Ulises Dumont
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Ulises Dumont (April 7, 1937 – November 29, 2008) was a prolific Argentine film actor, credited with over 80 appearances in film and countless others in theatre and television from 1964 until his death in 2008.


Life and work

Born in 1937 in Buenos Aires, Dumont first worked in
Bunge y Born Bunge & Born was a multinational corporation based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, whose diverse interests included food processing and international trade in grains and oilseeds. It is now known as Bunge Limited. History Bunge & Born was founded in 1 ...
, Argentina's largest grain wholesaler and one of the principal grain conglomerates in the World. Later that year (1956), he made his first appearance on the stage, developing an affinity for the art that, for economic reasons, he postponed pursuing for several more years. After a modest career in sales, Dumont was given his first film role, a bit part in a 1964 comedy. The otherwise forgettable experience opened doors for him in Buenos Aires' vibrant theatre scene, and he returned to film only in 1971. Eschewing classical theatre, he contributed mostly to locally-written productions, soon becoming a fixture in works by noted Argentine dramatists such as
Villanueva Cosse Villanueva Félix Cosse Vega (born 9 November 1933) is a Uruguayan actor, theater director, and writer who has developed a distinguished career in his country and internationally, especially in Argentina, where he has lived since 1973. Biograph ...
, Carlos Gorostiza and
Griselda Gambaro Griselda Gambaro (born 24 July 1928) is an Argentine writer, whose novels, plays, short stories, story tales, essays and novels for teenagers often concern the political violence in her home country that would develop into the Dirty War. One recu ...
. Receiving his first starring film role in
Sergio Renán Sergio Renán (30 January 1933 – 13 June 2015) was an Argentine actor, film director, and screenwriter. Biography Born Samuel Kohan in Buenos Aires in 1933, his parents were Jewish immigrants who had lived in one of the numerous Jewish ...
's 1976 film adaptation of an Haroldo Conti play, ''Crecer de golpe'' ("Maturing Suddenly") secured Dumont's reputation in Argentine drama. He was offered numerous leading theatre roles in 1977, the most memorable of which were probably Carlos Gorostiza's ''El puente'' ("The Bridge") and what would become his signature role, that of a crusty, ravenous Italian-Argentine grandmother in Roberto Cossa's ''
La nona ''Grandma'' ( es, La Nona) is a 1979 Argentine comedy drama film directed by Héctor Olivera and starring Pepe Soriano, Juan Carlos Altavista and Osvaldo Terranova. Synopsis A poor Argentine family of Italian origin lives with their grandmother ...
''. The following year, Dumont lent his talent to a young, hitherto unknown Argentine director,
Adolfo Aristarain Adolfo Aristarain (born October 19, 1943) is an Argentina, Argentine film director and screenwriter who is famous for his filmic sophistication and subtle examination of issues of political oppression. ''Variety (magazine), Variety'' has deemed ...
. The 1978 thriller, ''
La Parte del león LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
'' ("The Lion's Share") began a successful string of similar collaborations between the two and an actor already well-established as a leading man since the 1960s,
Federico Luppi Federico Luppi (; February 23, 1936 – October 20, 2017) was an Argentine-Spanish film, TV, radio and theatre actor. He won numerous awards throughout his acting career, including a Concha de Plata at the San Sebastian International Film Fest ...
. The three collaborated similarly in the
muck-raking The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s–1920s) who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions, often through sensationalist publ ...
''
Tiempo de revancha ''Tiempo de revancha'' (English language: ''Time for Revenge'') is a 1981 Argentine crime drama film written and directed by Adolfo Aristarain and starring Federico Luppi, Julio De Grazia, Haydée Padilla and Ulises Dumont. It was produced by H ...
'' ("Time for Revenge," 1981) and the thriller '' Últimos días de la víctima'' ("The Victim's Last Days," 1982). True to Dumont's understated style, the three acclaimed and commercially successful films criticized the prevailing climate of fear (during a
regime In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan Jo ...
in which doing so was often perilous) with metaphor and veiled references to current events. Developing a close friendship with Federico Luppi, he and Dumont co-starred with various other directors over the following years and, in the interim, Dumont married Marcela Luppi, Federico's daughter. The two starred in Hector Olivera's '' No habrá más penas ni olvido'' ("Little Dirty War," 1983), a tragic comedy set during the 1974 internal conflict between left and right-wing Peronists; 1983 also saw Dumont star in
Eduardo Calcagno Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footb ...
's '' Los Enemigos'' ("The Enemies"). The dark thriller, released months before Argentina's return to democracy, focused on use that the well-connected had made of their ties to the military during the dictatorship in ridding themselves of enemies, with impunity. Working prolifically following the advent of democracy, Dumont played, among others, an opinionated hobo in
Lautaro Murúa Lautaro Murúa (; 29 December 1926 in Tacna, Chile – 3 December 1995 in Madrid) was a Chilean- Argentine actor, film director, and screenwriter. He is one of the best known actors in the cinema of Argentina. Born in Chile, Murúa moved ...
's '' Cuarteles de invierno'' ("Winter Barracks," 1984) and a no-nonsense producer faced with an unpredictable film maker in ''
La película del rey ''A King and His Movie'' ( es, La película del rey) is a 1986 Argentine comedy drama film, directed by Carlos Sorín, and written by Sorín and Jorge Goldenberg. The movie features Ulises Dumont and Julio Chávez, among others. In a survey of th ...
'' ("A King and His Movie," 1985), a title which has enjoyed international exposure since its VHS release the following year. His role in "Winter Barracks" remained, by his own admission, his favorite. He was reunited with Luppi in 1987, cast in a supporting role in '' El Año del conejo'' ("The Year of the Rabbit") a divorce comedy made during Luppi's own contentious separation from wife and former co-star Haydée Padilla. During an era in which
Argentine cinema Cinema of Argentina refers to the film industry based in Argentina. The Argentine cinema comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of Argentina or by Argentine filmmakers abroad. The Argentine film industry has histor ...
often revisited the traumas lived during the 1976–83 dictatorship, Dumont was cast in a leading role as an aging, targeted intellectual in
Fernando Solanas Fernando Ezequiel "Pino" Solanas (16 February 1936 – 6 November 2020) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter, and politician. His films include; '' La hora de los hornos (The Hour of the Furnaces)'' (1968), '' Tangos: el exilio de Gardel'' ...
' '' Sur'' ("South," 1987), one of the defining films on the subject. Working in varied genres, he also starred in a crime caper, Juan Carlos Desanzo's ''
Al filo de la ley Al filo de la ley may refer to: * ''Al filo de la ley'' (1992 film), an Argentine action thriller film * ''Al filo de la ley'' (2015 film), a Peruvian buddy cop action film {{disambiguation ...
'' ("On the Edge of the Law," 1992) and was reunited with director Eduardo Calcagno in '' El Censor'' ("The Censor," 1995), a surreal historical drama loosely based on Miguel Paulino Tato's notorious tenure as National Film Rater (censor) during the 1970s. Turning to more sentimental work in his later years, Dumont traveled to
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
to play an aging businessman in the throes of hopelessness in Diego Musiak's ''Historias clandestinas en la Habana'' ("Hidden Stories in Havana," 1996). Continuing to be active in the theatre, he performed in the title role of an alienated professor in Roberto Cossa's '' Yepeto'' ("Gepetto"), a play that enjoyed an approximately 5,000-performance run during the 1990s. ''Yepeto'' was adapted for the screen by director Eduardo Calcagno in 1999. A heavy smoker, Dumont suffered from worsening cardiovascular health subsequently and, yet, his work in film remained as vigorous as ever, playing a socially conscious priest in '' Cerca de la frontera'' ("Near the Border," 1999), an ex convict in a bind in '' Rosarigasinos'' (" Rosario Boys," 2001), a widower lost without his better half in ''La esperanza'' ("Hope," 2003), an elderly woman's inopportune lover in '' Conversaciones con mamá'' (2004), and a railroad worker laid off by the sector's mass 1992 privatizations in ''Próxima salida'' ("Next Stop," 2004), to name only a few of his recent film, theatre and television roles. Dumont earned three
Silver Condor The Argentine Film Critics Association ( es, Asociación de Cronistas Cinematográficos de la Argentina) is an organization of Argentine-based journalists and correspondents. The association presents the ''Silver Condor Awards'' (''Premios Cóndor ...
Awards and three awards at the
Havana Film Festival The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiva ...
, among numerous other recognitions.Internet Movie Data Base. Ulises Dumont: Awards.
/ref> A victim of heart disease, Dumont died in a Buenos Aires clinic at the age of 71. Dumont's remains were buried in Chacarita Cemetery.


References


''Clarín'': El actor de las cosas nuestras


External links

*
Cine nacional
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumont, Ulises 1937 births 2008 deaths Male actors from Buenos Aires Argentine people of French descent Argentine male film actors Argentine male stage actors Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery