{"history":[],"article":{"id":"8631952b-eff1-4d53-9e09-d005d6ec3691","title":"Raquel Torres","slug":"raquel-torres","content":":::summary\n![Torres in 1930](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Raquel///Torres///v.///1930///still.jpg)\n**Name:** Raquel Torres \n**Birth Date:** November 11, 1908 \n**Birth Place:** [Hermosillo, Mexico](https://bliptext.com/articles/hermosillo-mexico) \n**Death Date:** August 10, 1987 \n**Death Place:** [Malibu, California](https://bliptext.com/articles/malibu-california), U.S \n**Occupation:** Actress \n**Years Active:** 1928–1936 \n**Spouse:** Stephen Ames (m. 1935-1955) [Jon Hall](https://bliptext.com/articles/jon-hall-actor) (m. 1959; div. 19??) (m. 19??; div. 19??) \n:::\n\n# \n**Raquel Torres** (born either **Paula Marie Osterman** or **Wilhelmina von Osterman**; November 11, 1908 – August 10, 1987) was a Mexican-born American film actress.\nHer sister was actress [Renee Torres](https://bliptext.com/articles/renee-torres).\n\n# Early life\nTorres was born in [Hermosillo](https://bliptext.com/articles/hermosillo) to a German emigrant father and a Mexican mother.\nHer mother died while Raquel was very young and the family moved to the United States, where she spent most of her time.\nHer name change, including adoption of her mother's maiden surname, as well as speaking with a fake accent, was done to capitalize on, and conform to, early [Hollywood](https://bliptext.com/articles/cinema-of-the-united-states)'s idea of 'Latin-ness'.\n\n# Career\nTorres played a Polynesian beauty in [White Shadows in the South Seas](https://bliptext.com/articles/white-shadows-in-the-south-seas) (1928), a silent film shot in [Tahiti](https://bliptext.com/articles/tahiti) which was [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](https://bliptext.com/articles/metro-goldwyn-mayer)'s first feature fully synchronized with music and effects.\nShe gained the role after 300 applicants were rejected.\nShe also became the first person to have her voice recorded as part of \"a new system in the selection of motion picture talent\".\nThe next year she was third-billed behind [Lili Damita](https://bliptext.com/articles/lili-damita) and [Ernest Torrence](https://bliptext.com/articles/ernest-torrence) in [The Bridge of San Luis Rey](https://bliptext.com/articles/the-bridge-of-san-luis-rey-1929-film) (1929), the first film version of the classic [Thornton Wilder](https://bliptext.com/articles/thornton-wilder) novel, which was a part-talkie.\nThis Oscar winner (for Art Direction) was an early disaster movie that bonded a group of strangers who see their lives flash before their eyes while trapped on a collapsing bridge.\nTorres' other 1929 film was The Desert Rider (1929), a standard western in which she provided spicy diversion opposite cowboy star [Tim McCoy](https://bliptext.com/articles/tim-mccoy).\nTorres continued the tropical island pace with [The Sea Bat](https://bliptext.com/articles/the-sea-bat) (1930) and [Aloha](https://bliptext.com/articles/aloha-1931-film) (1931) playing various island girls and biracial beauty types.\nAlso in 1931, she had a vaudeville act in New York.\nOn Broadway, she played Teresa in Adam Had Two Sons (1932).\nIn her last year of filming, she played a sexy foil to the raucous comedy teams of [Bert Wheeler](https://bliptext.com/articles/bert-wheeler) and [Robert Woolsey](https://bliptext.com/articles/robert-woolsey) in [So This Is Africa](https://bliptext.com/articles/so-this-is-africa) (1933) and the [Marx Brothers](https://bliptext.com/articles/marx-brothers) in [Duck Soup](https://bliptext.com/articles/duck-soup-1933-film) (1933).\nIt was Torres to whom Groucho delivered his classic line: \"I could dance with you until the cows came home. On second thought, I'd rather dance with the cows until you came home.\"\nTorres abruptly retired following her marriage to businessman Stephen Ames in 1935.\nHer husband later produced postwar \"B\" films but she never returned to the film industry even with her husband's \"in\" connection.\n# [Charles Bickford and Torres in The Sea Bat (1930) | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Charles///Bickford-Raquel///Torres///in///the///Sea///Bat.jpg]\n\n# Romance and marriages\nIn 1934, Torres met the New York stockbroker Stephen Ames at a Hollywood party.\nAt the time Ames was still married to film actress [Adrienne Ames](https://bliptext.com/articles/adrienne-ames) and Torres was escorted to the party by film agent [Charles K. Feldman](https://bliptext.com/articles/charles-k-feldman).\nTorres was suffering from a cold and found a quiet corner for solitude.\nAmes came over and asked her \"Why so quiet?\"\nShe told him about \"the terrible cold in my head\".\nAmes described some of his favorite remedies and the actress appreciated how considerate Ames was.\nA year later they met again in New York.\nAmes was by now divorced and Torres had not gone through with an anticipated wedding.\nThey met a number of times in New York and Hollywood before Stephen asked her to marry him at the Colony Club while they were dancing.\nAfter deliberating for the night Torres decided to marry him when he called her the following day.\nAmes presented her with a gift, a [Rolls-Royce](https://bliptext.com/articles/rolls-royce-motors), and two weeks later they were married.\nFollowing their wedding, they spent several months in New York and Florida prior to purchasing an option on two and a half acres of land in the exclusive [Los Angeles](https://bliptext.com/articles/los-angeles) enclave of [Bel Air](https://bliptext.com/articles/bel-air-los-angeles) where they wanted to build a home.\nAmes died in 1955.\nIn 1959, Torres married actor [Jon Hall](https://bliptext.com/articles/jon-hall-actor), a hero of 1930s and 1940s South Sea epics.\nThey divorced several years later.\n# [Raquel Torres in 1930. | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Raquel///Torres///Stars///of///the///Photoplay.jpg]\n\n# Fire damage\nIn October 1985, a fire in [Malibu, California](https://bliptext.com/articles/malibu-california) damaged several homes in the Las Flores Canyon area.\nEmbers carried by wind across the wide [Pacific Coast Highway](https://bliptext.com/articles/pacific-coast-highway-us) ignited the roof of Raquel Torres' home.\nHer single story house was located at 22350 Pacific Coast Highway.\nThe dwelling was 80% destroyed, but the actress escaped unharmed, escorted by firefighters to safety.\n\n# Death\nOn August 10, 1987, Torres died from a heart attack in [Malibu, California](https://bliptext.com/articles/malibu-california).\nShe was 78 years old.\n\n# Filmography\n\n# General\n

[Lima, Ohio](https://bliptext.com/articles/lima-ohio) News, \"The Sea Bat is Ohio Feature\", Monday, July 14, 1930, Page 9.

[Los Angeles Times](https://bliptext.com/articles/los-angeles-times), \"Miss Torres and Spouse Plan Stay\", February 19, 1935, Page A2.

Los Angeles Times, by Joan Harvey \"Hollywood Beauty Gossip\", March 27, 1935, Page A6.

Los Angeles Times, by Jerry Belcher, \"Actor Jon Hall Commits Suicide\", December 13, 1979, Page A1.

Los Angeles Times, by Jack Jones, \"Malibu Fire Is History as Crews Win the Edge\", October 17, 1985, Page OC1.\n

[New York Times](https://bliptext.com/articles/new-york-times), \"Raquel Torres\", August 13, 1987, Page B8.

[Syracuse, New York](https://bliptext.com/articles/syracuse-new-york) Herald-Journal, \"Star in early movies, Raquel Torres dies at 78\", Wednesday, August 12, 1987, Section B Page 8C.\n\n## Inline","current_revision":null,"created_by":"kACnuQmH5k9Nr5VNVEpVeg7XpvUmMctD","created_at":"2025-01-26T07:51:57.208Z","updated_at":"2025-01-26T07:51:57.208Z","search_vector":"'raquel':1 'torr':2","search_content":" \n \n**Name:** Raquel Torres \n**Birth Date:** November 11, 1908 \n**Birth Place:** [Hermosillo, Mexico](https://bliptext.com/articles/hermosillo-mexico) \n**Death Date:** August 10, 1987 \n**Death Place:** [Malibu, California](https://bliptext.com/articles/malibu-california), U.S \n**Occupation:** Actress \n**Years Active:** 1928–1936 \n**Spouse:** Stephen Ames (m. 1935-1955) [Jon Hall](https://bliptext.com/articles/jon-hall-actor) (m. 1959; div. 19??) (m. 19??; div. 19??) \n \n\n# \n**Raquel Torres** (born either **Paula Marie Osterman** or **Wilhelmina von Osterman**; November 11, 1908 – August 10, 1987) was a Mexican-born American film actress.\nHer sister was actress [Renee Torres](https://bliptext.com/articles/renee-torres).\n\n# Early life\nTorres was born in [Hermosillo](https://bliptext.com/articles/hermosillo) to a German emigrant father and a Mexican mother.\nHer mother died while Raquel was very young and the family moved to the United States, where she spent most of her time.\nHer name change, including adoption of her mother's maiden surname, as well as speaking with a fake accent, was done to capitalize on, and conform to, early [Hollywood](https://bliptext.com/articles/cinema-of-the-united-states)'s idea of 'Latin-ness'.\n\n# Career\nTorres played a Polynesian beauty in [White Shadows in the South Seas](https://bliptext.com/articles/white-shadows-in-the-south-seas) (1928), a silent film shot in [Tahiti](https://bliptext.com/articles/tahiti) which was [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](https://bliptext.com/articles/metro-goldwyn-mayer)'s first feature fully synchronized with music and effects.\nShe gained the role after 300 applicants were rejected.\nShe also became the first person to have her voice recorded as part of \"a new system in the selection of motion picture talent\".\nThe next year she was third-billed behind [Lili Damita](https://bliptext.com/articles/lili-damita) and [Ernest Torrence](https://bliptext.com/articles/ernest-torrence) in [The Bridge of San Luis Rey](https://bliptext.com/articles/the-bridge-of-san-luis-rey-1929-film) (1929), the first film version of the classic [Thornton Wilder](https://bliptext.com/articles/thornton-wilder) novel, which was a part-talkie.\nThis Oscar winner (for Art Direction) was an early disaster movie that bonded a group of strangers who see their lives flash before their eyes while trapped on a collapsing bridge.\nTorres' other 1929 film was The Desert Rider (1929), a standard western in which she provided spicy diversion opposite cowboy star [Tim McCoy](https://bliptext.com/articles/tim-mccoy).\nTorres continued the tropical island pace with [The Sea Bat](https://bliptext.com/articles/the-sea-bat) (1930) and [Aloha](https://bliptext.com/articles/aloha-1931-film) (1931) playing various island girls and biracial beauty types.\nAlso in 1931, she had a vaudeville act in New York.\nOn Broadway, she played Teresa in Adam Had Two Sons (1932).\nIn her last year of filming, she played a sexy foil to the raucous comedy teams of [Bert Wheeler](https://bliptext.com/articles/bert-wheeler) and [Robert Woolsey](https://bliptext.com/articles/robert-woolsey) in [So This Is Africa](https://bliptext.com/articles/so-this-is-africa) (1933) and the [Marx Brothers](https://bliptext.com/articles/marx-brothers) in [Duck Soup](https://bliptext.com/articles/duck-soup-1933-film) (1933).\nIt was Torres to whom Groucho delivered his classic line: \"I could dance with you until the cows came home. On second thought, I'd rather dance with the cows until you came home.\"\nTorres abruptly retired following her marriage to businessman Stephen Ames in 1935.\nHer husband later produced postwar \"B\" films but she never returned to the film industry even with her husband's \"in\" connection.\n# [Charles Bickford and Torres in The Sea Bat (1930) | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Charles///Bickford-Raquel///Torres///in///the///Sea///Bat.jpg]\n\n# Romance and marriages\nIn 1934, Torres met the New York stockbroker Stephen Ames at a Hollywood party.\nAt the time Ames was still married to film actress [Adrienne Ames](https://bliptext.com/articles/adrienne-ames) and Torres was escorted to the party by film agent [Charles K. Feldman](https://bliptext.com/articles/charles-k-feldman).\nTorres was suffering from a cold and found a quiet corner for solitude.\nAmes came over and asked her \"Why so quiet?\"\nShe told him about \"the terrible cold in my head\".\nAmes described some of his favorite remedies and the actress appreciated how considerate Ames was.\nA year later they met again in New York.\nAmes was by now divorced and Torres had not gone through with an anticipated wedding.\nThey met a number of times in New York and Hollywood before Stephen asked her to marry him at the Colony Club while they were dancing.\nAfter deliberating for the night Torres decided to marry him when he called her the following day.\nAmes presented her with a gift, a [Rolls-Royce](https://bliptext.com/articles/rolls-royce-motors), and two weeks later they were married.\nFollowing their wedding, they spent several months in New York and Florida prior to purchasing an option on two and a half acres of land in the exclusive [Los Angeles](https://bliptext.com/articles/los-angeles) enclave of [Bel Air](https://bliptext.com/articles/bel-air-los-angeles) where they wanted to build a home.\nAmes died in 1955.\nIn 1959, Torres married actor [Jon Hall](https://bliptext.com/articles/jon-hall-actor), a hero of 1930s and 1940s South Sea epics.\nThey divorced several years later.\n# [Raquel Torres in 1930. | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Raquel///Torres///Stars///of///the///Photoplay.jpg]\n\n# Fire damage\nIn October 1985, a fire in [Malibu, California](https://bliptext.com/articles/malibu-california) damaged several homes in the Las Flores Canyon area.\nEmbers carried by wind across the wide [Pacific Coast Highway](https://bliptext.com/articles/pacific-coast-highway-us) ignited the roof of Raquel Torres' home.\nHer single story house was located at 22350 Pacific Coast Highway.\nThe dwelling was 80% destroyed, but the actress escaped unharmed, escorted by firefighters to safety.\n\n# Death\nOn August 10, 1987, Torres died from a heart attack in [Malibu, California](https://bliptext.com/articles/malibu-california).\nShe was 78 years old.\n\n# Filmography\n\n# General\n [Lima, Ohio](https://bliptext.com/articles/lima-ohio) News, \"The Sea Bat is Ohio Feature\", Monday, July 14, 1930, Page 9. \n [Los Angeles Times](https://bliptext.com/articles/los-angeles-times), \"Miss Torres and Spouse Plan Stay\", February 19, 1935, Page A2. \n Los Angeles Times, by Joan Harvey \"Hollywood Beauty Gossip\", March 27, 1935, Page A6. \n Los Angeles Times, by Jerry Belcher, \"Actor Jon Hall Commits Suicide\", December 13, 1979, Page A1. \n Los Angeles Times, by Jack Jones, \"Malibu Fire Is History as Crews Win the Edge\", October 17, 1985, Page OC1.\n [New York Times](https://bliptext.com/articles/new-york-times), \"Raquel Torres\", August 13, 1987, Page B8. \n [Syracuse, New York](https://bliptext.com/articles/syracuse-new-york) Herald-Journal, \"Star in early movies, Raquel Torres dies at 78\", Wednesday, August 12, 1987, Section B Page 8C. \n\n## Inline","revisionCount":0},"hasMore":false,"nextCursor":null}