Lupe Vélez on the Radio

During the Golden Age of Hollywood, Lupe Vélez may well have been the most popular Mexican actress to work in the United Sates, with the possible exception of Dolores del Rio. While best known today for the series "Mexican Spitfire" movies, Lupe Vélez made several successful movies prior those films, and she had a successful career on stage as well. American radio was the one medium she did not conquer. She appeared on only a few American radio shows, all of those appearances in the Thirties.

It was in 1932 that Lupe Vélez made her debut on radio, on the radio show The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air. The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air was a short-lived attempt to bring the well-known Ziegfeld Follies to radio. It ran from April 3 to June 26 1932. It should come as no surprise that Lupe Vélez should appear on Ziegfeld Follies of the Air. In 1932 she was appearing as Concita in the production Hot-Cha!, which was produced by Flo Ziegfeld himself. Unfortunately, I could not find out what episodes of  The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air in which Lupe Vélez appeared.

It was on April 14 1935 that Lupe Vélez appeared on the Lux Radio Theatre episode "The Broken Wing." It was an adaptation of the 1932 movie of the same name, in which Lupe Vélez played the lead role of Lolita. Curiously the film was banned in Mexico City by the Federal District government, who claimed that it "...slurred Mexico." Lux Radio Theatre was well-known for adapting movies as radio shows. In fact, the following week there would be an adaptation of the 1933 version of Little Women.

It was on March 14 1937 that Lupe Vélez appeared on the radio show Texaco Town. Texaco Town was a variety show sponsored by Texaco and hosted by Eddie Cantor, for which reason it was also known as The Eddie Cantor Show. Today Texaco Town might be best remembered not only as a vehicle for Eddie Cantor, but also because it featured a young singer named Deanna Durbin.

Lupe Vélez's final appearance on radio was her second appearance on Lux Radio Theatre. On May 24, 1937 she appeared on the radio show's adaptation of the 1936 film Under Two Flags. She played the role of Cigarette, a role originated on screen by Claudette Colbert.

While Lupe Vélez would no longer appear on radio, she continued to be a popular movie star, even as her private life sometimes received more press than her films. It was a mark of her popularity that at her funeral in California more than 4,000 people attended. Thousands also attended her funeral in Mexico. To this day Lupe Vélez remains one most popular Mexican actresses to work in Hollywood. It seems likely she always will be.