Allan Ernest Garcia (11 March 1887 – 4 September 1938) was an American actor and casting director, best known for his long association with

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

Life and career

Al Ernest Garcia appeared in over 120 films between 1911 and 1938, mostly in supporting roles. He frequently played in silent film westerns with stars including Leo Carrillo and Warner Baxter. Garcia also directed a short film named ''The Purple Scar'' in 1917, but it stayed his only work as a director. Born in California to Mexican parents, Garcia played in some Mexican films and also portrayed Mexicans in American films. With the advent of sound film, his roles were somewhat smaller, but he worked as an actor until his death. Garcia is best remembered for his work with Charlie Chaplin. He acted with Chaplin in six films between 1921 and 1936. Chaplin cast him mostly in clinical or villainous supporting roles. Garcia portrayed the brutal circus director in '' The Circus'' (1928), the snobbish butler of the millionaire in ''

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American synchronized sound film, sound romance film, romantic comedy drama, comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a ...

'' (1931), and the factory owner in '' Modern Times'' (1936). He was also a

casting director In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra to land the role of a character in a script, screenp ...

for Chaplin on ''The Circus'', ''City Lights'', and ''Modern Times''. He worked for better pay and improved working conditions for supporting actors and bit players in films, and was co-founder of the ''Motion Picture Extras and Supporting Players Association'', founded in 1933."Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins", Anthony Slide
/ref> On 4 September 1938, Garcia died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, aged 51.

Filmography

1910s

* ''The Code of Honor'' (1911, Short) * ''

The Still Alarm ''The Still Alarm'' is a melodramatic play by Joseph Arthur (playwright), Joseph Arthur and Andrew Carpenter Wheeler, A.C. Wheeler that debuted in New York in 1887 and enjoyed great success, and was adapted to silent films in 1911, 1918, and 19 ...

'' (1911, Short) .... William Manley (as Frank Garcia) * ''The Herders'' (1911, Short) .... Pedro * ''Told in the Sierras'' (1911, Short) .... John Strong - the Prospector (as Albert Garcia) * ''Slick's Romance'' (1911, Short) .... Yuba Frank (as Al E. Garcia) * ''Their Only Son'' (1911, Short) .... Guy Medford (as Albert Garcia) * ''The Regeneration of Apache Kid'' (1911, Short) .... The Apache Kid (as Albert Garcia) * ''How Algy Captured a Wild Man'' (1911, Short) .... Teddy Windleigh (as Albert Garcia) * ''Shipwrecked'' (1911, Short) .... Pierre Binbeau (as Albert E. Garcia) * ''Old Billy'' (1911, Short) .... Fire Commissioner Hewitt * ''An Evil Power'' (1911, Short) .... Antonio Giuseppe (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Cowboy's Adopted Child'' (1912, Short) .... Dan Mason (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Secret Wedding'' (1912, Short) .... Leon Braun (as Al E. Garcia) * ''Merely a Millionaire'' (1912, Short) .... Harry Nichols * ''The Bandit's Mask'' (1912, Short) .... Pedro Ramirez (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Test'' (1912, Short) .... Dalton (as Al E. Garcia) * ''Disillusioned'' (1912, Short) .... Henry George (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Danites'' (1912, Short) .... Carter - a Danite (as Al E. Garcia) * ''Bounder'' (1912, Short) .... Pete Lopez (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The 'Epidemic' in Paradise Gulch'' (1912, Short) .... Jack Knight * ''The Ones Who Suffer'' (1912, Short) .... The Prison Warden (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The End of the Romance'' (1912, Short) .... Jack Lee * ''The Hand of Fate'' (1912, Short) ... Fritz (as Al E. Garcia) * ''A Humble Hero'' (1912, Short) .... 2nd Claim Jumper (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Lost Hat'' (1912, Short) .... The Hotel Clerk (as Al E. Garcia) * ''A Reconstructed Rebel'' (1912, Short) .... Dick Winston * ''The Vow of Ysobel'' (1912, Short) .... Jose * ''A Messenger to Kearney'' (1912, Short) .... Palo Vasquez (as A.E. Garcia) * ''The Little Indian Martyr'' (1912, Short) .... Chiquito's Father * ''The Indelible Stain'' (1912, Short) .... Juan (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Substitute Model'' (1912) .... (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Pirate's Daughter'' (1912, Short) .... Vargas - the First Mate * ''The Great Drought'' (1912, Short) .... Dominguez * '' An Assisted Elopement'' (1912, Short) .... Brown - Tom's Chum (as Al E. Garcia) * '' Monte Cristo'' (1912, Short) .... Fernand (as Al E. Garcia) * ''Her Educator'' (1912, Short) .... Jim O'Keefe (as Al E. Garcia) * ''Saved by Fire'' (1912, Short) .... J. Harden Stone * ''The Girl of the Mountains'' (1912, Short) .... Jim - a Mountain Man (as Al E. Garcia) * ''Our Lady of the Pearls'' (1912, Short) .... Vincente (as Al E. Garcia) * ''A Black Hand Elopement'' (1913, Short) * ''The Artist and the Brute'' (1913, Short) .... Hortez - the Animal Trainer (as Al E. Garcia) * ''Yankee Doodle Dixie'' (1913, Short) .... Parson Sneed (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Spanish Parrot Girl'' (1913) .... Jose Raneros * ''Margarita and the Mission Funds'' (1913, Short) .... Ramon, an Outlaw * ''With Love's Eyes'' (1913, Short) .... Dunwood, An Artist * ''The Tie of the Blood'' (1913, Short) .... Mathews, A Half-Breed * ''The Burglar Who Robbed Death'' (1913, Short) .... Mr. Harrison * ''Lieutenant Jones'' (1913, Short) .... Capt. Stanleigh * ''The Stolen Melody'' (1913, Short) .... Richard Davidge (as A.E. Garcia) * ''Woman: Past and Present'' (1913, Short) .... Father Time * ''The Fighting Lieutenant'' (1913, Short) .... Don Arguello * ''A Western Romance'' (1913, Short) .... Victor Kellogg * ''The Reformation of Dad'' (1913, Short) .... Al B. Stone - the Circus Manager (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Mansion of Misery'' (1913, Short) .... Prince Lorenzo * ''In the Midst of the Jungle'' (1913, Short) .... (as Al E. Garcia) * ''An Actor's Romance'' (1913, Short) .... Rant - the Hungry Actor * ''The Big Horn Massacre'' (1913, Short) .... Lt. Blake Stevens (as Ernest Garcia) * '' The Valley of the Moon'' (1914) .... Bart (as Ernest Garcia) * ''Kate Waters of the Secret Service'' (1914, Short) .... Bronson (as Al E. Garcia) * '' Rose of the Rancho'' (1914) .... Henchman (uncredited) * ''

Young Romance ''Young Romance'' is a romantic comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for the Crestwood Publications imprint (trade name), imprint Prize Comics in 1947 in comics, 1947. Generally considered the first Romance comics in the United ...

'' (1915) .... Spagnoli (as Al Garcia) * '' After Five'' (1915) .... (as Ernest Garcia) * '' The Country Boy'' (1915) .... Jimmy Michaelson * '' The Unafraid'' (1915, Short) .... Joseph * ''Under Two Flags'' (1915, Short) .... Rockingham (as Al E. Garcia) * ''Gangsters of the Hills'' (1915, Short) .... Deering - of the Secret Service (as Al E. Garcia) * ''Her Atonement'' (1915) .... John De Forrest * ''The Law at Silver Camp'' (1915, Short) .... Paul Long - a Railway Surveyor * ''Clouds in Sunshine Valley'' (1916, Short) .... Jim Carr (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Greater Power'' (1916, Short) .... Al Gordon (as Al E. Garcia) * ''The Single Code'' (1917) .... Rodman Wray (as Ernesto Garcia) * ''The Purple Scar'' (1917, Short) .... (as Al E. Garcia) * '' Sunlight's Last Raid'' (1917) .... Pedro (as A. Garcia) * ''Restitution'' (1918) .... Lucifer and Satan (as Alfred Garcia) * '' Baree, Son of Kazan'' (1918) .... 'Bush' McTaggart (as Al Garcia) * ''A Gentleman's Agreement'' (1918) .... Manager of Mine (as Al Garcia) * ''The Lamb and the Lion'' (1919) .... Red Baxter (as Al Garcia) * '' Six Feet Four'' (1919) .... Ben Broderick * '' The Trail of the Octopus'' (1919) .... Wang (as Earnest Garcia) * ''The Counterfeit Trail'' (1919, Short) .... Two Spot Joe (as Al E. Garcia)

1920s

* '' The Golden Trail'' (1920) .... Jean the Half-Breed (as Al Garcia) * ''Skyfire'' (1920) .... Pierre Piquet (as Al Garcia) * ''

Reputation The reputation or prestige of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity – typically developed as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. ...

'' (1921) .... Leading man (stage sequence) * '' The Idle Class'' (1921, Short) .... Cop in Park / Guest (uncredited) * '' Pay Day'' (1922, Short) .... Drinking Companion and Policeman * '' The Three Buckaroos'' (1922) .... 'Card' Ritchie * ''The Power God'' (1925) .... Weston Dore (as Allan Garcia) * ''

The Gold Rush ''The Gold Rush'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film written, produced, and directed by Charlie Chaplin. The film also stars Chaplin in his The Tramp, Little Tramp persona, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray (actor), Tom Murray, Henry Ber ...

'' (1925) .... Prospector (uncredited) * '' The Circus'' (1928) .... The Circus Proprietor and Ring Master (as Allan Garcia) * '' Morgan's Last Raid'' (1929) .... Morgan

1930s

* ''

'' (1931) .... James, The Eccentric Millionaire's Butler * ''Gran jornada, La'' (1931) .... Flack * ''

The Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in ''Everybody's Maga ...

'' (1931) .... Orderly (uncredited) * '' The Deceiver'' (1931) .... Payne * ''Models and Wives'' (1931, Short) * '' South of Santa Fe'' (1932) .... Captain Felipe Mendezez Gonzales Rodrigues (as Captain Garcia) * '' The Gay Desperado'' (1932) .... Bandit (as Allan Garcia) * ''Marido y mujer'' (1932) .... Dr. Burgess * '' One Way Passage'' (1932) .... Honolulu Cigar Store Proprietor (uncredited) * '' The California Trail'' (1933) .... Sergeant Florez (as Allan Garcia) * '' Under the Tonto Rim'' (1933) .... Mexican Police Chief (as Allan Garcia) * '' Modern Times'' (1936) .... President of the Electro Steel Corp. (as Allan Garcia) * '' The Gay Desperado'' (1936) .... Police Captain * '' The Last Train from Madrid'' (1937) .... Third Hotel Clerk (uncredited) * '' I'll Take Romance'' (1937) .... Allan Garcia (uncredited) * '' Blossoms on Broadway'' (1937) .... Opera Patron (as Allan Garcia) (uncredited) * ''

Blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

'' (1938) .... Minor Role (uncredited) * '' In Old Mexico'' (1938) .... Don Carlos Gonzales (as Al Garcia) (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Al Ernest 1887 births 1938 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male silent film actors Male actors from San Francisco American male actors of Mexican descent