DUNCAN RENALDO (1904–1980)

Mystery shrouds the ancestral roots of actor Duncan Renaldo. A stoker for a coal ship (some say from Brazil, others insist Romania), he arrived in the United States in the early 1920s and was provided with a pass allowing him to remain in the country for 90 days, a deadline he ignored. After abandoning his first inclination to become a portrait painter, he explored film production and sold a series of silent short films to serial giant Pathé. Acting soon followed and by 1928 he was landing roles in MGM, Republic, and Monogram productions as a sidekick or villain. Eventually Duncan's dark good looks made him a natural choice for an action lead.

Renaldo's blossoming acting career was interrupted in the early 1930s when he was arrested for being in the country illegally. After spending approximately two years in prison and several others in litigation and negotiation, Duncan Renaldo was granted a presidential pardon by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The actor appeared in such films as The Painted Stallion, Zorro Rides Again, and Hands Across the Border. By the early 1940s he had found a niche in Westerns as Rico in the Three Mesquiteers, a series that was popular in the United States and Latin America. In 1945 he began the Cisco Kid film series, completing three: The Cisco Kid Returns, In Old New Mexico, and South of the Rio Grande.