Summary
- Musician and actor, Trini Lopez left the set of
The Dirty Dozen
early on advice from Frank Sinatra, abruptly ending his character’s storyline. - His character, Pedro Jiminez, met an off-screen demise in the movie, with his death seen as rushed compared to others.
- Originally, Jiminez was meant to be given a different death, which went to another character due to Lopez’s departure.
American singer and actor Trini Lopez played a significant role in the 1967 action movie The Dirty Dozen, but his character mysteriously vanished midway through the story. Based on the 1965 novel by E.M. Nathanson, The Dirty Dozen is set in 1944, during World War II, and depicts twelve soldiers being trained for a military mission ahead of the Normandy landings. The movie was a critical and commercial success and inspired three television sequels in the 1980s. A remake was announced in 2019, with David Ayer set to serve as director.
The Dirty Dozen received praise for its depiction of military combat during World War II and received four Oscar nominations in 1968, winning one for Best Sound Editing. The movie contained a talented ensemble cast featuring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, and George Kennedy, who all served in the military in real life, during the war. One member of the cast ensemble, Trini Lopez, played a role as part of the 12 soldiers trained for battle, yet his character vanished without a real explanation before the movie’s end.
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Trini Lopez Left The Dirty Dozen Before Filming Finished
He Was Advised To Leave The Film By Frank Sinatra
Before joining the cast of
The Dirty Dozen
, Trini Lopez had made a name for himself as a successful musician who recorded several albums under Sinatra’s company, Reprise Records.
In The Dirty Dozen, Trini Lopez played the role of Pedro Jiminez, ranked tenth in the military group. His character is trained alongside the rest of the group and is set to become part of the Normandy invasion. However, Lopez ultimately left the movie early under the advice of his mentor Frank Sinatra; this led to his character being killed off unceremoniously midway through the story.
Before joining the cast of The Dirty Dozen, Trini Lopez had made a name for himself as a successful musician who recorded several albums under Sinatra’s company Reprise Records; according to a documentary about Lopez’s life and career, My Name is Lopez, production time ran over and Sinatra suggested to him that he leave to resume recording and keep his music career relevant. (via Texas Monthly). Following Sinatra’s advice, Lopez dropped out of the movie and returned to his music career; aside from a few cameo appearances in television shows, Lopez never returned to acting. According to the documentary’s director, Todd Hughes, Sinatra ruined Lopez’s chances of an acting career (via The Guardian).
Trini Lopez recorded the song “The Bramble Bush” for the soundtrack of
The Dirty Dozen
.
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Jiminez’s Dirty Dozen Death Was Given To Another Character
Jiminez Was Killed Off-Screen In The Movie
Throughout The Dirty Dozen, the group endures violence and opposition from the enemy; by the end, only one has survived. Lopez’s character Jiminez is depicted as one of the first of the Dirty Dozen to die; when the group parachutes into France, his parachute is caught in the branches of an apple tree, and he breaks his neck. Jiminez’s death takes place off-screen and the team learns of his fate from Jefferson; compared to his comrades who were killed in battle, Jiminez’s demise appears rushed, and the team quickly hurries on to continue their mission.
According to commentary on the 2-Disc Special Edition of The Dirty Dozen, Jiminez was originally supposed to be killed by a single bullet to the head by a German sharpshooter during the group’s invasion of a château. However, Lopez’s early departure meant that this death was instead used for Private Milo Vladek, played by Tom Busby, with Jiminez being killed off-screen. While the changes made to the story are understandable, some could argue that Jiminez’s death in The Dirty Dozen could have been handled differently, had Lopez chosen to remain in the production longer.
Sources: Texas Monthly, The Guardian
