Ramon Novarro as a rival to Rudolph Valentino, and Ingram suggested he change his name to "Novarro." From 1923, he began to play more prominent roles. His role in "Scaramouche" (1923) brought him his first major success. In 1925, Novarro achieved his greatest success in "Ben-Hur." His revealing costumes caused a sensation. He was elevated into the Hollywood elite. As did many stars, Novarro engaged Sylvia of Hollywood as a therapist (although in her tell-all book, Sylvia erroneously claimed that Novarro slept in a coffin). With Valentino's death in 1926, Novarro became the screen's leading Latin actor, though ranked behind his MGM
Ramon Novarro the 1960s. Novarro kept busy on television, appearing in NBC's "The High Chaparral" as late as 1968. At the peak of his success in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Ramón Novarro was earning more than US$100,000 per film. He invested some of his income in real estate, and his Hollywood Hills residence is one of the more renowned designs (1927) by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright. When his career ended, he was still able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. Novarro was troubled all his life by his conflicted feelings toward his Roman Catholic religion and his