Junco, Tito

(Augusto Junco Tassinari)

(1915-1983)

   Veracruz-born actor, older brother of Víctor Junco, who appeared in many Mexican films from the 1930s into the 1980s. Tito Junco and his brother left Veracruz and came to Mexico City in the 1930s, where they worked as extras in movies for several years before progressing to more substantial parts. In the 1940s and 1950s, Tito specialized in villainous roles, but in later years he did play more sympathetic parts. In the 1970s, the Junco brothers were among those actors who broke away from ANDA, the national actors' union, to form their own Sindicato de Actores Independientes; however, this attempt failed and Tito Junco had to rejoin ANDA in order to work in films. He died in December 1983 of a heart attack. Junco received an Ariel nomination as Best Co-Starring Actor for Que Dios me perdone ('47). Ironically, one of his best roles was in La sombra del caudillo ('60), a film which was suppressed by the Mexican government and never released commercially during the actor's lifetime.