Talk:Frank Silvera

Comment
Silvera's character in The High Chaparral was named Sebastian Montoya, not Francisco. See http://thehighchaparral.com/cast.htm ChaChaFut 05:23, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

"race" and film stock
The statement "his 'race' didn't matter as B+W film stock didn't register his 'race' -- just the actor and his performance" is -- well, naïve is too weak a word.

Ethnic groups vary not only in skin color, but in the overall shape of their heads, noses, lips, etc; the color and texture of their hair and beards; and the relative lightness or darkness of their skin. I well-remember "The High Chaparral", and always assumed Frank Silvera was of Latin extraction, not African-American. (My cheap parents had a B&W set at the time.) You could never get away casting Dan Haggerty as a Russian, or Anderson Cooper (if he acted) as a Greek. Their ethnicities are so obvious that they're clear even in B&W.

As my addition to the article notes, skin color did make a difference. Frank Silvera would not, could not, have been cast as (say) the powerful head of a huge American corporation because, 40 years ago, no one would have believed it.

This article is an example (whether deliberate of accidental) of rewriting history, by denying very real discrimination.

I forgot... Great actor! WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 14:57, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

I just removed that silly remark. WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 22:23, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

yeah/death
Yeah, this: (his "race" didn't matter as B+W film stock didn't register his "race" -- just the actor and his performance) is insane nonsense.

By that logic, black film actors would have had a heyday before the color photography of the '30s. Paul Robeson would have been the king of Hollywood, not Clark Gable. Somebody remove that silliness.

Re his death, the film encyclopedia (Ephraim Katz) states he was electrocuted; I don't get that at all from what's here. There's got to be harder information somewhere. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.34.145.82 (talk) 02:38, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

It's difficult to imagine being killed while working on a food-waste disposer other than by being electrocuted. Several years ago I replaced the disposer in my condo, and believe me, I was thinking of Frank Silvera every moment I worked! WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 12:58, 19 January 2011 (UTC)