- Born
- Died
- Birth namePedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings
- Nicknames
- Pete
- The Clark Gable of Mexico
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Born in Mexican revolution times, Pedro Armendáriz was the first child of Mexican Pedro Armendáriz García-Conde and American Adele Hastings. He was raised in Churubusco, then a suburb of Mexico City, before the family traveled to Laredo, Texas. They lived there until 1921, the year Armendáriz' parents died. His uncle Francisco took charge of his education, and young Pedro went to the Polytechnic Institute of San Luis Obispo, California. There, he studied business and journalism. He graduated in 1931 and returned to Mexico City where he found work as a railroad employee, insurance salesman and tourist guide. He was discovered by director Miguel Zacarías when Armendáriz was reciting Hamlet's monologue (to be or not to be) to an American tourist in a cafeteria.
After that, Armendáriz began a brilliant career in Mexico, the United States and Europe. Together with Dolores Del Río and Emilio Fernández, Armendáriz made many of the greatest films in the so-called Mexican Cinema Golden Era: Wild Flower (1943), Bugambilia (1945), Maria Candelaria (1944), among others. He was considered a prototype of masculinity and male beauty. His green eyes and almost perfect features made him perfectly cast in any role he made. But it was his passion, force and acting abilities, combined with his quality of a gentleman what made him an instant favorite of great directors like John Ford, international costars like María Félix, Sean Connery or Susan Hayward, and his fans in Mexico and other countries.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Maximiliano Maza <mmaza@campus.mty.itesm.mx>
- SpouseCarmelita Bohr(June 19, 1938 - June 18, 1963) (his death, 2 children)
- Children
- ParentsPedro Armendáriz García-CondeAdele Hastings
- He found out he had cancer during the production of From Russia with Love (1963). The schedule of production was altered so he could finish his scenes in a timely fashion. He wanted to finish the movie so his family could receive his salary. From Russia With Love was released eleven months after his passing.
- Was one of 91 people, along with John Wayne, Susan Hayward, and Agnes Moorehead, whose cancer was attributed to their exposure to radioactivity while working on the film The Conqueror (1956).
- Both he and his son, Pedro Armendáriz Jr. appeared in James Bond movies. Pedro Armendáriz appeared as Kerim Bey in From Russia with Love (1963). Pedro Armendáriz Jr. appeared as President Hector Lopez in Licence to Kill (1989).
- Died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Los Angeles after finding out he had terminal cancer.
- The characters Armendáriz played in his final two films had almost identical names: In Captain Sindbad (1963) his character's name was el Kerim, and in From Russia with Love (1963) he played Kerim Bey.
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