Chris-Pin Martin (born Ysabel Ponciana Chris-Pin Martin Paiz, November
19, 1893 â€" June 27, 1953) was an American character actor whose
specialty lay in portraying comical Mexicans, particularly sidekicks
in The Cisco Kid film series. He acted in over 100 films between 1925
and 1953, including over 50 westerns.Martin was born in Tucson,
Arizona. His roles were as a rotund, roly-poly bumbling or slow
comedic character who spoke in broken English. His most remembered
western film role was in nine of the Cisco Kid films playing the Kid's
sidekicks Gordito and in the later films Pancho. He also appeared in
the John Ford classic Stagecoach (1939) with John Wayne. He was
credited in his films by other names, including Chrispin Martin, Chris
King Martin, Chris Martin, Cris-Pin Martin, and Ethier Crispin
Martini.Martin was adept in both drama and comedy, in films like the
melodramatic The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as "Poncho" the Mexican who
reluctantly becomes a part of the lynch mob of three hastily accused
killers (Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn, and Francis Ford). It is Martin
who reluctantly becomes Quinn's confessor. His comic sensibilities
were best utilized in light fare, as in A Millionaire for Christy
(1951). In this Fred MacMurray comedy, Martin plays a brief but
memorable role as "Manolo", a Mexican who knows no English, whom
MacMurray enlists to help pull his stranded car out of the beach,
along with Martin's non-English speaking crew. His animated
performance with MacMurray proves Martin to be every bit the
entertaining supporting actor, stealing many of his scenes.Less than
five months before his 60th birthday, Martin died of a heart attack
while addressing a Moose lodge meeting in the Los Angeles suburb of
Montebello. He is buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery on Whittier Blvd,
in East Los Angeles.
19, 1893 â€" June 27, 1953) was an American character actor whose
specialty lay in portraying comical Mexicans, particularly sidekicks
in The Cisco Kid film series. He acted in over 100 films between 1925
and 1953, including over 50 westerns.Martin was born in Tucson,
Arizona. His roles were as a rotund, roly-poly bumbling or slow
comedic character who spoke in broken English. His most remembered
western film role was in nine of the Cisco Kid films playing the Kid's
sidekicks Gordito and in the later films Pancho. He also appeared in
the John Ford classic Stagecoach (1939) with John Wayne. He was
credited in his films by other names, including Chrispin Martin, Chris
King Martin, Chris Martin, Cris-Pin Martin, and Ethier Crispin
Martini.Martin was adept in both drama and comedy, in films like the
melodramatic The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as "Poncho" the Mexican who
reluctantly becomes a part of the lynch mob of three hastily accused
killers (Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn, and Francis Ford). It is Martin
who reluctantly becomes Quinn's confessor. His comic sensibilities
were best utilized in light fare, as in A Millionaire for Christy
(1951). In this Fred MacMurray comedy, Martin plays a brief but
memorable role as "Manolo", a Mexican who knows no English, whom
MacMurray enlists to help pull his stranded car out of the beach,
along with Martin's non-English speaking crew. His animated
performance with MacMurray proves Martin to be every bit the
entertaining supporting actor, stealing many of his scenes.Less than
five months before his 60th birthday, Martin died of a heart attack
while addressing a Moose lodge meeting in the Los Angeles suburb of
Montebello. He is buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery on Whittier Blvd,
in East Los Angeles.
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