Pilar Del Rey, the character actress perhaps best remembered for her turn in Giant as the Mexican woman who has a seriously ill newborn who grows up to be the doomed World War II soldier played by Sal Mineo, has died. She was 95.
Del Rey died Sunday in Los Angeles of natural causes, her family announced.
Over four decades, Del Rey appeared in such other films as The Ring (1952), starring Rita Moreno; And Now Miguel (1953), starring Michael Ansara and Pat Cardi; The Siege at Red River (1954), starring Van Johnson and Joanne Dru; and Black Horse Canyon (1954), starring Mari Blanchard and Race Gentry.
In George Stevens’ epic Giant (1956), Del Rey portrays Mrs. Obregón, whose baby, Angel, is cared for thanks to Elizabeth Taylor’s compassionate Leslie Benedict. Leslie’s husband, Bick (Rock Hudson), doesn’t think the family doctor should tend to “those people.” (Mrs. Obregón’s husband, played by Victor Millan, is the Benedicts’ driver.)
Born on May 26, 1929, in Fort Worth, Texas, Del Rey was 11 when she and her parents left for Hollywood, where she would attend Hollywood High School.
She made her onscreen debut in Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949) and played Latino characters in such films as The Kid From Texas (1950) and The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952) and on episodes of The Adventures of Kit Carson and Have Gun — Will Travel.
Her TV credits also included stops on Hopalong Cassidy, Sea Hunt, Fireside Theater, Daniel Boone, Family Affair, My Three Sons, The Wild Wild West, Police Story, Mannix, Barnaby Jones, Hart to Hart, Simon & Simon and many other shows.
Her final onscreen appearance came in The Forbidden Dance (1990).
Del Rey, who joined SAG in 1949 and AFTRA in 1955, was honored in 1995 at the inaugural AFTRA/SAG Latino/Hispanic Heritage Celebration, where actor Ricardo Montalbán recognized her contributions to the entertainment industry.
Survivors include three nephews that she raised as her children. Said nephew David Bouzas: “Pilar will forever be remembered for her generosity and love. She truly was our Auntie Mame.”
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