Alfonso Bedoya


Benito Alfonso Bedoya y Díaz de Guzmán was a Mexican actor who frequently appeared in U.S. films.

Early life

Bedoya was born in the small town of Vícam, Sonora, Mexico, of Yaqui Indian heritage, to Norberto Bedoya Perea and Ignacia Díaz de Guzmán. He had a nomadic childhood upbringing in Mexico, traveling throughout the country with his parents and 19 siblings. At 14, he emigrated to the United States and was educated in Houston, Texas. He ran away from school and worked as a railroad section worker, dishwasher, waiter, and cotton picker.

Film career

Bedoya found work as a character actor in the US and Mexican film industries in the 1930s to 1940s. During that time, he worked in over 175 Mexican films. His last movie, The Big Country, was released in 1958 after his death.

Memorable role

Bedoya is best remembered as "Gold Hat", the bandit leader who declares "I don't have to show you any stinking badges" in John Huston's 1948 adventure film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. This movie is number 30 on AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies and Bedoya's line is number 36 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movie Quotes list. Bedoya's line has become widely imitated by entertainers.

Personal life

Bedoya married Gertrude Elizabeth Larky Karas on March 8, 1950, in Mexico City.
Bedoya completed filming The Big Country in November 1957, in California, and returned to Mexico City on December 8. Eight days later, after a night of partying with manicurist María Lucía Solana Martínez, Bedoya, 53, died of a heart attack in a Mexico City motel room.

Filmography