A Certain Young Man

Not all Hollywood fairy tales end happily ever after.

For Ramon Novarro it culminated in his brutal murder in 1968.

The film star got his celluloid break in 1917 as an 18-year-old with stars in his eyes when he impressed influential actress Alice Terry with whom he starred in a number of silent films.

With matinee idol looks - of a very Germanic art-deco type - Novarro quickly found himself being compared the Rudolph Valentino and that repuation was further enhanced by working along side a slew of outstanding leading ladies including Myrna Loy, Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford.

As an accomplished singer, Novarro made the transition to talkies just fine, although his career was somewhat limited to costume dramas but no complaints though when they include the highly acclaimed original Ben Hur and The Student Prince.

He continued acting right up until the time of his death, moving from film to television in the 1950s where he was a popular choice in series including Dr Kildare and various Disney teleplays.

Sadly, if Novarro had romanced the ladies in real life, he may have lived to a ripe old age, rather than sadistically beaten to death by a couple of rent boys.