Ben-Hur.” He co-starred with Garbo in “Mata Hari,” 1932 and made several other films in early talkies.
Constantly referred to as “the second Valentino,” Novarro did not limit himself to playing Latin lovers. He had to convince the producers that he was a star in his own right and to give him vehicles better than the embarrassing copies of Valentino pictures, such as “The Arab,” 1924. Even when talkies arrived his accent was a help rather than a hindrance. MGM had him record “Pagan Love Song,” the “Moon River” of his day. MGM now gave him parts that suited a foreign dialect as he made the transition from silent to sound pictures by playing exotic roles.
Novarro never married. Two consolations he had were his Roman Catholic faith and the money he wisely invested during his peak years. In August 1966, Novarro filed a $57,000,000 claim against the U.S. for rent that he said was due him on that portion of territory around the Rio Grande that the U.S. returned to Mexico in 1963. The land had been given to Novarro’s grandfather by Mexican President Juarez. In 1864 the property was occupied by the U.S. He also invested heavily into real estate development in the San Fernando valley.
He occasionally accepted roles on TV if the part seemed right to him. During the 1966 season he played a foreign doctor on the TV show “Dr. Kildare.”
In his later years, he developed a serious alcohol problem.
Novarro was discreetly gay, and on 30 October 1968 he invited two hustlers to his home in Laurel Canyon. He was found dead the next morning, suffocated with an art deco lead dildo and beaten to death by two brothers, Tom and Paul Ferguson.
Link to Wikipedia biography