Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes (August 12 1911 - April 20, 1993), better known as Cantinflas, was a Mexican actor and comedian. Golden Globe winner in 1957.
Fortino Mario Alfonso was born in the district of Santa Maria la Redonda in Mexico City and grew up in the rough neighborhood of Tepito. Could cope with difficult situations using audacity and street tricks that later apply in their films. After a failed attempt to enter the United States from California, became a boxer to earn a living.
His comic personality led him to the circus tents and went on to theater and cinema. In the popular scenarios shared credits with his inseparable partner of his early art, Manuel Medel, with whom he also filmed three movies between 1937 and 1939.
In early 1928 he joined the Mexican Army as an infantryman with studies typist. On May 23 of that year, her father sent a letter requesting floor, making sure that his son was 16 and not 21 as he had said. Mario Moreno had falsified information to join the military.
He married Valentina Ivanova, a native of Moscow, Soviet Union, 27 October 1934 and remained with her until the death of the same in 1966. Moreno and Ivanova in 1961 adopted a child and was called Mario Arturo Moreno Ivanova.
Moreno served as president of ANDA (National Association of Actors) and was the first secretary general of the Union of Cinema Production Workers (STPC). You became a member of the Masons and the Mexican Universal Gnostic Movement.
After retiring, Mario Moreno dedicated his life to helping others through charity and humanitarian organizations, especially those who were dedicated to helping children. His contributions to the orphanage made him a folk hero in Mexico. It was 33 degree Mason.
Cantinflas made his debut in 1936 in the movie do not be fooled heart but the film received little attention. Posa Films set in 1939, producing short films that allowed her to develop the Cantinflas character, but it was in 1940 when he finally became a star after shooting Here is the detail. The phrase that gave its name to the film became the main phrase for the rest of his career. The film was a success in Latin America and was recognized by the magazine Us as one of the 10 largest productions of Mexico.
In 1941, became first the role of a police officer in the movie the gendarme unknown. By then he had distinguished himself enough from the typical "peladito the 1920's and his character was going to be easily marginalized lower-class man to powerful public servant. The political nature of the rhetoric of cantinflismo facilitated this flow. Again take the role of Agent 777 and would be honored by police forces throughout Latin America because of its positive image of law enforcement.
No blood or sand, a satirical film about bullfighting in 1941, broke box-office levels of Mexican films in many countries of America. In 1942 he joined Miguel M. Jaime Delgado and Salvador to produce a series of parodies, including one of Chaplin's Circus.
The 1940 and 1950 were the best for Cantinflas. In 1946 he stopped working with Mexican companies and signed contracts with Columbia Pictures. By then, his popularity was such that they could lend their prestige to the cause of Mexican workers, representing the National Association of Actors in talks with President Manuel Avila Camacho. But the talks did not yield good results and as a result of a scandal, decided to withdraw and return to the theater.
On August 30, 1953, Cantinflas began the presentation of his play I Columbus in the Teatro de los Insurgentes,
Cantinflas I put Columbus in the character of Christopher Columbus who, while still "discovering America" was funny observations, historical and contemporary from different perspectives. Jokes Moreno changed every night and continued to employ his wordplay and double meanings to attack politicians.
In 1956, Around the World in 80 Days, Cantinflas's American debut, won him a nomination for Golden Globe Award for best musical or comedy actor in this film works with the English actor David Niven.
The second American film Cantinflas, Pepe, tried to replicate the success of the first. The film included cameo appearances or lightning, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and other stars. His humor is deeply rooted in the Spanish language, could not translate well for American audiences and the film was a considerable box-office disappointment. Despite that, he received another Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
In 1992, during a U.S. interview, Mario Moreno admitted that the main impediment to success in the United States was the language barrier. After returning to Mexico, Cantinflas created his own company, Cantinflas Films, and continued making movies until his last, which was the sweeper, in 1981.
As Charlie Chaplin, Cantinflas was a social satirist. Played the role of the peladito, a nobody, with hopes of success. With mutual admiration, Cantinflas was influenced by the early films of Chaplin and his ideology. The Circus was a "shadow" the silent movies of Chaplin. The Circus and If I was deputy had much in common with the 1940 film, The Great Dictator.
He died of lung cancer on April 20, 1993, thousands of people gathered on a rainy day for his funeral. The ceremony was a national event that lasted three days. His ashes lie in the family crypt of the family Moreno Reyes, in the Pantheon Spanish from Mexico City. Was honored by many heads of State and the United States Senate, which held a moment of silence for him.
