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Armida (actress)

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Full Name
  
Armida Vendrell

Role
  
Actress

Nationality
  
Mexican

Spouse
  
Bud Glenn (m. 1938–1948)

Name
  
Armida Armida

Years active
  
1929-1951

Parents
  
Joaquin Vendrell

Height
  
1.50cm 4ft 11



Born
  
May 29, 1911 (
1911-05-29
)
Aguascalientes, Mexico

Occupation
  
Actress, singer, dancer, vaudevillian

Died
  
October 23, 1989, Victorville, California, United States

Siblings
  
Lydia Vendrell, Lola Vendrell

Movies
  
Machine Gun Mama, Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm, Here Comes Kelly, Fiesta, Under the Pampas Moon

Similar People
  
Arthur Dreifuss, Lambert Hillyer, William C McGann, William Beaudine, Alan Crosland

Armida, born Armida Vendrell, (29 May 1911 – 23 October 1989) was a Mexican actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian born in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Contents

Early life

Armida came from a theatrical family; her father Joaquin Vendrell was a well known magician "The Great Arnold" who immigrated to Mexico from Barcelona, Spain. She also had two sisters that were performers as well, Lydia Vendrell and Lola Vendrell. By the time she reached the age of nineteen she had a lucrative, long-term screen contract. She purchased a beautiful home where she lived with her family. She aspired to send her younger sisters to college.

Vendrell was just five feet tall with high heels and two inches less without them. Armida had a tiny face with two dark eyes of radiant beauty. She spoke quickly, without pausing. As a small child she spoke Spanish only.

Vaudeville in California

Armida started performing at a young age, when her family moved from Mexico to the United States, her father opened the first movie theater in Douglas, Arizona. She and her sisters would sing and dance during intermission and her father would perform an illusionist act.

Armida was discovered in the old Hidalgo theater in the Plaza in Los Angeles. The Plaza was the oldest section of the city. Armida was appearing in a small, home-manufactured vaudeville skit, along with her sister Delores. A spotter for a coast vaudeville circuit was in the audience and offered her a chance at a four-a-day. Armida progressed from the drama marts of the Plaza to various Broadway productions after being discovered by Gus Edwards, stage and screen actor, songwriter, and dance instructor. She participated in as many as twenty-four vaudeville numbers a day while in New York. Edwards brought her back to Hollywood with him and began to feature her in colortone novelties. Gus once said of Armida, that she possessed "the emotional temperament of an actress capable of surmounting the most difficult of histrionic roles".

Film career

The young Mexican actress was a success and soon progressed into short subjects in the films and was under contract to United Artists. Her first film of note featured her in a role opposite actor John Barrymore. By the time she was eighteen, Warner Brothers offered her a five year-contract. In On the Border (1930) Vendrell played Pepita, a Spanish girl. She is protected from the leader of a band of desperadoes by her lover and her pet dog, Rin-Tin-Tin. The story was an exciting one about Orientals being smuggled over the Mexican border into the United States.

Armida appeared in films like Border Romance (1929), The Show of Shows (1929), General Crack (1930), Under a Texas Moon (1930), The Marines Are Coming (1934), Under the Pampas Moon (1935), Patio Serenade (1938), Machine Gun Mama (1944), Bad Men of the Border (1945), Congo Bill (1948) and The Gay Amigo (1949). Her final role was in Rhythm Inn (1951), in which she played a specialty dancer. She also appeared with Gene Autry in the western Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm (1937). One of her few leading roles was in The Girl from Monterrey. She also made a notable appearance on Broadway with Nina Rosa (1930-31).

Death

Armida Vendrell died in Victorville, California on October 23, 1989 of a heart attack.

Filmography

Actress
1951
Rhythm Inn as
Specialty Dancer
1949
The Gay Amigo as
Rosita
1948
Congo Bill as
Zalea
1948
Jungle Goddess as
Wanama
1946
Cuban Madness (Short) as
Armida
1945
Bad Men of the Border as
Dolores Mendoza
1945
South of the Rio Grande as
Pepita
1944
Machine Gun Mama as
Nita Cordoba
1943
The Girl from Monterrey as
Lita Valdez
1943
Here Comes Kelly as
Mlle. Babette
1943
Melody Parade as
Armida
1942
Always in My Heart as
Lolita
1941
Fiesta as
Cuca
1941
South of Tahiti as
Tutara
1940
La Conga Nights as
Carlotta De Vera
1940
Bullets and Ballads (Short) as
Armida
1938
Patio Serenade (Short) as
Armida
1938
Cafe Rendezvous (Short)
1938
Out Where the Stars Begin (Short) as
Miss Montez - Argumentative Dancer
1937
Border Cafe as
Dominga
1937
Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm as
Rosa Montero
1935
Check Your Sombrero (Short)
1935
Under the Pampas Moon as
Rosa
1934
The Marines Are Coming as
Rosita Hernández Consuelo Ibera y Buenaventura
1933
Nick Kenny's Radio Thrills No. 2 (Short) as
Armida, Mexican Girl
1933
The Peanut Vendor (Short) as
Spanish Dancer
1930
Wings of Adventure as
Maria Valdez
1930
Under a Texas Moon as
Dolores
1930
On the Border as
Pepita
1929
General Crack as
Fidelia
1929
Show of Shows as
Performer in 'Meet My Sister' Number (as Mimi Vendrell)
1929
Mexicana (Short) as
Armida
1929
Border Romance as
Conchita Cortez
1929
Gus Edwards' International Colortune Revue (Short)
1927
Smiling Billy as
Billy's Sweetheart
Soundtrack
1951
Rhythm Inn (performer: "Chi Chi", "Love") / (writer: "Chi Chi")
1945
Bad Men of the Border (performer: "Carmencita")
1943
Melody Parade (performer: "Amigo", "Spanish Song") / (writer: "Spanish Song")
1942
Always in My Heart (performer: "The Lady in Red" - uncredited)
1941
Fiesta (performer: "Never Trust a Jumping Bean")
1940
La Conga Nights (performer: "La cucaracha")
1937
Border Cafe (performer: "El Rancho Grande (I Love My Rancho Grande)", "Clavelitos (Little Carnations)")
1937
Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm ("Mexicali Rose" (1923), uncredited)
1934
The Marines Are Coming (performer: "My Brazilian Baby" - uncredited)
1933
The Peanut Vendor (Short) (lyrics: "I Am a Gay Caballero" - uncredited) / (performer: "The Peanut Vendor (El manisero)", "I Am a Gay Caballero" (uncredited), "Jarabe Tapatío" (uncredited))
1929
Border Romance (performer: "Yo Te Adoro (How I Adore You)")
Self
1957
This Is Your Life (TV Series) as
Self
- Thelma White (1957) - Self
1936
Playing for Fun (Short) as
Self - Dancer
1935
See, See, Senorita (Short) as
Self - Singer / Dancer
1934
Gus Van and His Neighbors (Short) as
Self
1930
The Voice of Hollywood No. 5 (Short) as
Self (uncredited)

References

Armida (actress) Wikipedia