Lalo Ríos

Lalo Ríos
From The Ring (1952). L-R:
Rita Moreno, Lalo Ríos and Lillian Molieri
Born(1927-02-07)February 7, 1927
San Miguelito, Sonora, Mexico
DiedMarch 7, 1973(1973-03-07) (aged 46)
OccupationActor

Lalo Ríos (7 February 1927 – 7 March 1973) was a Mexican-born American actor best known for his lead role in The Ring (1952) as Tommy.[1]

Biography

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Lalo Ríos was born on February 7, 1927, in San Miguelito, Sonora, Mexico. At the age of 9 he moved to East Los Angeles, California, with his family. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School.[2][3]

During Ríos' work as a carpenter[4] he got his first acting role with the Paramount film The Lawless (1950). The film cast Ríos as a young Mexican who faces a racist lynch mob in a small North California town. Since his start, his career spanned nearly twenty years. In 1952, Ríos was then cast in his most well-known role as "Tommy", in The Ring (1952), in which he played the lead actor and protagonist. Ríos was also known for certain relevance in films such as Big Leaguer (1953), and Touch of Evil (1958). He eventually ended his career in film in 1962, with Lonely Are the Brave.

After ending his career in film, Ríos began to focus solely on television. This was a format with which he was familiar, due to his initial inclusion in Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse in 1958. His casting with the series was short lived, appearing in only two episodes, but assisted him in creating a platform to sell his craft. After 1966, he participated in multiple television series, such as Laredo (1966) and Marcus Welby, M.D. (1968). Marcus Welby was the last series in which he participated, before he left American television.

Ríos died in Los Angeles on March 7, 1973.

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1950 The Lawless Paul Rodriguez
Bandit Queen Juan, a vigilant Uncredited
1951 The Law and the Lady Panchito Uncredited
1952 Untamed Frontier Pepe Uncredited
One Minute to Zero Pvt. Chico Mendoza Uncredited
The Ring Tomas 'Tommy' Cantanios / Tommy Kansas
1953 City Beneath the Sea Calypso
Big Leaguer Chuy Aguilar
1954 Prisoner of War Sachez Rivero Uncredited
1958 Touch of Evil Risto
1960 The Magnificent Seven Calvera henchman Uncredited
1961 Gold of the Seven Saints Mexican Robber Uncredited
1962 Lonely Are the Brave Prisoner
1968 Blue Mexican bandit Uncredited
Villa Rides Mexican Soldier Uncredited

Television

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Year Title Role episodes
1958 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Martinez My Father, the Fool
1959 Wagon Train Juan The Stagecoach Story  · The Sister Rita Story
1960 Overland Trail Telegrapher Mission into Mexico
1960 Tate The Shepherd Tigrero
1961 The Untouchables Tony Diaz The Big Train, Part 1  · The Big Train, Part 2
1961 Assignment: Underwater Roberto The Key
1961 Gunsmoke Little Fox Long Hours, Short Pay
1961 The Case of the Dangerous Robin Doll of Death
1966 Laredo Pepe The Calico Kid
1967 The High Chaparral First Bandit The Terrorist
1969 Marcus Welby, M.D. Sanchez Neither Punch nor Judy

References

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  1. ^ William Anthony Nericcio. Tex[t]-Mex: Seductive Hallucinations of the "Mexican" in America, 2007. "But "Mike" is not done; Heston as Vargas grabs Risto, played with surly acerbic detachment by the late Lalo Ríos (b. 1927, Sonora, Mexico; d. 1973, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.), and demands to know where Susy (drugged and kidnapped by the ..."
  2. ^ Frank Javier Garcia Berumen. Brown Celluloid: Latino/A Film Icons and Images in the Hollywood. Volume 1, 2003. Page 355.
  3. ^ Clara Rodriguez. Heroes, Lovers and Others: The Story of Latinos in Hollywood, 2008. Page 142: "Ricardo Montalbán, Anthony Quinn, Rafael Campos (born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York City), and Lalo Rios (born in Mexico and raised in East Los Angeles) all took roles in a number of films that focused on life in the barrio and the place of Latinos in American society."
  4. ^ "The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, California · Page 4". Newspapers.com. 30 March 1950. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
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