Gilbert Roland

Born: 11 December 1905, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Died: 15th May 1994, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA
Birth name: Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso

Born in Mexico, he moved with his family to California at an early age to escape the onset of the Mexican Revolution.

He took his stage name from two of his favorite silent screen stars, Ruth Roland and John Gilbert, and appeared in many films of the silent era himself.

No stranger to the western, including a regular role as the Cisco Kid, and given his Mexican heritage, Roland was a natural choice as a Spaghetti Western lead actor.

Fittingly, for his last film role before retirement he would return again to the Western with 'Barbarosa'.