Nestor Paiva

Nestor Caetano Paiva (June 30, 1905 – September 9, 1966) was an American stage, radio, film and television actor of Portuguese descent. He performed in over 400 motion pictures either as an extra, a bit player, or as a significant supporting character. He also appears in such roles in a variety of television series produced during the 1950s and early 1960s. Among his notable screen appearances is his recurring role as the innkeeper Teo Gonzales in Walt Disney's late 1950s televised Spanish Western series Zorro, as well as in its adapted theatrical release The Sign of Zorro. Paiva also appears as the boat captain Lucas in the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and in that horror film's sequel Revenge of the Creature (1955).

Early years and stage and radio work Born in California in 1905, Nestor was the tenth of twelve children of Mariana Luísa (née Freitas) and Francisco "Frank" Caetano Paiva. Both of his parents were natives of Portugal, who immigrated to the United States from the Azores, a cluster of islands situated in the Atlantic about west of Lisbon. His father arrived in the United States in 1880, at age seven. His mother immigrated much later, in 1896, at the age of 17. That same year she married Frank, who in the coming years supported Nestor and the rest of the growing Paiva family working as the proprietor of a grocery store in Fresno and then, by the late 1920s, as a gardener and laborer of "odd jobs".

Frank and Mariana Paiva moved their entire family to Northern California prior to the summer of 1929, resettling in Alameda County, where Nestor attended the University of California, Berkeley. Paiva also gained experience directing plays at the university. In February 1931, he directed a production of Philip Barry's comedy The Youngest after the previous director resigned due to "ill health". Following graduation, Paiva was soon hired to be director of the Eight o'Clock Players troupe at KLX radio in Oakland, California. He also performed later in CBS's early radio version of Gunsmoke, including in that series' first-season episode "Wild West", which originally aired on July 18, 1953.

Film and television From the 1930s into the 1960s, Paiva was cast in more than 400 feature films and shorts that spanned virtually every genre, including Westerns, comedies, crime and historical drams, adventure stories, horror, and science-fiction films .

Personal life and death Paiva married Maxine Yvette Kurtzman in Clark, Nevada in January 1941. Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (1943, Serial) as The Scorpion Rhythm of the Islands (1943) as Chief Nataro Background to Danger (1943) as Koylan (uncredited) The Fallen Sparrow (1943) as Jake (uncredited) Tornado (1943) as Big Joe Vlochek The Dancing Masters (1943) as Silvio – Ringleader (uncredited) Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943) as Prison Guard (uncredited) The Desert Song (1943) as Benoit The Song of Bernadette (1943) as Maisongrosse (uncredited) True to Life (1943) as Kapopolis (uncredited) Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944) as Romero (uncredited) Tampico (1944) as Naval Commander (uncredited) The Purple Heart (1944) The Falcon in Mexico (1944) as Manuel Romero Kismet (1944) as Captain of the Police (uncredited) Music for Millions (1944) as Willie – Bartender (uncredited) A Medal for Benny (1945) as Frank Alviso (uncredited) Salome, Where She Danced (1945) as Panatela Nob Hill (1945) as Luigi a Bar Owner (uncredited) A Thousand and One Nights (1945) as Kahim The Southerner (1945) as Bartender Along the Navajo Trail (1945) as Janza Sensation Hunters (1945) as Lew Davis Cornered (1945) as Police Official (uncredited) Road to Utopia (1945) as McGurk Fear (1946) as Detective Shaefer Badman's Territory (1946) as Sam Bass The Well Groomed Bride (1946) as Fernandez (uncredited) Suspense (1946) as Man with Blonde (uncredited) The Last Crooked Mile (1946) as Ferrara Humoresque (1946) as Orchestra Leader The Lone Wolf in Mexico (1947) as Police Capt. Carlos Rodriguez Ramrod (1947) as Curley Shoot to Kill (1947) as Gus Miller Carnival in Costa Rica (1947) as Padre Rafael A Likely Story (1947) as Tiny The Trouble with Women (1947) as 2nd Tony – the Waiter (uncredited) Robin Hood of Monterey (1947) as The Alcalde Road to Rio (1947) as Cardoso Adventures of Casanova (1948) as Prefecture of Police Angels' Alley (1948) as Tony 'Piggy' Locarno Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) as Joe Apollonio Mr. Reckless (1948) as Gus Joan of Arc (1948) as Henri le Royer, Catherine's husband The Paleface (1948) as Patient #2 Alias Nick Beal (1949) as Karl Bride of Vengeance (1949) as Mayor Señor Droopy (1949, Short) as Bullfight Announcer (voice, uncredited) Follow Me Quietly (1949) as Benny Mighty Joe Young (1949) as Brown Rope of Sand (1949) as Ship's Captain (uncredited) Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949) as Lucca (deleted scenes) The Inspector General (1949) as Gregor (uncredited) Young Man with a Horn (1950) as Louis Galba Guilty of Treason (1950) as Mátyás Rákosi I Was a Shoplifter (1950) as Deputy Sheriff Gomez Larápios (1950) as Deputy Sheriff Gomez Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950) as Spanish Ship Captain (uncredited) The Desert Hawk (1950) as Abdul (uncredited) Flame of Stamboul (1951) as Joe Octavian The Great Caruso (1951) as Egisto Barretto Jim Thorpe – All-American (1951) as Hiram Thorpe (uncredited) A Millionaire for Christy (1951) as Mr. Rapello The Lady Pays Off (1951) as Manuel On Dangerous Ground (1951) as Bagganierri (uncredited) My Favorite Spy (1951) as Fire Chief Double Dynamite (1951) as 'Hot Horse' Harris, the Bookie Phone Call from a Stranger (1952) as Carl – Headwaiter (uncredited) Viva Zapata! (1952) as New General (uncredited) 5 Fingers (1952) as Turkish Ambassador (uncredited) The Fabulous Senorita (1952) as José Rodriguez With a Song in My Heart (1952) as Lisbon Surgeon (uncredited) Mara Maru (1952) as Capt. Van Hoten (uncredited) Diplomatic Courier (1952) as Train Conductor (uncredited) South Pacific Trail (1952) as Carlos Alvarez April in Paris (1952) as Ship Captain (uncredited) What's Sweepin''' (1953, Short) as Wally Walrus / Strongman (voice, uncredited) The Bandits of Corsica (1953) as Lorenzo Call Me Madam (1953) as Miccoli (uncredited) Split Second (1953) as Pete (uncredited) I, the Jury (1953) as Manuel Prisoners of the Casbah (1953) as Marouf Killer Ape (1953) as Andrews Jivaro (1954) as Jacques Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) as Captain Lucas Casanova's Big Night (1954) as Gnocchi Alley to Bali (1954) as Volcano Idol Voice (voice, uncredited) The Desperado (1954) as Captain Jake Thornton Thunder Pass (1954) as Daniel Slaughter Four Guns to the Border (1954) as Greasy New York Confidential (1955) as Martinelli Revenge of the Creature (1955) as Lucas All That Heaven Allows (1955) as Manuel Tarantula (1955) as Sheriff Jack Andrews Hell on Frisco Bay (1956) as Louis Fiaschetti Comanche (1956) as Puffer The First Texan (1956) as Priest (uncredited) Scandal Incorporated (1956) as Leland Miller The Mole People (1956) as Prof. Etienne Lafarge The Wild Party (1956) as Branson Ride the High Iron (1956) as Yard Boss The Guns of Fort Petticoat (1957) as Tortilla Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957) as Alfredo, the Jeweler (uncredited) Les Girls (1957) as Spanish Peasant (uncredited) Outcasts of the City (1958) as Pastor Skira The Deep Six (1958) as Pappa Tatos The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958) as Childreth The Left Handed Gun (1958) as Pete Maxwell The Case Against Brooklyn (1958) as Finelli Alias Jesse James (1959) as Grigsby (uncredited) Pier 5, Havana (1959) as Lopez The Purple Gang (1959) as Laurence Orlofsky Vice Raid (1959) as Frank Burke The Bramble Bush (1960) as Pete Madruga (uncredited) Can-Can (1960) as Bailiff Go Naked in the World (1961) as Greek Friend of Pete's (uncredited) Gold of the Seven Saints (1961) as Gondora Henchman Frontier Uprising (1961) as Don Carlos Montalvo Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961) as Megalos (uncredited) The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962) as Miguel The Wild Westerners (1962) as Governor John Bullard The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962) as Martian Chairman Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) as Arthur Morgan (uncredited) California (1963) as Gen. Micheltorena The Madmen of Mandoras (1963) as Police Chief Alaniz The Ballad of a Gunfighter (1963) as Padre Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966) as Saloon Owner Let's Kill Uncle (1966) as Steward The Spirit Is Willing (1967) as Felicity's Father

Television

The Lone Ranger (1950–1954, TV Series) as Juan Pedro Cardoza / Juan Branco Zorro (1957–1961) as Teo Gonzales – Innkeeper / Teo Gonzales / Señor Pacheco – Innkeeper Sea Hunt (1961, TV Series) as Tio Ramon Delgado The Andy Griffith Show (1963, TV Series) as Big Jack Anderson Gunsmoke (1965, TV Series) as Barman Daller Burke's Law (1965, TV Series) as Dr. Gonzales / Padre Emiliano Daniel Boone (1965, TV Series) as Menewa Get Smart (1965, TV Series) as Doorman I Spy (1966, TV Series) as Del Gado The Addams Family'' (1966, TV Series) as Captain Grimby