Xavier Cugat
Actor · Died October 27, 1990, aged 90 · Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Xavier Cugat was a catalan musician and bandleader, born in Spain (Girona, 1 January 1900 – Barcelona, 27 October 1990) who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City, he was the leader of the resident orchestra at the Waldorf–Astoria before and after World War II. He was also a cartoonist and a restaurateur. The personal papers of Xavier Cugat are preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya (Barcelona). His family emigrated to Cuba when he was three years old. He studied classical violin and worked as a violinist at the age of nine in a silent movie theater to help pay for his education. He was first chair violinist for the Teatro Nacional Symphonic Orchestra. When he was not performing, he started drawing caricatures. On 6 July 1915 he and his family arrived in New York City on the SS Havana. Cugat appeared in recitals with Enrico Caruso, playing violin solos. In the 1920s, he led a band that played often at the Coconut Grove, a club in Los Angeles. Cugat's friend, Charlie Chaplin, visited the club to dance the tango, so Cugat added tangos to the band's performances.[5] Seeing how popular the dance was becoming, Cugat convinced the owner to hire South American dancers to give tango lessons. This, too, became popular, and Cugat made the dancers part of his orchestra. In 1928 he turned his act into the film Xavier Cugat and His Gigolos. He worked for the Los Angeles Times as a cartoonist. His caricatures were nationally syndicated. They appeared in Photoplay magazine beginning with the November 1927 issue, under the byline "de Bru." His older brother, Francis, was an artist of some note, having painted cover art for F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. In 1931, Cugat took his band to New York for the 1931 opening of the Waldorf–Astoria hotel. He replaced Jack Denny as leader of the hotel's resident band. For sixteen years, he led the Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra (1933-1949), shuttling between New York and Los Angeles for most of the next 30 years.[8][9] One of his trademark gestures was to hold a Chihuahua while he waved his baton with the other arm. His music career led to appearing in the films In Gay Madrid (1930), You Were Never Lovelier (1942), Bathing Beauty (1944), Week-End at the Waldorf (1945), Holiday in Mexico (1946), A Date with Judy (1948), On an Island with You (1948), and Chicago Syndicate (1955). Cugat owned and operated the Mexican restaurant Casa Cugat in West Hollywood. The restaurant was frequented by Hollywood celebrities and featured two singing guitarists who would visit each table and play diners' favorite songs upon request. The restaurant began operations in the 1940s and closed in 1986. The restaurant's exterior and a fanciful depiction of its interior can be found in scenes in the 1949 film Neptune's Daughter in which Cugat has a substantial role playing himself. A brief scene revolving around the restaurant can also be seen in the earlier 1943 film The Heat's On, also starring Cugat as himself. Cugat spent his last years in Barcelona, living in a suite at Hotel Ritz. He died of heart failure at age 90 in Barcelona and was buried in his native Girona. He was posthumously inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 1, 1900
- October 27, 1990 (aged 90)
- Girona, Catalonia, Spain
- Actor
- 15 on Motif · 32 credits in all
What are Xavier Cugat's films like?
Across their 6 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 5 · Serious 0 · Dark 1
Grounded 0 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2
Gentle 4 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
Steady 6 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 3
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 5 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 6 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 0
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy6
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Xavier Cugat's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 15 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Xavier Cugat's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
32 credits, 15 with a Motif page; 9 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Motif score: 90th percentile of all films
A Rose in the Wind (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1984)
Nunca en horas de clase (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1978)
That's Entertainment!(1974)
Motif score: 92nd percentile of all films
The Phynx(1970)
Motif score: 11th percentile of all films
The Monitors (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1969)
Susanna and Me (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1957)
Donatella (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1956)
The Eddy Duchin Story(1956)
Motif score: 72nd percentile of all films
A sud niente di nuovo (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1956)
Lo scapolo(1955)
Motif score: 58th percentile of all films
Chicago Syndicate(1955)
Motif score: 57th percentile of all filmsCavalcade of Bands (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1950)
Neptune's Daughter(1949)
Motif score: 52nd percentile of all films
Luxury Liner (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1948)
A Date with Judy(1948)
Motif score: 61st percentile of all films
On an Island with You(1948)
Motif score: 39th percentile of all films
This Time for Keeps (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1947)
Holiday in Mexico (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1946)
Week-End at the Waldorf(1945)
Motif score: 67th percentile of all films
Bathing Beauty(1944)
Motif score: 59th percentile of all films
Two Girls and a Sailor(1944)
Motif score: 64th percentile of all films
The Heat's On (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1943)
Stage Door Canteen(1943)
Motif score: 56th percentile of all films
You Were Never Lovelier(1942)
Motif score: 87th percentile of all films
Go West Young Man (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1936)
Captain Thunder (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1930)
The Lash (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1930)
In Gay Madrid (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1930)
Charros, gauchos y manolas (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1930)
The Merry Widow (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1925)
Motif score: 80th percentile of all films
Career shape
Star power in the 81st percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 32 titles from 1921 to 1994.
Film career
- 1921Screen debut· The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Xavier Cugat's films land?
Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 61st percentile, the median of all 15; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 58th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th9
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
11 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser11
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the acting 63/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 70, detractors 40. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Xavier Cugat work with?
People who share at least 2 of Xavier Cugat's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dorothy Kingsley shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Richard ThorpeShared titles: A Date with Judy (1948), On an Island with You (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Richard Thorpe
Writers
- Dorothy KingsleyShared titles: Neptune's Daughter (1949), A Date with Judy (1948), On an Island with You (1948), Bathing Beauty (1944)See all 4 shared titles with Dorothy Kingsley
- Dorothy CooperShared titles: A Date with Judy (1948), On an Island with You (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Dorothy Cooper
Actors
- Esther WilliamsShared titles: Neptune's Daughter (1949), On an Island with You (1948), Bathing Beauty (1944)See all 3 shared titles with Esther Williams
- Red SkeltonShared titles: Neptune's Daughter (1949), Bathing Beauty (1944)See all 2 shared titles with Red Skelton
- Ricardo MontalbanShared titles: Neptune's Daughter (1949), On an Island with You (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Ricardo Montalban
- Leon AmesShared titles: A Date with Judy (1948), On an Island with You (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Leon Ames
Composers and cinematographers
- George StollShared titles: Neptune's Daughter (1949), A Date with Judy (1948), On an Island with You (1948)See all 3 shared titles with George Stoll
- Charles RosherShared titles: Neptune's Daughter (1949), On an Island with You (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Rosher
- Albert SendreyShared titles: A Date with Judy (1948), On an Island with You (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Albert Sendrey
Producers
- Joe PasternakShared titles: A Date with Judy (1948), On an Island with You (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Joe Pasternak
