Lilia del Valle

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilia_del_Valle (translated into English)

Lilia del Valle ( Mexico City , Mexico April 30 of 1931 ) was a famous beauty and actress who worked during the golden age of Mexican cinema, after marrying and having a child retired in the sixties and to date has devoted her time to painting.

Lilia del Valle, whose real name is Lilian Welker Gundlach, daughter of German immigrants, was born in Mexico City on April 30, 1931, she and her sister start their primary school studies in the German school in Mexico City later, the family spent two years in Berlin , where girls learn to speak German fluently, he returned to Mexico Lilia continued his studies, alongside their parents encouraged her to take painting classes at the Academy of Spanish artist José Bardasano ,

Lilia was 15 years old when one day, after school of painting, film producer Alexander Salkind , stumbled upon it, this was dazzled by the beauty of the girl and invited scholars to do a performance test of course the parents rejected the offer, later at the insistence of Salkind, was allowed to go with his mother as a companion, the test was to say briefly before the camera "I want to be movie star" and pose from different angles, this test was included in the film infumable low life sons of 1949, after this Lilia began taking acting classes with Gustavo Villatoro, shortly after the producer and film director Fernando de Fuentes , who at that time preparing the second version of the iconic film Back in the big ranch , this time in color and fashion heartthrob Jorge Negrete in the role he played Tito Guizar , came to the school and immediately Villatoro Lilia thought to play the role female lead in his time had made the diva Esther Fernández , Lilia course accept as much admired Negrete and debuted in stellar plan, as had Maria Felix few years earlier.

Lilia came surprisingly quickly to become a movie star, sharing the stage with Victor Parra , Roberto Canedo , Castejón White and Jorge Mistral , among others, and although his early works were dramatic, comedy is where it develops more ease, the proof is his work in The Three Merry Wives (1952) and The Stakeholders (1952), along with Amalia Aguilar and Lilia Prado , My three merry widows (1953) and The Loving (1953), where Silvia Pinal substituted the Prado, despite the anger of this. They also highlight their work in Nobody Dies Twice (1953), along with Luis Aguilar and Abel Salazar , unfaithful wives (1956), alongside Columba Domínguez , The sleeping beauty (1952) and The Island of Women (1953), along the famous comic Germain Valdes Tin Tan, in addition to the 1954 film The Witch, which was an ordeal for her, since she had to spend hours in makeup, in this film the most gallant work of fantasy films: Ramón Gay of tragic end.

Alongside her career in film, stage work and Lilia came to sing accompanied by a trio, with which he made extensive tours. After the filming of kidnapping in Acapulco (1963), decided it was time to marry and raise a family, only to return after a cameo in the movie The Final Stretch (1966) by Carlos Enrique Taboada . Lilia was married three times and had a son, now dedicated to painting and lives in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, where the most of your family.

References

AGRASÁNCHEZ, Jr., Roger (2001). Beauties of Mexican Cinema / Beauties of Mexican Cinema. Mexico: Agrasánchez Film Archive. ISBN: 968-5077-11-8

http://www.mexfilmarchive.com/documents/65.html

Lilia del Valle and Lilian Welker: Two names, one talented beauty.

Lilia del Valle (née Lilian Welker) is the daughter of German immigrants to Mexico. She was a celebrated beauty and an accomplished actress during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. After marrying and having a son, she retired and has devoted her time to painting.

By Rogelio Agrasánchez Jr.

Anyone familiar with classic Mexican cinema surely remembers a dazzling beauty with a poetic name, Lilia del Valle. Her career spanned thirty-three films, several plays and other stage presentations. To this day, connoisseurs look upon her as one of the sexy icons of the 1950s. Yet very few people know her real name: Lilian Welker Gundlach. I first talked to Mrs. Welker in 2001, when my book on the Beauties of Mexican Cinema was in preparation. Because I insisted a lot, she sent me a lengthy letter explaining her family background, education, and sudden rise to stardom. Lilia’s German parents came to Mexico on their honeymoon. Their actual destination was the United States but his father got an offer for a good-paying job and decided to remain in Mexico. Four years later, in 1931, Lilia was born. She and her younger sister went to elementary school at the Colegio Alemán of Mexico City. Subsequently the family spent two years in Berlin, where the girls learned to speak German fluently. Upon their return, Lilia continued studying at the Colegio Alemán and got a High School diploma. Since she was good at drawing, her parents encouraged her to take painting lessons at the academy of renowned Spanish artist José Bardasano.

Lilia was only 15 years old at the time. On her first day of painting lessons, she went to buy some pastries across the street. Unexpectedly, a man running out of a house bumped into her. The tray of pastries went up in the air and the gentleman had to apologize. His name was Alejandro Salkind and he said he was a film producer. Lilia got a compliment for her beauty and also an invitation to come to the studios for an acting test. Of course, her parents refused the offer. But after some persistence on the part of Salkind, she was allowed to go with her mother as a chaperone. The test took only a few moments. Lilia posed in front of the camera and briefly said: ”I want to be a film actress.“

This experience was quickly forgotten by Lilia del Valle. In fact, she never realized that the ”test“ she did was included in an obscure movie, Hijos de la mala vida (1946). Naturally she wasn’t paid any money for her acting. Therefore, she always thought that her first film appearance had been in Allá en el Rancho Grande, the second version directed by Fernando de Fuentes in 1948. Shortly before starring in this film, Lilia had been taking drama lessons at the prestigious school of Gustavo Villatoro. He personally instructed her for a few months until director De Fuentes showed up and asked Lilia if she wanted to be in a movie. He offered her the principal female role in Allá en el Rancho Grande, a film made in color. When she found out that the famous Jorge Negrete would be her partner, she almost fainted. A big fan of Negrete, Lilia was thrilled to shake hands with him. During the introduction, the aspiring actress was so anxious that could hardly speak a word.

Next, Lilia implored her father to let her work in this movie. She conviced him at last, but only if her mother guarded the young actress throughout the shooting. Her role as the naïve peasant girl for whom three men fall in love, required that she kissed Negrete on the lips. A big crowd on the set witnessed this crucial scene, the first one to be filmed. When the camera was rolling, Lilia del Valle couldn’t help being embarrassed and instinctively pushed Negrete away from her. She thought he was going to get angry. But they gave it another try and finally succeeded. Thanks to the understanding and support of Jorge Negrete she was applauded and her career took off, Lilia declared recently.

It is amazing how rapidly Lilia del Valle rose to become a film star. Her name was made famous instantly. Even more facinating is her capability to come through naturally in all of her roles. Her straightforwardness is obvious in several comedies: Las tres alegres comadres, Las interesadas, Mis tres viudas alegres, and Las cariñosas. It is certainly a treat to see Lilia del Valle performing in these stories of ”saucy, congenial girls who were forever perky, good dancers and singers, and who had plenty of curves.“ In Las tres alegres comadres, for example, she is the very seductive Perla, an ambitious girl that is always chewing gum or eating snacks, and whose pretender is the unfortunate wrestler Tranquilino (played by Wolf Ruvinskis). These films are some of the best antidotes for boredom. Anyone attracted to beautiful girls and desiring to be amused for an hour and a half would surely appreciate them.

See also

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0884923/bio

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0884923/

http://www.fandango.com/liliadelvalle/filmography/p18353