Gilbert Roland

(1905-1994), México. Actor

Born Luis Antonio Damaso de Alonso in Juarez, Mexico, in 1905, dashing screen star Gilbert Roland moved with his family to the U.S. with the onset of the Mexican Revolution between 1910 and 1911. By the late 1910s, Roland's family made its way to California, and by 1920 the teenager was getting film work in bit parts. He chose his stage name by using the last names of two of his favorite silent screen stars: serial queen Ruth Roland and matinee idol John Gilbert. After several years of bit parts, at the age of 19 Gilbert Roland secured his breakthrough role in the 1925 Clara Bow vehicle The Plastic Age, one of the first films in which he received screen credit.

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