A popular actor from the silent film era, Ramon Novarro was murdered in 1968 by two brothers that he'd hired as escorts.
MGMRamon Novarro was MGM’s biggest leading man – and the first Mexican actor to make it big in Hollywood.
On the morning of Oct. 31, 1968, Los Angeles police swarmed the Laurel Canyon home of Ramon Novarro, a leading man of the silent film era. They found his nude body, severely beaten, in his bedroom.
Novarro had been one of the highest-paid MGM stars of the 1920s, but his star had faded by the 1960s. He no longer booked movie roles, though he remained a familiar face on television shows like Bonanza.
That morning, police found a scene which hinted at violence and chaos. They navigated their way around broken vases and overturned furniture, and found bloody clothing hidden under an ivy bed.
But with no murder weapon, no signs of forced entry, and no suspects, detectives puzzled over the crime.
“Mr. Novarro, who never married, lived alone but was known to entertain often,” The New York Times wrote in its obituary of the movie star.
That line hinted at the dark truth behind Ramon Novarro’s murder.
Inside The Rise Of The Silent Film Star
Born in Durango, Mexico on Feb. 6, 1899, Ramón Gil Samaniego moved to Los Angeles with his family after the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s. Raised Catholic, he spent his early adulthood working odd jobs including as a theater usher and a piano teacher. But Hollywood soon beckoned.
Before long, Novarro began to act in the movies. After starring in Scaramouche in 1923, Novarro’s big break came in 1925, when he starred as the titular character in Ben-Hur. With a $3.9 million shooting budget, it was the most expensive silent movie ever made (until The Artist in 2011).
The movie made Novarro a star. And when Italian actor Rudolph Valentino, Hollywood’s most famous “Latin Lover,” died in 1926, Novarro filled the gap. He became an in-demand movie star and a sex symbol, who appeared on screen alongside leading ladies like Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford.
Wikimedia CommonsMGM positioned Ramon Novarro as the “Latin Lover” who romanced leading ladies.
MGM recognized Novarro as a star player. They boosted his height from five foot, six inches to five foot, ten inches in promotional materials and declared Novarro the new “Latin Lover” of the silver screen. Before long, Novarro was earning $10,000 a week.
He bought a palatial home designed by the son of Frank Lloyd Wright, where Novarro frequently hosted glamorous Hollywood parties. But the industry was changing. And Novarro’s fortunes would soon change as well.
Ramon Novarro’s Struggles In Hollywood
“I am selling personality,” Ramon Novarro declared in 1932. “When I have lost my vogue I have lost everything. Before it is too late I want to stop.”
But even as he spoke, it was already too late. By the 1930s, “talkie” films had eclipsed the silent films that had made Novarro famous. Though he was charming and handsome, he spoke with a Mexican accent and, as the Golden Globes wrote, this was an “obstacle to his career’s longevity.”
MGMStarring opposite Joan Crawford, Ramon Novarro received lead billing in Across to Singapore.
Though Novarro had once been MGM’s second-highest paid actor (second only to Joan Crawford), the studio did not renew his contract in 1935. Novarro sold his home, and downsized to a smaller house in Laurel Canyon.
Novarro spent the rest of the 1930s and 1940s acting in supporting roles in films or appearing on television, but his days of stardom were over. Meanwhile, he also faced several challenges in his personal life.
One was his alcoholism, which would result in multiple DUIs over the next several decades and the loss of his driver’s license. The other was his homosexuality, which Novarro, a Catholic, had grappled with all his life. Though he had relationships with men, he kept them secret. And he ultimately found it easier to invite escorts to his home.
Wikimedia CommonsA Hollywood sex symbol, Ramon Novarro grappled with his homosexuality all his life.
Sadly, this helped lead to Ramon Novarro’s murder in 1968.
The Brutal Murder Of Ramon Novarro
On Oct. 30, 1968, 69-year-old Ramon Novarro welcomed two brothers to his home: 22-year-old Paul Ferguson and 17-year-old Tom Ferguson. According to the Los Angeles Times, the brothers had “hustled” before.
Public DomainRamon Novarro on a 1965 episode of Bonanza.
At first, the evening passed without incident. Novarro played the piano, and read one of the brothers’ palms. The three men drank together, and there may have been a sexual encounter. But then Paul, believing that Novarro stashed money at his home, demanded $5,000 in cash.
Novarro told the truth — there was no money. But the Ferguson brothers didn’t believe him. They turned on him, beating him with a cane, binding him with cords, and scratching his face. They left his brutalized body on his bed, where Novarro died by choking on his own blood, before trashing the house.
According to Out Magazine, Novarro’s long-time secretary found his body the next morning and called the police.
The Trial Of Paul And Tom Ferguson
The coroner’s report laid out the brutality of Ramon Novarro’s murder: “Blood noted (smeared) on floor in bedroom, on ceiling, and tooth noted lying on floor at foot of bed. Decedent’s hands were tied behind his back with brown electric cord, (a white condom was found in decedent’s right hand) and electric cord extended down and was tied around decedent’s ankles. Lacerations and [bruising] were noted on face and head.”
The killers had left a message, too. In a seeming attempt to deflect blame, they wrote on the mirror: “Us girls are better than fagits” and scrawled the name “Larry” on Novarro’s bedsheets.
Los Angeles Public LibraryThe brutality of Ramon Novarro’s death shocked the public.
But it didn’t take long for investigators to track down the Ferguson brothers. Tom had called a girlfriend that night and, using Novarro’s phone records, police were able to get in touch. She identified Tom Ferguson and claimed that he told her that he and his brother were at a “movie star’s home” where they knew “there was $5,000 behind one of the pictures.”
The brothers were quickly arrested.
During the trial, they blamed each other for Novarro’s death, and Novarro’s homosexuality was widely criticized.
“Back in the days of Valentino, this man who set female hearts aflutter, was nothing but a queer,” Tom’s attorney declared. “There’s no way of calculating how many felonies this man committed over the years, for all of his piety.”
Los Angeles Public LibraryPaul Ferguson served less than 10 years of his life sentence for killing Ramon Novarro.
While they received life sentences for the murder, the Ferguson brothers both served less than 10 years before they were paroled, possibly because of homophobic attitudes of the era. However, they ultimately spent the rest of their lives in prison after multiple subsequent convictions, including for rape.
The Legacy of Ramon Novarro Today
The trial of the Ferguson brothers made them brief celebrities — Truman Capote later interviewed Paul — but Ramon Novarro’s reputation was tarnished. He had been known as a sex symbol, a leading man of the silent film era. But after his murder, his sexuality was exposed, and the lurid details of his final night made public.
Metro Pictures CorporationToday Ramon Novarro is remembered as a pioneering actor.
But, decades after his murder, Ramon Novarro is seen differently. Today, he’s seen as a trailblazer, the first Mexican movie star to make it big in Hollywood. And he’s seen as a tragedy — Novarro was forced to hide a central part of his identity, which sadly led to the circumstances of his death.
After reading about the life and death of Ramon Novarro, go inside the rise and fall of ‘It Girl’ Clara Bow. Then, learn about the mysterious death of actress Virginia Rappe.
