Raquel Torres

Raquel Torres (1908-1987) was a Mexican film actress born in Hermosillo, Mexico. She grew up in Hollywood. She starred in early sound films like "White Shadows of the South Seas" (1928) and "Duck Soup" (1933). The former was the first sound feature fully synchronized for dialogue, music, and effects. The latter was a famous 1933 Marx Brothers comedy, in which she played a would-be Mata Hari type.

Torres was a dark-haired beauty. Raquel's original name was Wihelmina von Osterman. She had a great formula for tanning which she acquired in Malibu, California during the summer. She provided a Los Angeles Times columnist with a tip about this once. Her secret was a few drops of iodine placed in her bath water. This preserved the coppery hue year round.

Film career

A 1930 movie entitled "The Sea Bat" featured the actress with actor Charles Bickford. The story begins with the death of her lover in the huge wings of a bat, underwater. Filmed in the tropics of southern Mexico, the backgrounds are resplendent in natural beauty. Miss Torres received favorable reviews as the Spanish girl whose character exemplifies the voodoo superstitions of the natives. Other films she appeared in were "Under A Texas Moon", "The Bridge of San Luis Rey", "So This Is Africa", and "Red Wagon". In 1931 Miss Torres came to the Loew's State Theater in New York with a vaudeville act. The next year she appeared briefly on Broadway in John McDermott's "Adam Had Two Sons".

Romance and Marriages

In 1934 Raquel met New York stockbroker Stephen Ames at a Hollywood party. At the time Ames was still married to Adrienne Ames and Raquel was escorted by film agent Charles Feldman. Miss Torres was suffering from a cold and found a quiet corner for solitude. Ames came over and asked her "Why so quiet?" She told him about "the terrible cold in my head." Stephen described some of his favorite remedies and the actress appreciated how considerate Ames was. A year later they met again in New York. Stephen was free of marriage and Raquel had not gone through with an anticipated wedding. They met a number of times in New York and Hollywood before Stephen asked her to marry him at the Colony Club while they were dancing. After deliberating for the night Raquel decided to marry him when he called her the following day. Ames presented her with a Rolls Royce present and two weeks later they were married. Following their union Stephen and Raquel spent several months in New York and Florida prior to purchasing an option on two and a half acres of land in Bel Air, California, where they wanted to build a home.

In 1959 Torres married actor Jon Hall, a hero of 1930s and 1940s South Sea epics. They divorced several years later.

=Fire Da

In October 1985 there was a fire in Malibu, California which damaged homes in the Las Flores Canyon area. Embers carried by wind across the wide Pacific Coast Highway ignited the roof of Raquel Torres' home. Her single story home was located at 22350 Pacific Coast Highway. The dwelling was 80% destroyed but the actress escaped unharmed, escorted by firefighters to safety.

Torres died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California on August 10, 1987 at the age of 78.

References

* Lima, Ohio News, "The Sea Bat is Ohio Feature", Monday, July 14, 1930, Page 9.
* Los Angeles Times, "Miss Torres and Spouse Plan Stay", February 19, 1935, Page A2.
* Los Angeles Times, by Joan Harvey "Hollywood Beauty Gossip", March 27, 1935, Page A6.
* Los Angeles Times, by Jerry Belcher,"Actor Jon Hall Commits Suicide", December 13, 1979, Page A1.
* Los Angeles Times, by Jack Jones, "Malibu Fire Is History as Crews Win the Edge", October 17, 1985, Page OC1.
* New York Times, "Raquel Torres", August 13, 1987, Page B8.
* Oakland, California Tribune, "Screen and Radio Weekly", June 16, 1935, Page 84.
* Syracuse, New York Herald-Journal, "Star in early movies, Raquel Torres dies at 78", Wednesday, August 12, 1987, Section B Page 8C.

External links

*
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18365 Find-A-Grave biography]