Ramon Novarro: A Biography of the Silent Film Idol, 1899-1968; With a Filmography

Ramon Novarro was Ben-Hur to many movie-goers long before Charles Heston. The 1926 film of Lew Wallace's epic novel made Novarro one of Hollywood's beloved silent film idols. His bright and varied career, spanning silents, talkies, the concert stage, theatre and television, came to a dark conclusion with his murder in 1968. Ellenberger's comprehensive presentation of Novarro's life chronicles his days in Mexico during the Huerta Revolution, as well as his reign as one of Hollywood's leading romantic actors, working with stars like Greta Garbo, Myrna Loy and Helen Hayes. The biography covers Novarro's descent into alcoholism and despair over his homosexuality and his waning career, finally culminating in a grisly murder that has caused Novarro to be remembered more as a victim than as a star. The text includes a complete filmography, and photographs from Novarro's life and work.