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Born Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico to Pedro Armendáriz García-Conde (Mexican) and Adela Hastings (American). He was also the cousin of actress Gloria Marín. Armendáriz lived with his parents in Texas and studied in California, where he graduated with an engineering degree from the California Polytechnic State University.
When Armendáriz finished his studies, he moved to Mexico where he worked for the railroad, as a tour guide and as a journalist for the bilingual magazine México Real. He was discovered by film director [Link removed - login to see] when Armendáriz recited
Born Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico to Pedro Armendáriz García-Conde (Mexican) and Adela Hastings (American). He was also the cousin of actress Gloria Marín. Armendáriz lived with his parents in Texas and studied in California, where he graduated with an engineering degree from the California Polytechnic State University.
When Armendáriz finished his studies, he moved to Mexico where he worked for the railroad, as a tour guide and as a journalist for the bilingual magazine México Real. He was discovered by film director [Link removed - login to see] when Armendáriz recited a soliloquy from Hamlet to an American tourist. He obtained his first role in a movie at the age of 22 and after that he made many films in Mexico, the United States, France, Italy and England. Under the direction of [Link removed - login to see], and with [Link removed - login to see], he represented Mexican Cinema to all the world. He received a Silver Ariel Award in 1948 in the category of Best Actor for his role in [Link removed - login to see] and another in 1952 for [Link removed - login to see]. In 1947, he was the recipient of a Special Ariel for his works.
Armendáriz was a favorite of American director [Link removed - login to see], appearing in three of his films: [Link removed - login to see] (1947), [Link removed - login to see] and [Link removed - login to see] (both 1948).
Armendáriz's last appearance was in the second James Bond film, [Link removed - login to see] (1963) as Bond's ally, Kerim Bey. His son [Link removed - login to see] was also an actor, who appeared in the James Bond film [Link removed - login to see] in 1989.
However, he was terminally ill with cancer during the filming of From Russia with Love, and towards the end of shooting he was too ill to perform his part, so his final scenes were performed by his double, director Terence Young.
In 1954, Armendáriz had a role in the film [Link removed - login to see] produced by [Link removed - login to see]. This movie was filmed in the state of Utah during the time when the US government ran nuclear tests in the neighboring state of Nevada. 91 of the 220 people involved in the production of the film contracted cancer within 25 years, and 46 of these died as a consequence of this illness. However, in rebuttal, Pilar Wayne later wrote in her autobiography that she did not believe radiation was involved in the deaths of those associated with this film. She mentioned she had visited the set many times as had others and not become sick. Wayne said she believed the real cause of death of her husband and the others was solely due to smoking.
Armendáriz began to suffer pain in his hips and years later it was discovered that he had cancer in these regions. He learned his condition was terminal while at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He reportedly acted in From Russia with Love while enduring great pain (he visibly limps in most scenes) in order to leave behind financial resources for his family after his impending death. On June 18, 1963, rather than waste away under the haze of pain medication, he took his own life by firing a bullet into his heart from a gun which he had smuggled into the hospital.
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Tags: Mexican (4), Suicide (3), Born 1912 (3), Died 1963 (3), Male (2), Actor (2), Deceased (2), Supporting Actor (1), 9 May 1912 (1), Died In 1963 (1), Born In 1912 (1), Born May (1), Born In May (1), Died Aged 51 (1), Lead Actor (1), From Russia With Love (1), 1940s (1), 1960s (1), 1950s (1), Mexico (1)
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