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Cantinflas

Birth Name:
Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes
Birth Place:
Mexico City, Mexico
Profession
Actor, Soundtrack, Writer
Cantinflas
  • Attended several charity benefits each year, including his annual "wacky bullfighter" performances at the Plaza Mexico
  • Was a very generous philanthropist, often giving money to people who lined up at his door, and once built 64 apartment buildings in a Mexico City slum and sold them to destitute families for a fraction of what they were worth
  • Joined a traveling tent show when he was a teenager, getting his first taste of performance when he was forced to substitute for the show's master of ceremonies one night
  • Best known as a screenwriter, producer, and comic actor who appeared as Passepartout in the 1956 film "Around the World in 80 Days․"
  • Often portrayed underdog characters who overcome great obstacles, doing so with much good humor
  • Cantinflas later entered the Spanish language in several dictionaries; in its verb form it means "to talk a lot and say little," and in its noun form it means "lovable clown․"
  • The name Cantinflas came from a heckler who shouted "En la cantina tu inflas!" at him during a show, meaning "In the barroom you talk big!," and he liked the phrase so much he kept it as a stage name
  • Was often referred to as "Latin America's Chaplin" and when Charlie Chaplin himself saw one of his films, he described him as "the greatest comedian alive․"
  • 1957Golden Globe - Best Actor - Comedy or Musical:Winner
  • 1961Golden Globe - Best Actor - Comedy or Musical:Nominated
  • 1961Golden Laurel - Top Male Comedy Performance:Nominated
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