Duncan Renaldo
To most audiences, Duncan Renaldo will always be identified as film and TV's "The Cisco Kid." However, this role occurred late in his career, which consisted of much more than just this western character. Not much is known about Renaldo's early life. In fact, his date and place of birth is still questioned. The usual given birth date is April 23, 1904. His birthplace has been generally stated as Spain--he has said that his first memories as a child were in Spain--although Romania and even New Jersey have been mentioned as well. An orphan, he never knew his actual parents and was never able to ascertain the exact date and place of his birth. He was raised and educated in various European countries and arrived in the US in the early 1920s as a stoker on a Brazilian coal ship. Entering the country on a 90-day seaman's permit, he stayed when his ship caught fire at the dock and burned to the waterline. A paltry existence as a portrait painter forced him to seek other work, and he somehow found his way into films as a producer of short features, which in turn led to on-camera work as an actor with MGM in 1928. The studio capitalized on his dashing Hispanic looks and initially typed him as a "Latin lover", but it didn't last long. In the early 1930s his career was interrupted when he was arrested and faced deportation due to his illegal immigrant status. The actor was eventually pardoned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt--his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, had bought one of Renaldo's paintings, looked into his case and persuaded her husband to pardon him. He returned to minor films for both Republic and Monogram, alternating as heroic sidekick and villain. He co-starred as one of the Three Mesquiteers in the revamped film series, and showed up regularly in 1930s and 1940s cliffhangers, including The Painted Stallion (1937), Jungle Menace (1937), Zorro Rides Again (1937), King of the Mounties (1942), Secret Service in Darkest Africa (1943) The Tiger Woman (1944). In 1945 he began the Cisco Kid film series and transferred the character successfully to TV in the early 1950s, with Leo Carrillo as faithful sidekick Pancho. Renaldo made the character clean-shaven and more of a do-gooder than the roguish bandit who actually was in the books. Renaldo retired soon after the series' demise and died years later at Goleta Valley Community Hospital in California of lung cancer in 1980.
The Capture
(Carlos)
Outlaws of the Desert
(Sheik Suleiman)
Hands Across the Border
(Juan Morales)
Trader Horn
(Peru)
South of the Border
(Andreo Mendoza)
Spawn of the North
(Ivan)
Rebellion
(Ricardo Castillo)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
(Self (archive footage))
Pals of the Prairie
(Francisco Valencia)
Down Mexico Way
(Juan)
San Antonio Kid
(Johnny Bennett aka San Antonio Kid)
The Moth
(Don Pedro)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
(Esteban)
Cowboys from Texas
(Rico Rinaldo)
Zorro Rides Again
(Renaldo)
Special Agent K-7
(Tony Blank)
Heroes of the Saddle
(Rico)
Lady Luck
(Tony Morelli)
Jungle Flight
(Police Captain Costa)
Ten Laps to Go
(Eddie DeSylva)
Covered Wagon Days
(Rico Rinaldo)
King of the Texas Rangers
(Lt. Pedro Garcia)
Jungle Menace
(Armand Roget)
Sky Racket
(Count Barksi)
Oklahoma Renegades
(Rico Rinaldo)
Gauchos of El Dorado
(Gaucho / José Ojara)
Moonlight Murder
(Pedro)
Pioneers of the West
(Rico)
The Tiger Woman
(José Delgado)
Two Minutes to Play
(Lew Ashley)
The Lone Ranger Rides Again
(Juan Vasquez)
Rough Riders' Round-up
(Alcalde Don Enriguez)
The Daring Caballero
(The Cisco Kid)
Jungle Terror
(Armand Roget)
Sword of the Avenger
(Fernando)
Mile a Minute Love
(Count Ribalto)
Rose of the Rio Grande
(Sebastian)
The Kansas Terrors
(Renaldo)
Rocky Mountain Rangers
(Rico)
In Old New Mexico
(The Cisco Kid)
The Gay Amigo
(The Cisco Kid)
The Cisco Kid Returns
(The Cisco Kid)
South of Panama
(Captain of Police)
A Yank in Libya
(Sheik David)
Tiger Fangs
(Peter Jeremy)
Gaucho Serenade
(Gaucho Don José)
Trapped in Tia Juana
(Lt. Kenneth Holbert / El Zorro)
For Whom the Bell Tolls
(Lt. Berrendo)
Call of the South Seas
(Commissioner Charcot)
The Fighting Seabees
(Construction Worker at Party)
The Girl from San Lorenzo
(The Cisco Kid)
The Painted Stallion
(Zamorro)
King of the Mounties
(Pierre (Ch. 1, 11-12))
Sheriff of Sundown
(Chihuahua Ramírez)
South of the Rio Grande
(The Cisco Kid)
Satan's Cradle
(The Cisco Kid)
The Valiant Hombre
(The Cisco Kid)
Bad Men of Missouri
(Dan)
Border Patrol
(Commandante)
Clothes Make the Woman
Around the World
(Dragoman)
Mission to Moscow
(Italian Reporter (uncredited))
Tropic Holiday
(Young Blood (uncredited))
The Mad Empress
(Col. Miguel López)
Public Stenographer
(Henchman Orsini)
Secret Service In Darkest Africa
(Capt. Pierre LaSalle)
The Cisco Kid
(The Cisco Kid)
Western von gestern
(Renaldo)
