Biographical Dictionary "E"

East, Carlos (1942-1994?): East began appearing in films as a young man in the 1960s, usually in second leads or supporting roles. As time went on, he converted to character roles, including some villainous parts. Due to his blonde (now white) hair and fair skin, East has frequently been cast as gringos. The (often) gray-bearded East was been a fixture in action pictures and "video homes." His last film may have been El arrecife de los alacranes, which is dedicated in his honor.

Echánove, Alonso (1954--): popular Guanajuato-born actor of the '80s and 1990s. He has won two Ariel awards for acting--for Mentiras piadosas (1989) and Model antiguo (1993)--and has been nominated three more times. His mother is character actress Josefina Echánove and his sister is singer María del Sol.

Echánove, Josefina: actress in films and on TV, primarily since the 1970s. The rather severe-looking Echánove often plays servants, wise nannies and grannies, and so on. She has been nominated twice for Arieles: Por tu maldito amor (1991) and Serpientes y escaleras (1993).

Elviro, Pedro "Pitouto" (1900-71): diminutive Spanish actor who was a starring comedian in his native land but played mostly bit parts once he emigrated to Mexico. Appeared in many films from 1940 into the '60s, mostly comedies (with nearly all of the top Mexican stars), where he was instantly recognizable due to his short stature but rarely had much dialogue.

Elizondo, Evangelina [Evangelina Elizondo López-Llera] (1929 or '30?--): Evangelina Elizondo is nicknamed "La Cenicenta" in Mexico, because one of her first professional jobs was to dub the voice of "Cinderella" for the Mexican release of the Walt Disney cartoon feature of that name. In 1951 she made her first screen appearance, and rapidly became a popular actress and musical performer (mostly as a dancer, although she also sang after a fashion; in later years she even fronted her own band). In 1954, for example, she was in 7 films, including two made in Spain. Elizondo married José Luis Paganoni in 1959, and their daughter Ana Georgina (Elizondo's second child) was born that year. But in 1960, Elizondo had her marriage annulled; in May 1960, Paganoni shot and killed actor Ramón Gay while Gay was seated in a car talking to Elizondo (with whom he was starring in a stage play). Paganoni was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime. Elizondo's career managed to survive the scandal, but her screen roles declined steadily throughout the decade. Between 1968 and 1988, she made only 4 films (the 1988 feature was Nos traicionará el presidente?, for which she received an Ariel nomination). More recently, she has become a bit more visible, working for Alfonso Arau in the U.S. film A Walk in the Clouds (1995), as well as appearing on TV and in the recent features En el paraíso no existe el dolor and Alta tensión. Elizondo won a Diosa de Plata for her performance in Días de otoño (1962).

Elizondo, Humberto (1947--) : tall, moustached actor son of Fanny Kaufmann "Vitola," who has appeared in supporting roles--often villainous ("With this face, do you think I could play a good guy?" he has said)--from the 1970s onward. Also served as president of the actors' union (ANDA) from 1994 to 1998.

Encinas, Alicia: wide-eyed blonde actress who made her debut in the mid-'70s and continues to appear in films and on stage. Her sister Carmelina also appeared in some movies in the '80s, mostly in supporting roles.

Eory, Irán (1938-2002): attractive, blonde Spanish actress (born in Teheran) who made a number of popular youth-oriented films in Spain in the 1960s (she actually began appearing in pictures as early as 1953, under the name Elvira Eory) before coming to Mexico around 1970. Still active on television and on the stage.

Escobar, Cuca (1911-1959): radio comedienne, known as "Cuca la telefonista" (Cuca the Telephone Operator), who appeared in some films of the 1940s. Known for her extremely slow manner of speech; worked with David T. Bamberg "Fu Man Chu" on his radio show and in several of his pictures.

Escobedo, Josefina (1914--): actress who played leading roles in some 1930s features and continued to make occasional appearances in supporting roles into the '60s, and in telenovelas into the '90s. She was married to Carlos López Moctezuma.

Espinosa, Isaura: sexy actress of the 1980s and 1990s. Sometimes cast as beautiful but bad women, but also has played her share of female leads in commercial productions. Also on TV. Her last name is sometimes spelled "Espinoza."

Espinosa, José Angel "Ferrusquilla" (1922--): popular composer and comic actor, on-screen since the 1940s. As a young man, usually played guileless characters in keeping with his innocent looks. As an actor, capable of portraying chilangos (natives of Mexico City) and campesinos with equal facility.

Espino, Edmundo (?--1964): character actor, on-screen from the '40s through the 1960s, often cast as kindly doctors or fussy minor functionaries and officials.

Espino Mora, Antonio: see "Clavillazo"

Esquivel, Mary: Cuban actress who was a Juan Orol regular in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but who also worked with other directors and performers in the same period. However, she seems to have stopped making films after Orol's El crimen de la hacienda in 1963.

Estrella, Alberto: young actor of the '90s, active in films, TV, and theatre. His rather coarse good looks were put to good use as the pimp in Salón México ('94), and he may also be seen in recent, prestige productions such as Principio y fin ('94--for which he received a Best Male Co-Star Ariel nomination), La reina de la noche ('94), and De noche vienes, Esmeralda ('97).

Evans, Jacqueline [Grace Alice Evans] (1915-1989): British actress who appeared in occasional Mexican films--almost always as a gringa--from the late 1940s (Adventures of Casanova, shot in English in 1947 by Roberto Gavaldón for Hollywood producer Bryan Foy) through the '70s. As late as 1986 she can be seen in the TV-movie Murder in Three Acts, shot in Mexico. She had minor roles in some British films before moving to Mexico. Coming Out Trumps is her biography (printed in Canada).


Posted 3 March 1998 by dwilt@umd.edu. Revised 18 Sept 2000. Comments most welcome.

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