Gilbert Mamery
Encyclopedia
Gilbert Mamery Riera was a Puerto Rican
disc-jockey, musicologist, radio station
owner, radio and television personality, marketing impresario and composer
born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
. He is the father of Puerto Rican talent manager and radio entrepreneur Topy Mamery, Puerto Rican radio announcer and marketing impresario Eric William Mamery, and media announcer and comedienne Gricel Mamery
. He was also the son of Lebanese
-born textile impresario William Mamary (the family name's spelling was later changed during Gilbert's lifetime).
immigrant to the United States who, after moving to Philadelphia and serving in World War I decided to join a sizeable group of Maronite Christian Lebanese immigrants who left the United States for Puerto Rico in the early years of the 20th century. He established a handkerchief
and lace
products factory (and ran a numbers game
operation as a side occupation), and became a successful businessman. His factory and name became cultural references (in a somewhat unflattering way) in the plena
"Aló, ¿Quién Ñama?" by Mon Rivera
. Referring to the plena, it is said that Mamary used to agree with the saying that "bad publicity is better than no publicity at all".
Gilbert did not want to follow on the family business since, from an early age, he was obsessed with popular music
. A live presentation by Carlos Gardel
in Mayagüez's Teatro Yagüez
(on 9 April 1935) was a defining moment in his life. He initiated his large collection of music recordings and items soon after.
Since he was tall for his age (and had a booming bass voice, which was the deepest one of any local radio personality at the time he became a broadcaster), Gilbert could sneak in clubs at an age as early as thirteen years-old, which allowed him to visit relatives in New York City and sneak into live presentations by Tommy Dorsey
and Xavier Cugat
(who caught him playing bongo drum
s onstage with the band unsupervised once, and later became a friend).
At the age of fourteen, Gilbert pleaded for a job as a disc-jockey at the city's first radio station, WPRA-AM. The station owners were reluctant to give him a job due to his age, but conceded due to his sheer persistence.
Gilbert would later make solo trips to Cuba
at the age of sixteen (1943), in search of local acts such as the Orquesta Casino de la Playa
and Miguelito Valdés
. In his first trip he visited the studios of CMQ, Cuba's main radio station. Soon after his Cuba trip, Mamery joined WKJB-AM in Mayagüez, where he would host three radio shows a day. Taking a cue from his Cuban trip, Gilbert tried using two turntables simultaneously (one playing the music currently being aired, while cueing another record at the same time), something unheard of in Puerto Rico at the time. This gained him the nickname "El Loco de Los Controles" ("The Control Room Looney") by his fellow DJ's, and the technique, plus his expansive interest as a collectionist, earned him a reputation for efficiency at his broadcasts.
Gilbert became a cultural reference himself in another plena, Daniel Santos
' version of "La Máquina" ("The Engine"), a song about the existing train route between San Juan
and Ponce
(for which Mayagüez was the midway point) in the lines: "Mamery le puso un disco/Y la máquina bailó" ("Mamery played a record, and the engine danced").
based on the station's call letters). He eventually bought the other investors' share in the station and became the sole owner.
At the same time, Gilbert positioned his radio station as the primary marketing vehicle for promoting shows at local theaters (the Riera, Yagüez and San José theaters in town). Some of these shows were merely showings of Spanish and Mexican musical
films, which were major attendance draws at the time; other were live act shows which Gilbert first announced, and later became a promoter of. Gilbert would do partial live airings of the first show of any show run (first via telephone line, which was unheard of at the time, then using remote equipment), verbally describing the movie if a film was being shown. These partial airings would almost guarantee sell out crowds for the other performances. Gilbert would also be a pioneer of radio contests and giveaways in Puerto Rico.
Due to his success as a promoter, Gilbert would be the primary concert promoter in western Puerto Rico. He made a barter agreement with Prinair
, the local commuter airline, as to bring acts to the city that would not otherwise be shown there, in exchange for advertising the airline. The most notable of these performers was Raphael
, who stayed at Gilbert's home while in Mayagüez, while the house was mobbed by screaming fans who even climbed to the roof to get a glimpse of their idol).
Gilbert also composed a few bolero
s, most famous of which is "Fracaso" ("Failure", aka "Qué Poco Duró", or "How Little Did It Last").
After the death of William Mamary in 1965 the family negotiated an exchange with the builders of the Radio Centro building in Mayagüez, in which the builders would purchase the lot where the former textile factory sat, but gave Gilbert and his family the ownership of the new 12-story building's penthouse. He moved WTIL-AM and his media publicity firm, Mamery Publicidad, to the new facility, and eventually gave control of day to day operations to his children.
In the early 1970s Gilbert developed polyps
in his vocal cords. These were operated upon, and because of this he lost the lower ranges of his legendary bass voice. This forced him to speak about an octave
higher, with a raspy tone. Believing he had ruined his livelihood by this, he faced a lasting bout with clinical depression
which lasted, on and off, until his death. In reality, Mamery was most productive and his popularity as a cultural icon in Puerto Rico was at its highest during the time his voice was affected. He claimed that music and religion (he became a devout Roman Catholic during his ordeal) saved his mental health at the time.
Gilbert was a major television personality within the small western Puerto Rico media market. In the late 1970s and early 1980s he expanded his reach to the rest of the country by hosting nostalgia
shows, in which he'd play videos and short films by Puerto Rican and American artists (and, inevitably, one by Carlos Gardel
in every broadcast). These broadcasts became very popular in Puerto Rico. He was also involved in three Puerto Rico-wide radio shows by the time of his death.
Gilbert Mamery was one of the primary experts on the life of legendary tango singer Carlos Gardel
, as well as an avid music recording, video recording, film and magazine collector. His holdings surpassed the thousands of items. He was regularly an advisor for numerous documentaries produced in Puerto Rico and abroad, particularly those about Gardel, as well as two of the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico yearly Christmas television specials.
, which only slowed his output, although he would complain about respiratory distress in his last days. On the early morning of March 30, 2003, Gilbert woke up at 3:00 am (AST) in his Mayagüez home, apparently showing no symptoms of poor health at the time. He returned to his bed, and died of a heart attack
while sleeping, probably one or two hours later. The crowd that attended his funeral, one of the largest ever assembled in Mayagüez for a funeral, was comparable in size to those attending the respective funerals of Benjamin Cole, Mon Rivera
and Frankie Ruiz
.
Besides leaving behind an enormous multimedia
collection and a clan
with strong ties to Puerto Rico's media industry, Gilbert Mamery's uncompromising standards of quality and business acumen have shaped the career of various local performers. José Feliciano
, for example, has gone on record saying that he recorded his instrumental album, "Six-String Lady", as a suggestion from Mamery.
Gilbert Mamery had strict standards for broadcast and live act production and promotion. His approach to production was compared during his lifetime to that of Bill Graham
in the United States. For example, in those productions for which he collaborated, he would refuse to be credited if the end product turned out not to be historically accurate. His children and widow (Elba Muñoz), as managers of his estate, had strict orders from Gilbert not to donate his enormous multimedia collection to any entity which might not make good use of it with appropriate resources and funding, something which guarantees that the collections remain in private hands, at least as of the time of writing (June 2007).
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
disc-jockey, musicologist, radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
owner, radio and television personality, marketing impresario and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez is the eighth-largest municipality of Puerto Rico. Originally founded as "Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria" it is also known as "La Sultana del Oeste" , "Ciudad de las Aguas Puras" , or "Ciudad del Mangó"...
. He is the father of Puerto Rican talent manager and radio entrepreneur Topy Mamery, Puerto Rican radio announcer and marketing impresario Eric William Mamery, and media announcer and comedienne Gricel Mamery
Gricel Mamery
Gricel Mamery Muñoz [Mayagüez, Puerto Rico] is a Puerto Rican television hostess and comedienne, best known for her appearance on the Puerto Rican show Anda Pa'l Cara....
. He was also the son of Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
-born textile impresario William Mamary (the family name's spelling was later changed during Gilbert's lifetime).
Early years
Gilbert Mamery was born to a well-to-do family in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. His father William was a LebaneseLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
immigrant to the United States who, after moving to Philadelphia and serving in World War I decided to join a sizeable group of Maronite Christian Lebanese immigrants who left the United States for Puerto Rico in the early years of the 20th century. He established a handkerchief
Handkerchief
A handkerchief , also called a handkercher or hanky, is a form of a kerchief, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric that can be carried in the pocket or purse, and which is intended for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping one's hands or face, or blowing one's nose...
and lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
products factory (and ran a numbers game
Numbers game
Numbers game, also known as a numbers racket, policy racket or Italian lottery, is an illegal lottery played mostly in poor neighborhoods in the United States, wherein a bettor attempts to pick three digits to match those that will be randomly drawn the following day...
operation as a side occupation), and became a successful businessman. His factory and name became cultural references (in a somewhat unflattering way) in the plena
Plena
Plena is a folkloric genre native to Puerto Rico. Its creation was influenced by African and Spanish music.-History:The music is generally folkloric. The music's beat and rhythm are usually played using hand drums called panderetas, but also known as panderos or pleneras. The music is accompanied...
"Aló, ¿Quién Ñama?" by Mon Rivera
Mon Rivera
Mon Rivera is the common name given to two distinct Puerto Rican musicians , namely Monserrate Rivera Alers and his oldest son, Efraín Rivera Castillo Mon Rivera is the common name given to two distinct Puerto Rican musicians (both born in Mayagüez), namely Monserrate Rivera Alers (originally...
. Referring to the plena, it is said that Mamary used to agree with the saying that "bad publicity is better than no publicity at all".
Gilbert did not want to follow on the family business since, from an early age, he was obsessed with popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
. A live presentation by Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel was a singer, songwriter and actor, and is perhaps the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was born in Toulouse, France, although he never acknowledged his birthplace publicly, and there are still claims of his birth in Uruguay. He lived in Argentina from the age of two...
in Mayagüez's Teatro Yagüez
Teatro Yagüez
The Teatro Yagüez in Puerto Rico is a historic building that today is a performing arts theater. It is located at Candelaria and Dr. Basora Streets, in the city of Mayagüez. It consists of the Lucy Boscana Hall and the Roberto Cole Cafe Theater.-History:It was originally erected by Francisco...
(on 9 April 1935) was a defining moment in his life. He initiated his large collection of music recordings and items soon after.
Since he was tall for his age (and had a booming bass voice, which was the deepest one of any local radio personality at the time he became a broadcaster), Gilbert could sneak in clubs at an age as early as thirteen years-old, which allowed him to visit relatives in New York City and sneak into live presentations by Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
and Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat was a Spanish-American bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a key personality in the spread of Latin music in United States popular music. He was also a cartoonist and a successful businessman...
(who caught him playing bongo drum
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
s onstage with the band unsupervised once, and later became a friend).
At the age of fourteen, Gilbert pleaded for a job as a disc-jockey at the city's first radio station, WPRA-AM. The station owners were reluctant to give him a job due to his age, but conceded due to his sheer persistence.
Gilbert would later make solo trips to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
at the age of sixteen (1943), in search of local acts such as the Orquesta Casino de la Playa
Orquesta Casino de la Playa
Orquesta Casino de la Playa, founded in 1937 in Havana, Cuba, was a band that took its name from the name of the casino where they worked. This orchestra made a bridge between Cuban popular music and the sound of American Jazz Big Bands...
and Miguelito Valdés
Miguelito Valdés
Miguelito Valdés, born Miguel Ángel Eugenio Lázaro Zacarias Izquierdo Valdés Hernández , also called Mr. Babalú, was a Cuban popular singer of high quality...
. In his first trip he visited the studios of CMQ, Cuba's main radio station. Soon after his Cuba trip, Mamery joined WKJB-AM in Mayagüez, where he would host three radio shows a day. Taking a cue from his Cuban trip, Gilbert tried using two turntables simultaneously (one playing the music currently being aired, while cueing another record at the same time), something unheard of in Puerto Rico at the time. This gained him the nickname "El Loco de Los Controles" ("The Control Room Looney") by his fellow DJ's, and the technique, plus his expansive interest as a collectionist, earned him a reputation for efficiency at his broadcasts.
Gilbert became a cultural reference himself in another plena, Daniel Santos
Daniel Santos (singer)
Daniel Santos was a singer and composer of boleros, and an overall performer of multiple Caribbean music genres, including guaracha, plena and rumba...
' version of "La Máquina" ("The Engine"), a song about the existing train route between San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
and Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
(for which Mayagüez was the midway point) in the lines: "Mamery le puso un disco/Y la máquina bailó" ("Mamery played a record, and the engine danced").
Marketing genius
By 1950, and already married for the first time, Gilbert wanted to own a radio station, but his limited financial resources made this all but impossible. He persuaded four wealthy businessmen in town to back him up in the purchase of an ailing radio station, which he renamed WTIL-AM, or Radio Útil ("útil" meaning "useful" in Spanish, and a punPun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
based on the station's call letters). He eventually bought the other investors' share in the station and became the sole owner.
At the same time, Gilbert positioned his radio station as the primary marketing vehicle for promoting shows at local theaters (the Riera, Yagüez and San José theaters in town). Some of these shows were merely showings of Spanish and Mexican musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
films, which were major attendance draws at the time; other were live act shows which Gilbert first announced, and later became a promoter of. Gilbert would do partial live airings of the first show of any show run (first via telephone line, which was unheard of at the time, then using remote equipment), verbally describing the movie if a film was being shown. These partial airings would almost guarantee sell out crowds for the other performances. Gilbert would also be a pioneer of radio contests and giveaways in Puerto Rico.
Due to his success as a promoter, Gilbert would be the primary concert promoter in western Puerto Rico. He made a barter agreement with Prinair
Prinair
Prinair was a Puerto Rican airline. It was Puerto Rico's domestic and international flag carrier airline for almost two decades.- History :Services began in 1966, under the name Aerolíneas de Ponce , with Aero Commanders...
, the local commuter airline, as to bring acts to the city that would not otherwise be shown there, in exchange for advertising the airline. The most notable of these performers was Raphael
Raphael (singer)
For the French singer Raphael see Raphaël HarocheMiguel Rafael Martos Sánchez , often simply referred to as Raphael, is a worldwide acclaimed Spanish singer and television, film and theatre actor...
, who stayed at Gilbert's home while in Mayagüez, while the house was mobbed by screaming fans who even climbed to the roof to get a glimpse of their idol).
Gilbert also composed a few bolero
Bolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
s, most famous of which is "Fracaso" ("Failure", aka "Qué Poco Duró", or "How Little Did It Last").
Later years
Gilbert started "La Discoteca del Recuerdo", a syndicated radio program, in 1961. The program aired on weekdays, and originated first from WTIL-AM's studios, and later from Gilbert's home studio in Mayagüez. (Individual broadcasts would be rerun previously recorded at different times in different stations, but the daily airings would be done live at 5:00 pm, AST). He claimed to never have canceled an original broadcast, never miss an air date and never substitute a live broadcast by a rerun—save because of technical reasons—during the program's 42-year run.After the death of William Mamary in 1965 the family negotiated an exchange with the builders of the Radio Centro building in Mayagüez, in which the builders would purchase the lot where the former textile factory sat, but gave Gilbert and his family the ownership of the new 12-story building's penthouse. He moved WTIL-AM and his media publicity firm, Mamery Publicidad, to the new facility, and eventually gave control of day to day operations to his children.
In the early 1970s Gilbert developed polyps
Polyp (medicine)
A polyp is an abnormal growth of tissue projecting from a mucous membrane. If it is attached to the surface by a narrow elongated stalk, it is said to be pedunculated. If no stalk is present, it is said to be sessile. Polyps are commonly found in the colon, stomach, nose, sinus, urinary bladder...
in his vocal cords. These were operated upon, and because of this he lost the lower ranges of his legendary bass voice. This forced him to speak about an octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
higher, with a raspy tone. Believing he had ruined his livelihood by this, he faced a lasting bout with clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
which lasted, on and off, until his death. In reality, Mamery was most productive and his popularity as a cultural icon in Puerto Rico was at its highest during the time his voice was affected. He claimed that music and religion (he became a devout Roman Catholic during his ordeal) saved his mental health at the time.
Gilbert was a major television personality within the small western Puerto Rico media market. In the late 1970s and early 1980s he expanded his reach to the rest of the country by hosting nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
shows, in which he'd play videos and short films by Puerto Rican and American artists (and, inevitably, one by Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel was a singer, songwriter and actor, and is perhaps the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was born in Toulouse, France, although he never acknowledged his birthplace publicly, and there are still claims of his birth in Uruguay. He lived in Argentina from the age of two...
in every broadcast). These broadcasts became very popular in Puerto Rico. He was also involved in three Puerto Rico-wide radio shows by the time of his death.
Extreme music collector
A media conglomerate offered to buy WTIL-AM from Gilbert in 2002. To the surprise of many, Gilbert sold the station, not before ensuring a reserved spot in its programming to continue broadcasting "La Discoteca del Recuerdo" from his home studio.Gilbert Mamery was one of the primary experts on the life of legendary tango singer Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel
Carlos Gardel was a singer, songwriter and actor, and is perhaps the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was born in Toulouse, France, although he never acknowledged his birthplace publicly, and there are still claims of his birth in Uruguay. He lived in Argentina from the age of two...
, as well as an avid music recording, video recording, film and magazine collector. His holdings surpassed the thousands of items. He was regularly an advisor for numerous documentaries produced in Puerto Rico and abroad, particularly those about Gardel, as well as two of the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico yearly Christmas television specials.
Death and legacy
A lifetime of smoking had Gilbert develop emphysemaEmphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
, which only slowed his output, although he would complain about respiratory distress in his last days. On the early morning of March 30, 2003, Gilbert woke up at 3:00 am (AST) in his Mayagüez home, apparently showing no symptoms of poor health at the time. He returned to his bed, and died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while sleeping, probably one or two hours later. The crowd that attended his funeral, one of the largest ever assembled in Mayagüez for a funeral, was comparable in size to those attending the respective funerals of Benjamin Cole, Mon Rivera
Mon Rivera
Mon Rivera is the common name given to two distinct Puerto Rican musicians , namely Monserrate Rivera Alers and his oldest son, Efraín Rivera Castillo Mon Rivera is the common name given to two distinct Puerto Rican musicians (both born in Mayagüez), namely Monserrate Rivera Alers (originally...
and Frankie Ruiz
Frankie Ruiz
Frankie Ruiz was a famous Puerto Rican salsa singer.-Early years:Born Jose Antonio Torresola Ruiz, he was born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey. His parents moved from Puerto Rico to the United States in search of a better way of life. In Paterson, Ruiz received his primary and secondary...
.
Besides leaving behind an enormous multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
collection and a clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
with strong ties to Puerto Rico's media industry, Gilbert Mamery's uncompromising standards of quality and business acumen have shaped the career of various local performers. José Feliciano
José Feliciano
José Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer, virtuoso guitarist and composer known for many international hits including the 1970 holiday single "Feliz Navidad".-Childhood:...
, for example, has gone on record saying that he recorded his instrumental album, "Six-String Lady", as a suggestion from Mamery.
Gilbert Mamery had strict standards for broadcast and live act production and promotion. His approach to production was compared during his lifetime to that of Bill Graham
Bill Graham (promoter)
Bill Graham was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death.-Early life:...
in the United States. For example, in those productions for which he collaborated, he would refuse to be credited if the end product turned out not to be historically accurate. His children and widow (Elba Muñoz), as managers of his estate, had strict orders from Gilbert not to donate his enormous multimedia collection to any entity which might not make good use of it with appropriate resources and funding, something which guarantees that the collections remain in private hands, at least as of the time of writing (June 2007).