Mario Montez

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Mario Montez in the short film A Lazy Summer Afternoon by John Heys and Michael Bidner, Berlin 2011

Mario Montez (actually René Rivera , born July 20, 1935 in Ponce , Puerto Rico , † September 26, 2013 in Key West , Florida ) was an American transvestite and underground actor, who was mainly known through his films with Andy Warhol as Director became known.

Life

Almost nothing is known about Mario Montez's personal life. This is mainly because in his middle-class existence (he worked in a post office in New York City ) he kept his transvestite existence hidden. He first played off-off Broadway theater. The Puerto Rican had his first role in the scandalous film Flaming Creatures (1961) directed by Jack Smith . The " persona " adapted in this film , a parody of the Mexican Hollywood star Maria Montez , gave him his artist name, which was retained. As in this film, he slipped into his “second identity” at night at Factory Warhols and imitated great actresses of bygone Hollywood times: Jean Harlow in Harlot , Lana Turner in More Milk Yvette and Hedy Lamarr in Hedy (also known as The Most Beautiful Woman in the World , The Shoplifter and The Fourteen Year Old Girl ).

The historical role that Montez played in the emancipation of homosexuals and transvestites remains to be commended. As one of the first ever, he dared to show his private, then fully ostracized inclinations in front of the camera.

From 1977 Montez lived in Orlando , Florida . He died in Key West in September 2013 at the age of 78 .

Filmography

Films by Jack Smith:

  • Flaming Creatures (1963)
  • Normal Love (1963)
  • Reefers Of Technicolor Island (1967)
  • No President (1969)
  • I Was a Male Yvonne De Carlo (posthumous 1998)

Films by Andy Warhol:

  • Mario Banana (1964)
  • Batman Dracula (1964)
  • Harlot (1964)
  • Screen Test # 2 (1965)
  • More Milk Yvette (1965)
  • Camp (1965)
  • The Life of Juanita Castro (1965)
  • Hedy (1966)
  • Ari and Mario (1966)
  • The Chelsea Girls (1966)

Films by John Heys:

  • A Lazy Summer Afternoon with Mario Montez (2011)

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Carlos Rodríguez Martorell: Columbia U. holds tribute to Mario Montez, a Boricua drag performer from Warhol's era . Daily News , March 30, 2010, accessed February 25, 2016.
  2. ↑ Douglas Martin: Mario Montez, a Warhol Glamor Avatar, Dies at 78 . The New York Times , October 3, 2013, accessed October 4, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Montez, Mario
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rivera, René (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Ponce , Puerto Rico
DATE OF DEATH 26th September 2013
Place of death Key West , Florida , United States