Duncan Renaldo

Born: April 23, 1904, Europe
Died: September 3, 1980 (age 76), Goleta, California

Duncan Renaldo (Renault Renaldo Duncan) was an American actor.

Born, probably in Spain, he is best remembered for his portrayal of the Cisco Kid on early television.

Though he starred mostly in B-films, Renaldo played roles in higher budgeted films as well, including in Spawn of the North (1938) with George Raft, Henry Fonda, and John Barrymore, and For Whom the Bell Tolls with Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman. He was also a producer, writer and director.

What do you know about Duncan Renaldo? Try this quick quiz.

1. His first appearance in a western was Pals of the Prairie (1929). He plays Francisco Valencia. Who is the movie’s star?

• John Wayne
• Buzz Barton
• Bill Patton

2. In 1931, Renaldo plays a character named Peru. What is the movie?

• Trader Vic
• Trader Horn
• Home in Africa

3. Renaldo was arrested for illegal immigration in 1934 (he was a sailor on a ship that docked in Maryland in the late 1920s but caught fire at the pier and burned, stranding him in the US). There was some confusion as to his birthplace--he was orphaned as a child in Europe and didn't know where he was born--and since the authorities didn't know to which country he should be deported, he was imprisoned for a year. He was "rescued" by Republic Pictures president Herbert J. Yates, who signed him to a contract and vouched for him, and he was eventually granted a pardon by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

• True or False

4. Who does Duncan Renaldo play in Zorro Rides Again (1937)?

• James Vega / Zorro
• Renaldo
• Brad Dace / 'El Lobo'

5. He plays Juan Vasquez in this 1939 Western, which stars Robert Livingston and Chief Thundercloud. What is the movie

6. Renaldo begins playing The Cisco Kid. What was the movie?

7. In Robin Hood of Monterey (1947) who played The Cisco Kid?

• Paulo Ribeiro
• Jimmy Smits
• Gilbert Roland

8. In 1941, he joined football star Sammy Baugh in the King of the Texas Rangers serial, his role as the Mexican 'Lt. Pedro Garcia' being almost as prominent as Baugh's 'Ranger Tom King' in this action-full story of modern enemy saboteurs in the Texas oil fields.

• True or False?

9. Cisco and Pancho are asked by Marshal Ben Lane to track down a gang of counterfeiters in Durado. Cisco suspects the local banker and his clerk to be involved in the counterfeit, but cannot prove anything. He sets some traps for the gang. One of the traps involves arresting Pancho as an alleged bank robber. In the episode, who plays Red Saunders?

• Robert Livingston
• Art Dupuis
• Fred Kohler Jr.

10. Duncan Renaldo illustrated a book of poetry by Moreton B. Price titled Drifter's Dreams. His illustrations are ink sketches of idyllic scenes, primarily seascapes and landscapes.

• True or False?

11. Where is Duncan Renaldo buried?

• Cremated and his ashes were given to a friend or family
• Calvary Cemetery, Santa Barbara, California
• Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum, Altadena, California

Check Your Answer

1. Buzz Barton
2. Trader Horn
3. True
4. Renaldo
5. The Lone Ranger Rides Again
6. The Cisco Kid Returns
7. Gilbert Roland
8. True
9. Robert Livingston
10. True
11. Calvary Cemetery, Santa Barbara, California
    Plot: Section J, Tier 6, Grave 82