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SPEAKER_02: Just a heads up before we get started. This episode includes a mention of suicide. Please take care while listening. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica. This month we're talking about mischief makers, oddballs, chameleons, and non-conformists, queens of quick wit. Today we're talking about a woman whose force of personality and ungovernable talent captivated audiences. Dubbed the Mexican Hurricane by the press, she was always ready to stir up trouble, making her a star unlike any Hollywood had ever seen before. Please meet Lupe Velez. Lupe was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on July 18th, 1908. Her mother was an opera singer, and her father a colonel in the Mexican army. Lupe was still very young when the Mexican Revolution began in 1910. Some of her earliest memories were of riding behind her father on horseback while he embarked on dangerous missions. She later recalled, "'It is my first school revolution. "'I do not cry, I do not have goose pimples on my flesh. "'I do not have fears of the bullets.'" It was in this environment that Lupe's daring character was shaped. But even in more peaceful times, Lupe had a flair for the dramatic. She danced and acted in skits for her family and put on impromptu performances on the street for her neighbors. She was also unruly, usually playing with boys because girls her age found her too rough. Lupe's rowdiness worried her parents. They sent her to a convent school in San Antonio, Texas, hoping the nuns could tame her wild spirit. But two years later, Lupe's father went missing in combat and was presumed dead. She returned to Mexico to work, earning enough in wages to keep her family afloat. Lupe still had dreams of a different life. She took dance lessons on the side and began performing in local theaters. Her onstage charisma and unbridled energy soon gained her admiration and sold out venues in Mexico. It wasn't long before Hollywood came calling. Lupe began her career in B movies. In 1927, she gave a breakout performance in the silent film, The Gaucho, opposite Douglas Fairbanks. During her audition, Lupe was reportedly asked to remove her shoes, since her character would be barefoot in the film. She wouldn't do it. When Fairbanks threatened to refuse her the role, Lupe hissed, I don't take off my shoes for you or no one. Lupe's mother, I don't take off my shoes for you or no one. Fairbanks was impressed with her sharp tongue. Lupe went on to star in a string of similar roles. Her characters were always exotic, fiery sexpots, the kinds of roles white women didn't play. Lupe also had to deal with her character's lines being purposely written in broken English, something that frustrated her to no end. Racist typecasting forced Lupe into a box, but she made the most of the parts available to her. She was funny and captivating, and viewers loved her. The press coverage Lupe received was no better. Nicknames like the Mexican Spitfire, Miss Hot Tamale, and Whoopi Lupe plagued her. Journalists also purposely wrote her quotes out phonetically, which made it look like she had trouble with English. It was a period of intense racism towards Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. Hundreds of thousands of people were being sent back to Mexico by the US government during the Great Depression. But at times, it seemed as though Lupe was using the press to her advantage. As her fame grew, so did her reputation for off-camera antics. She once got into a fistfight with actress Lillian Tashman in a woman's bathroom. She also reportedly threatened to slit Norma Shearer's throat with the knife she kept in a garter. Her taste for combat also drove her to attend weekly boxing matches at the Hollywood Legion Stadium. She would appear in her seat near the ring in fabulous jewels and fur and wave to adoring crowds. Sometimes, she became an active participant in the matches, like when she attacked a referee with her umbrella. Lupe had a tender side as well. She was kind and generous to crew members on her films. She'd entertain them between takes with impressions of stars like Greta Garbo in Shirley Temple. She also loved animals deeply and owned lots of rescue pets. She was almost always spotted with her dogs, Chips and Chops. Over the years, Lupe also became well-known for her many love affairs with Hollywood royalty, including Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Victor Fleming, and John Gilbert. Her most infamous was a three-year relationship with Gary Cooper. They met while making the film Wolfsong in 1929. When Gary Cooper broke up with Lupe, she took her revenge in a very public manner. Gary was standing on a crowded train platform in Los Angeles. As his train rolled into the station, a familiar voice yelled, "'Gary, you son of a bitch!' It was Lupe, five feet tall and furious. She fired the pistol in her hand, and her former lover managed to dodge the bullet and leap onto the train." Lupe's career faltered briefly during the 1930s. When RKO didn't renew her contract in 1934, she tried a few independent films. Then she went on to Broadway, starring in the failed Cole Porter musical, "'You Never Know.'" After that, she traveled to Mexico to film the Spanish-language romantic drama, La Sandunga. By 1939, she was back to shooting B movies in Hollywood. That year, she starred in the film, The Girl from Mexico. It was an unexpected hit with audiences, and Lupe went on to star in a string of sequels. Her career had been revived in a big way, but it didn't last. In the early 1940s, Lupe became romantically involved with the actor Harold Raymond. She realized she was pregnant with his baby, and he refused to marry her. Lupe was devastated. On the morning of December 14, 1944, her secretary discovered Lupe's body lying in her silk sheets, unmoving. She had purposely overdosed on sleeping pills the night before. She was 36 years old. Just as in her life, Lupe's death was mistreated by the press. In the 1960s, Kenneth Anger published his infamous book, "'Hollywood Babylon.'" In it, he fabricated a story that Lupe had died by drowning in her toilet bowl. It was an ugly and racist lie, but it became something of Hollywood folklore. Andy Warhol made a short film in which Edie Sedgwick acts out Lupe's apocryphal final moments. The false story also featured in an episode of Frasier decades later. Despite the many indignities Lupe suffered, her memory has survived beyond the racist stereotypes and gossip. She's still celebrated as a pioneer for Mexican-American film. And though her image was often twisted by the press, Lupe was never ashamed of who she was. As she once told a reporter, "'My life story? "'It is the story of a devil. "'I am wild. "'I cannot help it.'" All month, we've been talking about mischief makers. Next week, we'll be starting a new theme. For more information, check us out on Facebook and Instagram at Womanica Podcast. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. As always, we'll be taking a break for the weekend. Talk to you on Monday.
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