Don Louis Sebastian (born Luis Héctor Monge-Tamayo, and sometimes billed as Don Carlos Sebastian or Don Juan Sebastian) was a professional wrestler, a wrestling promoter, a movie actor, and the fourth husband of B-movie heroine

Lynne Roberts Lynne Roberts, also credited as Mary Hart, born Theda May Roberts (November 22, 1922 – April 1, 1978) was an American film actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She appeared exclusively in what were referred to as B-movies. Early ...

. A native of Mexico, he later immigrated to the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen.

Origins

Sebastian was born in

Ures Ures is a small city and a municipality in the Mexican state of Sonora. Area It has an area of 2,618.56 square kilometers. This is 1.41% of the total area of the state, and 0.13 percent of the national area of Mexico. Besides the seat, the most i ...

, Sonora, Mexico, in 1911. In contemporaneous newspaper reports, he was said to have attended high school in

Nogales, Arizona Nogales (English: or , ; ) is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The population was 20,837 at the 2010 census and estimated 20,103 in 2019. Nogales forms part of the larger Tucson–Nogales combined statistical area, with a total population ...

. He told reporters he had worked as a bullfighter in Mexico City before becoming a wrestler. He was also praised for his impressive skills as a typist.

Career

By the late 1930s, Don Sebastian—billed as a "Basque wrestler," a "Portuguese-Spanish wrestler," and a "refugee from the Spanish wars"—was wrestling in Mexico and the United States. He actually got his start as a masked

luchador Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

in Mexico City. In the 1940s, he promoted wrestling in Santa Barbara County, California, where he resided at the time. In the 1950s, he leased a space in San Bernardino, California, where he hosted wrestling events and amateur boxing. He was playing bit parts in films by the 1940s and performing as a singer around the Los Angeles area; he later played bigger film roles in the 1970s and 1980s. He reportedly worked as a stuntman double for Erroll Flynn in the 1930s and 1940s as well.

Personal life

Don Sebastian married Blanche Cordell in 1949 in Ventura, California; they divorced in 1958. He married Lois Brooks in 1965 in Los Angeles. He married

in 1971, but was legally separated from her at the time of her death.Everett Aaker. ''Encyclopedia of early television crime fighters''. McFarland 2006 Page 479 He died in Los Angeles in 1987 and is buried in

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries in Southern Cal ...

Selected filmography

* '' Thieves and Robbers'' (1983) * ''

Super Fuzz ''Super Fuzz'' ( it, Poliziotto superpiù), also known as ''Super Snooper'', is a 1980 superhero comedy film directed by Sergio Corbucci. The film stars Terence Hill and Ernest Borgnine. It is about Dave Speed, a bumbling Miami police officer who ...

'' (1980) * ''

Hollywood Man ''Hollywood Man'' (released in the UK as ''Death Threat'') is a 1976 American film directed by Jack Starrett. The film was featured in the 1997 Quentin Tarantino Film Festival. Plot Cash-strapped actor/director Rafe Stoker (Smith) reluctantly ...

'' (1976) * '' Mako: The Jaws of Death'' (1976) * ''

How Do I Love Thee? ''How Do I Love Thee?'' is a 1970 American comedy-drama film directed by Michael Gordon. It stars Jackie Gleason and Maureen O'Hara and is based on Peter De Vries's 1965 novel ''Let Me Count the Ways''. Plot Tom Waltz, a college professor, ...

'' (1970)

References

1911 births 1987 deaths Mexican male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Sonora Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Mexican actors Mexican emigrants to the United States People from Ures Municipality {{Portal bar, Biography, Mexico