Steve Clemente

Mexican-born Esteban "Steve" Clemente (sometimes spelled Clemento) became a victim of Hollywood xenophobia. One of the screen's more perfidious villains -- and one of its best scene stealers -- Clemente would have been handsome had it not been for that trademark sneer considered essential for playing "greasers" and "half-breeds." Onscreen from the 1910s, Clemente's villainy continued well into the sound era and he is perhaps best remembered today for playing the witch doctor in King Kong (1933). The veteran screen villain's death was attributed to a cerebral hemorrhage.