About the Book
Ramon Novarro was for years one of the top lead actors in Hollywood - the first Latin-American performer to become a Hollywood superstar. Born Ramon Samaniego to a prominent Mexican family, Novarro arrived in Hollywood in 1916 as a refugee from the civil wars that rocked Mexico in the early 20th century. By the mid-1920s, he had become one of MGM's most important leading men, going on to star in a series of now classic films including The Student Prince, Mata Hari, and the original version of Ben-Hur. He shared the screen with the era's most important leading ladies such as Greta Garbo, Myrna Loy, Joan Crawford, and Norma Shearer and become Rudolph Valentino's main rival in the "Latin Lover" category. But despite his considerable professional accomplishments, Novarro's most enduring claim to fame is his tragic death - his bloodied corpse was found in his house on Halloween 1968 in what has become one of the most infamous scandals in the vast lore of Hollywood.
Novarro was a life-long bachelor who had carefully cultivated his image as a man deeply devoted to his family and to his religious convictions. His murder shattered that image as it was revealed to the general public that the dashing screen hero had been not only homosexual, but had been killed by two young male hustlers. Since then, his death has achieved near mythic proportions. Increasingly outlandish stories have become accepted as truth, obscuring Novarro's notable professional legacy.
"Beyond Paradise" presents for the first time a full picture of the man who made motion picture history - from his amazing rise to stardom to the destructive conflicts faced by this traditional Catholic Mexican man who was also a gay film star. Compellingly told and impressively researched - including original interviews with Novarro's surviving friends, family, co-workers and the two men convicted of his murder - Beyond Paradise provides a unique insight into the groundbreaking life and career of one of the most important early Hollywood stars - a man whose myth continues to fascinate today.
About the Author :
Andre Soares was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University and currently operates a translation business working for numerous major American corporations. He is the author of several screenplays and lives in Los Angeles, California.
Review :
From BooklistTo the recent spate of books detailing the history of gays in Hollywood's golden age (e.g., William J. Mann's Behind the Screen [2001] and Diana McLellan's The Girls [2000]) comes a worthy addition, Soares' chronicle of one of the biggest silent stars, Ramon Novarro, whose fame was parabolic, soaring to a Douglas Fairbanks-like peak when he played the title role in Ben-Hur (1926) and peaking again with his grisly demise some 40 years after his first perihelion. In between, after sound dispelled the silents, his was largely a name from the past, a la Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, though he made the transition to talkies far better than fellow top-of-the-heap silent star John Gilbert.Still, his career spiraled down into cameo appearances and the like. By the time he was beaten to death by a couple of cruisers who may have intended only to steal some money, Novarro had been a customer of "escort services" for men for many years. However, Soares specifically accuses Hollywood sleazemonger Kenneth Anger of fabricating the lead "art-deco dildo" supposedly stuffed down the dead Novarro's throat. Dildo or no dildo, no Hollywood collection should be without a biography of Novarro, and Soares' story of this prototypical cinematic "Latin lover" fills the bill in excellent form. Mike TribbyCopyright (c) American Library Association. All rights reserved From the San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 2003The rise and fall of Ramon (Samaniego) Novarro, the first successful Latin star in Hollywood, is superbly chronicled in this smooth, solid, exhaustively researched biography by Los Angeles screenwriter Andre Soares. . . . Soares has clearly done his homework, as this life story is notonly packed with the intricacies of Novarro's livelihood but also with Hollywood's racy, cutthroat culture. . . . Historians of Old Hollywood and devoted star trackers alike will bedelighted with this comprehensive portrait of a major actor from Tinseltown's glittery yesteryear. James Piechota.
"A remarkable new book. . . as close to the truth as we are able to get."
"Concisely written and carefully researched."
"Intelligent, thoughtful, knowledgeable."
"Level-headed, impressively researched biography of the first Latin performer to succeed in Hollywood."
"One of the best books on Hollywood in years."
"The rise and fall of Ramon . . . Novarro . . . is superbly chronicled in this smooth, solid, exhaustively researched biography."
From Booklist
To the recent spate of books detailing the history of gays in Hollywood's golden age (e.g., William J. Mann's Behind the Screen [2001] and Diana McLellan's The Girls [2000]) comes a worthy addition, Soares' chronicle of one of the biggest silent stars, Ramon Novarro, whose fame was parabolic, soaring to a Douglas Fairbanks-like peak when he played the title role in Ben-Hur (1926) and peaking again with his grisly demise some 40 years after his first perihelion. In between, after sound dispelled the silents, his was largely a name from the past, a la Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, though he made the transition to talkies far better than fellow top-of-the-heap silent star John Gilbert.
Still, his career spiraled down into cameo appearances and the like. By the time he was beaten to death by a couple of cruisers who may have intended only to steal some money, Novarro had been a customer of "escort services" for men for many years. However, Soares specifically accuses Hollywood sleazemonger Kenneth Anger of fabricating the lead "art-deco dildo" supposedly stuffed down the dead Novarro's throat. Dildo or no dildo, no Hollywood collection should be without a biography of Novarro, and Soares' story of this prototypical cinematic "Latin lover" fills the bill in excellent form. Mike Tribby
Copyright (c) American Library Association. All rights reserved
From the San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 2003
The rise and fall of Ramon (Samaniego) Novarro, the first successful Latin star in Hollywood, is superbly chronicled in this smooth, solid, exhaustively researched biography by Los Angeles screenwriter Andre Soares. . . . Soares has clearly done his homework, as this life story is not only packed with the intricacies of Novarro's livelihood but also with Hollywood's racy, cutthroat culture. . . . Historians of Old Hollywood and devoted star trackers alike will be
delighted with this comprehensive portrait of a major actor from Tinseltown
