In the 1930's, guests of the hotel in this decade included: Johnny Weismuller (Tarzan), Edward VIII (prince of Wales), Jack Dempsey, Tom Mix, José Mujica, Buster Keaton, Errol Fynn and the mobsters Santos Traficante (father) and Meyer Lansky. The last-mentioned arranged with Batista the future business of the casinos. In the 1940's guests included George Raft, Betty Grable, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Carol II of Rumania, Mario Moreno (Cantinflas), Tyrone Power, Lucky Luciano, Rita Hayworth, Ali-Khan, Ernest Hemingway, Fred Astaire, , César Romero and Gary Cooper, and in the 1950's Nelson Rockefeller, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gadner, Sir Alexander Fleming, Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, Pablo Casals, , John Wayne, Mickey Mantle, and Stan Musial. The hotel was the setting for the formation of the '26th July Movement' (M-26-7) revolutionary cell led by Fidel Castro.