Luis Alberni: Movies & Box Office

Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish‑born American character actor whose career spanned the silent era to the golden age of Hollywood. Born in Barcelona, he spent four years in Marseille performing in stock theater before returning to Barcelona, where he earned a BA and studied law. His theatrical talents caught the attention of American humorist Wilson Mizner and playwright Paul Armstrong, who invited him to the United States; he arrived in New York in April 1912 aboard the S/S Nieuw Amsterdam. In New York Alberni quickly transitioned to both stage and screen, making his film debut in the 1915 silent drama Children of the Ghetto. Over the next two decades he appeared in more than a dozen Broadway productions, including the original 1924‑1925 run of What Price Glory? and Dreams for Sale. With the advent of sound cinema, Alberni became a reliable supporting player, memorable for roles such as Jacopo in The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), the flamboyant Mr. Louis Louis in Easy Living (1937), and the mayor in A Bell for Adano (1945). He continued to work steadily through the 1940s, appearing in classics like The Lady Eve (1941) and The Ten Commandments (1956), his final screen credit. Personal life was marked by two marriages: first to Charlotte Hall Alberni in 1919, a union that produced three children before ending in divorce in 1938, and later to Wanda Mary Wilson in 1940. Alberni spent his final years at the Motion Picture Actors' Home in Woodland Hills, California, passing away on December 23, 1962; he is interred in an unmarked grave at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood.