Macaria [Delia de la Cruz Delgado] (1949--): dark-haired actress who started working in films in the late '60s. Still active on TV and the stage.
Macedo, Rita [María de la Concepción Macedo Guzmán] (1925 or 26?-1993): Rita Macedo was the daughter of novelist Julia Guzmán. She began acting in the 1940s. Macedo married producer Luis de Llano and their children are actress/singer/producer Julissa, and TV producer Luis de Llano M. Macedo committed suicide in 1993. She won the Best Actress Ariel for "Nosotros," an episode of the multi-part film Tú, yo, nosotros (ironically, one of the other actresses nominated was her daughter, Julissa!); Macedo also earned a Best Co-Starring Actress Ariel nomination for Ensayo de un crimen.
MacGregor, Eduardo: balding, moustached character actor of the late '60s-early '70s, who usually played minor officials, bankers, lawyers, and so forth.
"Machuchal" [Adalberto Rodríguez]: Puerto Rican comedian, starred in some co-productions in the 1960s, like Machuchal, agente "0" en New York.
Magaña, Delia [Gudelia Flores Magaña] (1906-1996): Delia Magaña started working on the stage at a young age. Eduardo Arozamena suggested that the feisty and diminutive actress change her name and concentrate on comic roles, which she did, to great success. During the 1920s and early 1930s, Magaña worked in Hollywood, both in silent films and Spanish-language sound productions. She returned to Mexico and the stage (at one time she was married to Roberto "El Panzón" Soto), and made her Mexican sound feature film debut in 1941. Over the next 40 years she appeared in many films, TV series, and in the theatre before finally retiring in the 1980s. She died of pneumonia. One of Magaña's most famous films is Nosotros los pobres, where she and Amelia Wilhemy played a pair of drunks, "La Guayaba" and "La Tostada."
Malgesto, Paco [Francisco José Daniel Rubiales Calvo] (1914 or '16?-1978): TV and radio announcer/host who got his start in radio in 1940, originally as a bullfight commentator. He later moved to TV and hosted a number of variety series. Malgesto appeared in some films, and in the traditional stage comedy "Don Juan Tenorio" many times. He was the father of actress Marcela Rubiales.
Mange, Gloria: Born in Sonora, Gloria Mange was a very cute actress who generally played spoiled young women in a fair number of films between 1949 and 1953. Perhaps her biggest role was the female lead in Si yo fuera diputado, opposite Cantinflas.
"Manolín": see Palacios, Manuel (1918-1977)
Manrique, Arturo "Panseco" [Arturo Ernesto Manrique Elizondo] (1910-1971): Monterrey-born comic actor and radio personality. As a young man Manrique worked on a St. Louis radio station, then returned to Mexico where he began a long run on radio and TV. He appeared in some feature films, beginning with La mujer del puerto (1933); Manrique also made a series of shorts with his long-time radio partner Ramiro Gamboa.
Manríquez, Silvia: attractive young actress who started working in films (such as Misterio en las Bermudas) in the 1970s. Still active on TV.
"Mantequilla" see Soto, Fernando
"Manver" see Vergara, Manuel (?--1970):
Manzano, Eduardo see "Los Polivoces"
Manzano, Miguel (1907 or '10?-1992): born in Jalisco, Manzano made his stage debut in 1930, and started appearing in films in 1937. Early in his screen career, Manzano played a fair number of villainous characters, but later specialized in sympathetic grandfatherly types (including priests, etc.). He won the Best Supporting Actor Ariel for Las glorias del gran Púas; and was nominated as Best Co-Starring Actor for Golpe de suerte.
de Marco, Dina [Diana Zar Núñez Jiménez] (1937-1998): Dina de Marco began her career as a dancer in 1952, then studied at the Academia Andrés Soler (the ANDA acting school). She appeared in a number of films in the late 1950s (playing Armando Calvo's first wife in El espejo de la bruja, for instance), and also worked on the stage and on TV. Late in life, she returned to acting in telenovelas and directed "Plazo Sésamo," the Mexican version of "Sesame Street." She was married to actor Rafael Banquells for 35 years, and they had five children, including popular singer Rocío Banquells, actress Mary Paz Banquells, and actor/director Rafael Banquells Jr. She died of cancer.
Margarita Isabel: Margarita Isabel was born in Mexico city and attended the Instituto de Bellas Artes. She started working in films in the 1970s, and has won a number of prestigious awards, beginning with the Diosa de Plata for Las apariencias engañan (for which she also received an Ariel nomination), and the following Arieles: Best Supporting Actress for Como agua para chocolate, Best Female Co-Star for Dos crímenes (she also won a Diosa de Plata for this role), and Best Supporting Actress for Mujeres insumisas. In addition, she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for Chido Guan--Tacos de oro. Her son is actor Mario Ivan Martínez, who himself won the Best Actor Ariel for Como agua para chocolate and was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for Sucesos distantes.
María Gracia: juvenile star of Caperucita roja and a number of other Roberto Rodríguez films of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Note: Emilio García Riera's Historia documental indexes her as "Gracia, María," suggesting Gracia was her last name.
María Victoria [María Victoria Gutiérrez or María Victoria Cervantes] (1927--): Guadalajara-born singer/actress, noted for her breathy vocalizing and hourglass figure. María Victoria made her stage debut at the age of 9, and later became a featured vocalist. She started working in films in the 1950s, first as a singer and then as a comic actress, while continuing to appear as a singer in nightclubs and on the variety stage. She had a long run in films and on TV (14 years) playing a servant named "Paquita," "La criada bien criada." In recent years she has acted in telenovelas and continued her singing career, with over 100 records to her credit. She was married to actor Rubén Zepeda Novelo.
Marín, Gloria [Gloria Méndez Ramos or Gloria Ramos Luna] (1916 or 1919?-1983): Gloria Marín was one of the most popular actresses of the 1940s and 1950s in Mexico, one step below María Félix, Dolores del Río, and Marga López. Marín was the daughter of stage performer Laura Marín, and started acting while still a child; for a time she and her sister Lilí were a team. In 1938, Marín moved from the stage to films, and in 1941 appeared as Jorge Negrete's co-star in Ay, Jalisco, no te rajes!. For more than a decade, Marín and Negrete were lovers (they never legally married, although the press at the time referred to them as man and wife) and frequent co-stars. In 1952, Marín and Negrete separated, and she began a long relationship with Abel Salazar (although they did not marry until 1958), which ended in divorce in 1961. Marín continued to work on the stage, in films, and on TV until her death in 1983. She was nominated for an Ariel as Best Actress for Si Adelita se fuera con otro, and as Best Co-Starring Actress for Mecánica nacional and Aquel famoso Remington. She won Diosas de Plata for Mecánica nacional and En la trampa.
Marín, Lina (?-1989): busty actress of the 1960s and 1970s, often cast as "india" servant girls.
Mariscal, Alberto: see DIRECTORS
Mariscal, Diana [Diana Mariscal Romero] (1949--): pixyish blonde pop singer (although anyone who heard her perform "Fresas con miel" in Mil Máscaras might question this description) and actress who appeared in a few films in the 1960s--mostly notably in Alejandro Jodorowsky's first feature, Fando y Lis--but who has not been on screen since 1974.
Mariscal, Silvia [Silvia Ramírez Aguilar] (1946 or '48--): young actress who made her debut in the '60s, and appeared in a number of respectable features into the '70s, but now works mostly on TV. Best Co-Starring Actress Ariel nomination for Actas de Marusia.
Mariscal, Lucila: comic actress whose most popular character is "doña Lencha," a sort of "India María" take-off, only fatter and more truculent. On-screen in supporting roles from the 1970s, but became a comedy star in the late '80s.
Marqués, María Elena [María Elena Marqués Rangel] (1922 or '26?-2012): popular actress of the 1940s and '50s. She later served as a representative in Mexico's Chamber of Deputies, and retired from acting at the outset of the 1980s. Married to the late actor Miguel Torruco; their son, Miguel Torruco Marqués, is an important figure in the hotel and tourism industry in Mexico. Márques was nominated as Best Actress for La perla and El jardín de los cerezos.
Márquez, Evaristo: the story goes that Márquez was an illiterate Colombian cane-cutter who had never even seen a movie when selected by director Gille Pontecorvo to appear opposite Marlon Brando in Burn!. He then acted several Mexican co-productions in the early '70s, including Cumbia.
Márquez, Luz [María de la O Martínez García Soler] (1935--): Spanish-born singer and actress, on-screen in her native land from 1953, then worked in some Mexican films between 1961-63 before going back to Spain (where she made The Texican with Audie Murphy, among other pictures).
Márquez, Rubén [Rubén Márquez Padilla]: supporting actor, in countless films of the late 1950s onward, usually in very small parts, but occasionally cast as somebody's father or old friend. Shared the Best Supporting Actor Ariel with three other actors from the film La mujer de Benjamín.
Marshall, Niní "Catita" [Marina Esther Traveso] (1903-1996): Niní Marshall started working in Argentine radio in the mid-1930s, where she created a number of characters, including "Catita" (a somewhat scatter-brained native of Buenos Aires) and "Cándida" (a Spanish immigrant maid). She made a number of films in Argentina but left in 1950 when President Juan Perón ordered her film contracts cancelled. Between 1950-55 Marshall made 7 films in Mexico and one Mexican-Cuban co-production, then returned to Argentina where she continued to appear in films and television until her retirement in 1983. She died in 1996.
Martel, Claudia: rather petulant-looking young actress of the late '60s and early '70s, usually in secondary roles. Her last name was sometimes spelled "Martell."
Martel, Christiane [Christiane Magnani] (1933? or 1936? --): French-born winner of the Miss Universe contest in 1953. Briefly married to a U.S. millionaire, Christiane appeared in several Hollywood films and then came to Mexico. After a fairly prolific career in the latter half of the 1950s--one of her biggest international successes was Adán y Eva--in 1961 Martel married Miguel Alemán Velasco, a film and TV executive who was the son of former president Miguel Alemán (in 1998, Alemán Velasco was elected governor of the state of Veracruz, a post his father also held). She then retired from the screen. Their son, Miguel Alemán Magnani, also became a TV executive. Christiane's sister Georgette was at one time married to Hollywood director Vicente Minelli.
Marti, Alberto (1899-1939): prolific 1930s actor, usually cast as oily villains in films like La Llorona and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.
Marti, Nubia (1954--): very cute blonde actress of the 1970s, born in Coahuila. Occasionally seen in films and on TV in the '80s and '90s.
Martín, Ana [Ana María or Beatriz Martínez Solórzano] (1946 or '47?--): waif-like actress, daughter of comedian Jesús Martínez "Palillo." After being chosen as Mexico's representative for the "Miss World" pageant, Martín was disqualified for being underage. She made her screen debut instead, in El gangster (1964). Later that year she appeared in Marcelo y María, for which she received a Diosa de Plata as Best New Performer. Since that time she has received Ariel nominations for Best Co-Starring Actress (for Fin de fiesta) and Best Supporting Actress (for El lugar sin límites and Los indolentes). She became very popular in telenovelas like "Gabriel and Gabriela" and "El Pecado de Oyuki" (after months of wearing Asian makeup for this series, Martín had to undergo plastic surgery to correct damage to her face) and also works on the stage.
Martínez, Adalberto "Resortes" [Adalberto Martínez Chávez] (1916?-2003): born in Mexico City, Resortes made his stage debut as an "eccentric" dancer and comedian in 1931. His first film appearance came in 1946, but his film career really got underway at the very end of the decade. During the 1950s he generally played comic leads, but also had a few supporting roles, as in Los Fernández de Peralvillo. He received an Ariel nomination as Best Actor for El rey de México. His film career faltered a bit in the 1960s, but he returned in the 1970s, again alternating character parts with leads. Resortes continued to work in films, regularly in the 1980s and sporadically since (cf Las delicias del poder, 1996, with "La India María"). He won the lifetime achievement Ariel de Oro in 1994.
Martínez, Arturo [Arturo Martínez Chávez] (1919-1992): one of the most popular villains of Mexican cinema from the late 1940s through the 1960s, the San Luis Potosi-native Martínez started directing films as well in 1959, and later formed his own production company. His sons Arturo Martínez hijo and Víctor Manuel Martínez also work in the film industry. Arturo Martínez was nominated for an Ariel (Best Male Co-Star) for his very first movie, Juan Charrasqueado (1947), and also for El Siete Leguas in 1955.
Martínez, Arturo (hijo): actor son of Arturo Martínez, on-screen from the mid-'70s. Generally appears in support, often as weak or villainous characters.
Martínez, Jesús "Palillo" [Jesús Martínez Rentería] (1913-1994): famous stage comedian whose film career never really developed--three starring vehicles failed to click, possibly due to his extremely stylized characterization. Palillo began to appear on the stage in the 1930s, and was extremely popular due to the political and topical nature of his material. He was later a producer and empresario. His daughter is actress Ana Martín.
Martínez, Lilia "Gui-Gui" [Lilia Martínez Solares]: child actress who had major roles in a number of 1950s features, then made one film as a teenager in the '60s (Milagros de San Martín de Porres) before retiring from the screen.
Martínez, Paco (1871-1956): waspish elderly character actor, born in Spain, who appeared in supporting roles in numerous films of the 1930s through the 1950s. He was married to actress Prudencia Grifell, essayer of sweet little old ladies on screen.
Martínez, Raúl [Raúl Martínez Montiel] (1920-1993): Chihuahua-born singer and actor who starred in a fair number of films in the 1950s but wasn't really distinctive enough to stand out. He did continue to work extensively on TV and in personal appearances afterwards.
Martínez Baena, Carlos (1889-1971): Spanish actor, born in Madrid but raised in Mexico, usually cast as kindly old men (priests, teachers, and so on).
Martínez Casado, Juan José (1903-1987): dignified-looking Cuban-born actor who originally appeared as a singer under the name "Mario del Valle," then became a prolific leading man in Mexican cinema of the 1930s. He turned to character and supporting parts in later years, and directed a few Cuban films. On-screen into the 1980s. He was one of the founding members of ANDA, the actors' union.
Martínez de Hoyos, Jorge "Mapache" (1920-1997): born in Mexico City, Martínez de Hoyos received his elementary education in Texas. He returned to Mexico and spent three years working on his law degree, before giving in to the lure of acting at the age of 22. He made his film debut in the English-language Adventures of Casanova (1947), shot in Mexico with a mixed Hollywood-Mexican cast (due to his English-language skills, he also appeared in some other co-productions, including Guns for San Sebastian). Over the next decade, Martínez de Hoyos became one of the most reliable character actors in Mexican cinema (also working on the stage and on TV), winning Best Co-Starring Actor Arieles for Sombra verde and Canasta de cuentos mexicanos; he was also nominated as Best Co-Starring Actor for El túnel seis, and as Best Actor for Los días del amor and El venida del Rey Olmos. As the last two nominations suggest, Martínez de Hoyos played some "character leads" in the 1960s and 1970s. He was married to actress Alicia Caro from the mid-1960s until his death, of lung cancer, in May 1997.
Martínez Solares, Agustin hijo: actor son of cinematographer
Agustín Martínez Solares. Made his debut in the mid-'60s,
but rarely rose above secondary hero and other supporting roles. Seems to
have disappeared from the screen in the mid-'70s.
To be continued.
Posted 7 May 99 by D. Wilt. Comments, additions and corrections welcome! Updated 1 June 2014