Quick Facts
Biography
Mauricio Feres Yázbek (December 16, 1926 in Tampico – February 27, 1989 in Tamaulipas, Mexico), best known as Mauricio Garcés, was a Mexican actor.
Personal life and career
Garcés was of Lebanese descent and was born in the Mexican port of Tampico, Tamaulipas.
With the support of another uncle, the producer José Yázbek, he was included in the production of La Muerte enamorada ("Death in love", 1950), a comedy starring Miroslava and Fernando Fernández. After that film, Mauricio adopted the artistic last name "Garcés", believing the letter "G" would bring good luck and turn him into a star at the level of his idols Clark Gable, Gary Cooper and Cary Grant.
His famous image as elegant, worldly, and gallant arose thanks to the vision from the producer Angélica Ortiz, mother of the actress Angélica María, who hired Mauricio to star in Don Juan 67 (1966), the first of a series of films in which he played his alter-ego "Mauricio Galán". El matrimonio es como el demonio ("Marriage is like the Devil", 1967), Click, fotógrafo de modelos ("Click, photographer of models", 1968), El criado malcriado ("The ill-bred servant", 1968), Departamento de soltero ("Bachelor's apartment", 1969), Fray Don Juan ("Friar Don Juan", 1969) and Modisto de señoras ("Ladies' fashion designer", 1969) are some of the most popular films of the extensive filmography of the "Zorro Plateado" ("The Silver Fox").
The fact that Garcés lived with his mother and never had any known sentimental relationships led some in Mexico and in greater Latin America to believe that he actually was gay. Garcés, however, always called Silvia Pinal, a Mexican actress, the love of his life. In addition, Garcés had some gambling problems, which led him to lose almost all of his money on betting.
Filmography
| Year | Film | English title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | La Muerte enamorada | "Death in love" | |
| El señor gobernador | "Mr. governor" | ||
| 1951 | Por querer a una mujer | "For loving a woman" | |
| Radio patrulla | "Radio patrol" | ||
| 1956 | Cómicos de la lengua | "Comedians of the variety stage" | |
| 1957 | Préstame tu cuerpo | "Loan me your body" | |
| 1958 | Cuando ¡Viva Villa! es la muerte | "When Viva Villa! means death" | |
| Mientras el cuerpo aguante | "As long as the body can stand it" | ||
| El joven del carrito | "The young man with the cart" | ||
| La estrella vacía | "The empty star" | ||
| 1959 | Los hermanos Diablo | "The Diablo brothers" | |
| El renegado blanco | "The white renegade" | ||
| Venganza apache | "Apache vengeance" | ||
| Una bala es mi testigo | "A bullet is my witness" | ||
| La Llorona | "The Crying Woman" | ||
| Los resbalosos | "The slippery ones" | ||
| 1960 | Los fanfarrones | "The braggarts" | |
| Mujeres engañadas | "Deceived women" | ||
| ¿Donde estás, corazón? | "Where are you, darling?" | ||
| El mundo de los vampiros | "The world of vampires" | ||
| Amorcito, corazón | "Sweetheart, darling" | ||
| El Bronco Reynosa | "Reynosa the Untamed" | ||
| El jinete negro | "The black rider" | ||
| 1961 | Casi casados | "Almost married" | |
| La cabeza viviente | "The living head" | ||
| Estoy casado. ¡Ja! ¡Ja! | "I'm married. Ha! Ha!" | ||
| Lástima de ropa | "Old clothes" | ||
| El barón del terror | "The baron of terror" | ||
| 1963 | De color moreno | "Of dark color" | Mex.-Span. co-prod. |
| México de mi corazón | "Mexico of my heart" | ||
| Napoleoncito | "Little Napoleon" | ||
| 1964 | Perdóname, mi vida | "Forgive me, my darling" | |
| 1965 | Cuernavaca en primavera | "Cuernavaca in springtime" | |
| 1966 | Lanza tus penas al viento | "Toss your troubles to the wind" | |
| Sólo para ti | "Only for you" | ||
| Despedida de casada | "Farewell to marriage" | Mex.-Span. co-prod. | |
| Don Juan 67 | "Don Juan 67" | ||
| Bromas, S.A. | "Jokes, Inc." | Mex.-Peruv. co-prod. | |
| 1967 | El amor y esas cosas | "Love and those things" | |
| El día de la boda | "The day of the wedding" | ||
| El matrimonio es como el demonio | "Marriage is like the Devil" | ||
| Mujeres, mujeres, mujeres | "Women, women, women" | ||
| Un nuevo modo de amar | "A new way of loving" | ||
| 1968 | La cama | "The bed" | Mex.-Arg. co-prod. |
| Click, fotógrafo de modelos | "Click, photographer of models" | ||
| Despedida de casada | "Farewell to marriage" | ||
| El criado malcriado | "The ill-bred servant" | ||
| El cuerpazo del delito | "The fit body of the crime" | ||
| Las fieras | "The beasts" | ||
| 24 horas de placer | "24 hours of pleasure" | Mex.-Ecuad. co-prod. | |
| El aviso inoportuno | "The unwanted help wanted ad | cameo | |
| 1969 | Departamento de soltero | "Bachelor's apartment" | |
| Espérame en Siberia, vida mía | "Wait for me in Siberia, my darling" | ||
| Fray Don Juan | "Friar Don Juan" | ||
| Modisto de señoras | "Ladies' fashion designer" | ||
| Tápame contigo | "Cover up with me" | ||
| 1970 | El dinero tiene miedo | "The money is afraid" | Spanish film |
| 1971 | La otra mujer | "The other woman" | |
| El sinvergüenza | "The shameless one" | ||
| Todos los pecados del mundo | "All the sins of the world" | Mex.-Arg. co-prod. | |
| Las tres perfectas casadas | "The three perfect marriages" | Mex.-Span. co-prod. | |
| Vidita negra | "Black darling" | ||
| Hay ángeles sin alas | "There are angels without wings" | cameo | |
| 1972 | Con amor de muerte | "With love of death" | cameo |
| 1977 | No tiene la culpa el indio | "The Indian is not to blame" | |
| 1980 | El sátiro | "The satyr" | |
| 1985 | Mi fantasma y yo | "My ghost and me" |
Books about Mauricio Garcés
- Pérez Medina, Edmundo (2000). "Galanes y villanos del cine nacional". In Cine Confidencial. Mexico: Mina Editores.
- Pérez Medina, Edmundo (1999). "Estrellas inolvidables del cine mexicano". In Cine Confidencial. Mexico: Mina Editores.
- Varios (1998). "Mauricio Garcés, el eterno seductor". In Somos. Mexico: Editorial Televisa, S. A. de C. V.