Roland, Gilbert

▪ 1995

      (LUIS ANTONIO DÁMASO DE ALONSO), U.S. actor (b. Dec. 11, 1905, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico—d. May 15, 1994, Beverly Hills, Calif.), specialized in portraying charismatic and dashing Latin lovers, most notably in the 1927 silent-film classic Camille opposite Norma Talmadge, but he was also featured in swashbuckling talkie roles, including that of the Spanish sea captain in The Sea Hawk (1940), a matador in The Bullfighter and the Lady (1951), and a Mexican rebel leader in Bandido (1956). The son and grandson of Spanish bullfighters, Roland also trained as a torero before his family fled the Mexican Revolution and moved to Texas. The mature-looking Roland moved to Los Angeles on his own as a young teen and began appearing as an extra in Hollywood films. The enduring character actor, who was distinguished by a trim mustache, made more than 100 films, including She Done Him Wrong (1933), Captain Kidd (1945), We Were Strangers (1949), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and The Big Circus (1959). During the 1950s and '60s he became a familiar figure on television on such shows as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," and "The Fugitive."

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