He is credited with helping shape Mexico's film industry in the period surrounding World War II.
[2][3] Ripstein also helped start the careers of several contemporary Mexican actors such as Gael García Bernal and Salma Hayek.
Ripstein's mother asked Villa for permission to close the store in order to give birth to Alfredo.
"So the first man that ever carried my father was Pancho Villa", Ripstein's son Arturo told Los Angeles Times reporter Reed Johnson.
Ripstein first worked as an accountant and then was hired by Simon Wishnack's Filmex company as a production manager and executive producer.