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DANCING PIRATE, 1936

 File

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection is focused primarily on portrayals of Latino/a characters in film and includes materials about major Latino stars, such as Lupe Vélez and Dolores Del Rio (both strongly represented in this collection). However, many of the great Latino movie stars in Hollywood films -- Rita Hayworth, Anthony Quinn, Lupe Vélez, Cesar Romero, for instance -- portrayed many different kinds of roles during their long careers, and this collection reveals some of the diversity of their work. Although the bulk of the items here are associated with Hollywood movies, there are some examples of Cuban, Mexican, and South American film, as well as a collection of campaign sheets and posters from Britain, Italy, Mexico, Cuba, and other countries (based on Hollywood releases). The collection contains approximately 590 pieces of rare movie ephemera: promotional photographs, posters, lobby cards, photoplay book editions, campaign books, press kits and television/movie scripts ranging from the silent film era to 2005.

Dates

  • Creation: 1936

RITA HAYWORTH AT THE AGE OF 17

Born in New York of Latino ancestry in 1918, Margarita Carmen Cansino was raised as a dancer in her fathers troupe, was noticed by Fox studios at 16 and cast in supporting roles, usually as a dancer. She won a contract at Columbia Pictures, where she became a favorite of studio head Harry Cohn and slowly rose to star status. This process included some major cosmetic work, much of which took away her ethnicity and she became one of the most glamorous and iconic stars of Hollywood history. She achieved legendary status with her performance in GILDA (1946). Though she maintained an often highly successful film career between 1935 and 1972, she possessed a shy personality and desire to have a stable family life, which unfortunately she was not able to maintain. Throughout her film career, she did play several characters of Latino ancestry, including the role in her last film THE WRATH OF GOD (1982).

Extent

From the Collection: 4 Linear Feet (8 boxes, plus oversized materials in map cases) ; Box 1: 27 x 14 x 32 cm Boxes 2-4: 9.5x12x5x3 inches Boxes 5-8: 21x16x3 inches

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections Repository

Contact:
MSU Libraries
366 W. Circle Drive
East Lansing MI 48823 USA