How old was cantinflas when he died

Cantinflas (Mexican, 1911-1993)

Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes, better known by his stage name Cantinflas, was a pioneer of Mexican cinema and remains one of the best-known comedians in Mexican history. Sometimes dubbed “The Charlie Chaplin of Mexico,” Cantinflas frequently took on the archetype of the pelado, an impoverished peasant not unlike the “bums” seen in many American silent movies. He is best known in the United States for his role in Around the World in 80 Days, for which he won a Golden Globe. Cantinflas’ entertaining personality is exemplified in his lighthearted portrait seen in the show.

The entry, “Cantinflas, the Mexican comedian, in the Middle American Gallery, 1961,” catches one’s eye in the Museum’s photographic catalog. Appearing almost as an afterthought, this annotation and its accompanying photographs document a visit to the Museum by the world’s most famous Spanish-speaking, big screen comedian. Who was Cantinflas, and why did he visit our Museum? Cantinflas was the stage name of Mario Moreno Reyes.

Although virtually unknown in the United States, Moreno’s fame and continuing popularity as a comedian is without peer in Latin America. Born in 1911 in Mexico City, Moreno came of age in the 1940s—the golden age of Mexican cinema—and helped define the era. His most famous theater and film persona was that of the Mexican everyman—the pelado (literally “peeled” or “naked”)—a precariously employed slum dweller who was often recently transplanted to the city from the countryside. From the 1880s through the 1930s Mexico had undergone a period of intense economic, political, and industrial upheaval. This had

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