Montez, Mario, 1935-2013

Mario Montez (1935-2013) was born Rene Rivera in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and moved to New York City when he was eight. An actor and drag performer who was a regular with the Ridiculous troupe, Montez took his stage name from 1940s film actress Maria Montez. He met underground filmmaker Jack Smith in the early 1960s and first appeared in his 1963 Flaming Creatures. He also appeared in Smith’s Normal Love (1963-1965), The Borrowed Tambourine (1967), Reefers of Technicolor Island/Jungle Island (1967), and No President (1967-1970s). Montez performed in thirteen of Andy Warhol’s films from 1964 to 1966, including Batman Dracula (1964, unfinished), Mario Montez Dances (1964), Harlot (1964), Camp (1965), More Milk, Yvette (1965), and The Chelsea Girls (1966), among numerous others. Montez also acted in films by Piero Heliczer, Bill Vehr, Jose Rodriguez-Soltero, Frank Simon, Avery Willard (including The Gipsy’s Ball), Roberts Blossom, Alfredo Leonardi, Mary Jordan, and others. In January 1977, Montez moved to Florida and quit performing. He appeared in a 2006 documentary about Jack Smith. In 2010, he was honored by Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, and in February 2012 was given the Special Teddy Award 2012 at the Berlinale. Montez died from a stroke in 2013.