Amigo Gigolo: Gilbert Roland

In 1905, in Ciudad Juáraz, Chihuahua, Mexico, a bullfighter and his wife gave birth to a son, Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso. Young Luis intended to become a bullfighter just like his father, but when the family moved to California, he fell into acting after being cast as an extra in the Lon Chaney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923). Two years later, Ben Schulberg at Paramount studios cast the 20-year old Luis opposite Clara Bow in a college comedy, The Plastic Age, where he was first billed as Gilbert Roland. He had the sort of looks that seemed different from different angles: romantic in profile, but somewhat shifty when he was seen full face with his eyes narrowed. When he opened his eyes wide, however, their greenness had a heart-stopping effect, even in black and white films. Many of his leading ladies took notice.