The great thing about old movies and TV shows is you never know when a previously unknown hottie is going to appear in the most innocuous old flick or sitcom. Case in point: Fun in Acapulco, an Elvis Presley travelogue/resort commercial from 1963. I'll watch any old thing with the Beatles or Elvis in it, but when I got midway into this flick I totally lost interest in The King and was instead focused on his Latin rival, El Rey - Alejandro Rey. Rey competes with Elvis for the love of Ursula Andress, who of course chooses Elvis. I on the other hand would have chosen Rey hands down (with Andress for dessert). A quick IMDB search informed me that Rey's his chief claim to fame was as a nightclub owner in The Flying Nun, and that sure seems a waste. This guy was hot! Nice moderate dusting of hair on beautifully sculpted pecs, abs that would do Bruce Lee proud, and a ruggedly handsome face - he looked like the living embodiment of the concept "Latin playboy polo jock".
Born and raised in Argentina, Rey was already well known as an actor in his home country before coming to the US in 1960. He seems to have immediately scored a number of roles on TV and in movies, including a recurring role in Richard Crenna's Slattery's People. He seems to have had steady work throughout his career, even if it meant appearing in such classically awful fare as The Stepmother, about a murderer being cuckolded by his own son. He died young of lung cancer in 1987.
Stills from Miscellaneous Movies and TV Shows
Fun in Acapulco with Elvis and Ursula Andress
(this scene is not in the movie - the fight takes place in a hotel lobby, and Rey and Presley are unfortunately fully clothed)
Slattery's People
Thriller Episode: "La Strega", with Ursula Andress again
With Sally Field in The Flying Nun
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, "The Life Work of Juan Diaz"
Caps from Fun in Acapulco
Caps from The Stepmother
And don't forget how dreamy his accent was!
ReplyDelete