Leading Ladies Lita Baron
Lita Baron was a Spanish actress, dancer and singer. born at Almerla, Spain in 1923. She came to the U. S. in 1928. Her original name was Isabel Beth Castro.
She used the stage name of Isabelita and originally performed with Xavier Cugat and his orchestra.
She also appeared night clubs including the Mocambo and Ciro's Night Club on Sunset Strip.
It was there that she came to the attention of up and coming movie star Rory Calhoun. From that association ( and future marriage) she quickly came to pictures generally as south of the border Senoritas. .
Her film debut came in 1944 in That's My Baby!
She continued to use her name Isabelita in her first few films. After that she acted under the name of Lita Baron which was her mother's maiden name.
She had a few exotic leads such as with Johnny Sheffield in Bomba On Panther Island and with Sabu in Savage Drums.
She freelanced with such studios as Republic, Monogram, RKO and PRC.
Some of Lita Baron's film roles were:
That's My Baby! (1944) as Isabelita
Pan-Americana (1945) as Lupita
The Gay Senorita (1945) as Chiquita
Club Havana (1945) as Isabelita
Slightly Scandalous (1946) as Lola
High School Hero (1946) as Chi Chi
Don Ricardo Returns (1946) as Dorothea
That's My Gal (1947) as Isabelita
Jungle Jim (1948) as Zia
Border Incident (1949) as Rosita
Bomba On Panther Island (1949) as Losana
Savage Drums (1951) as Sari
Jesse James' Woman (1954) as Delta
Red Sundown (1956) as Maria
The Broken Star (1956) as Conchita Alvarado
Bitter Heritage (1979) as La Madre.
Ms Baron made a few appearances on television in the following programs: I Love Lucy, City Detective, The Pepsi Cola Playhouse, The Texan and Death Valley Days.
As her film career declined, she continued to perform in the nightclub circuit.
From 1949 she co-hosted "Latin Cruise" on KTLA TV which was a weekly musical variety show which showcased Latin tunes. She also moderated a popular radio show "Lunch With Lita" which was broadcast from Ingleside in Palm Springs and showcased interviews with Hollywood stars of the past.
When that show had ran it's course, she started a third career which was real estate.
Ms Baron was married to actor Rory Calhoun from 1948 until 1970 when the couple divorced. They had three children.
Lita Baron passed away in 2015 at the age of 92.
I enjoyed Ms. Baron in the films Jungle Jim, Bomba On Panther Island, and Savage Drums.
Louie The Movie Buff