José Asunción Martínez (11 November 1944 – 3 March 2013) better known as José Sancho or Pepe Sancho, was a Spanish actor. Over a period of fifty years he appeared extensively in Spanish television and films. He was perhaps best known internationally for his roles in

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narra ...

's films ''

Live Flesh ''Live Flesh'', is a psychological thriller by British author Ruth Rendell, published in 1986. It won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year. It was the inspiration for a film of the same name by Pedro Almod ...

'' and ''

Talk to Her ''Talk to Her'' ( es, Hable con ella) is a 2002 Spanish drama written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, and starring Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Geraldine Chaplin, and Rosario Flores. The film follows two men who form an ...

''.

Private life

Sancho was born in

Manises Manises (, ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Oest in the Valencian Community, Spain. Located in the province of Valencia, it had 30,693 inhabitants in 2018 (NSI) and is famous for its pottery and being the location of Valencia Airp ...

(

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

), Spain, in 1944. He married and divorced twice the singer María Jiménez (with whom he had a son named Alejandro) and, after his second divorce with Jiménez, he married journalist Reyes Monforte, from 2006 until the death of the actor in 2013. He was a cousin of the

Spanish Socialist Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spai ...

politician Antoni Asunción. Sancho died March 3, 2013 with 68 years old in

after a long illness from a

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

Career

Sancho's first film role was when he was aged just four in ' (1948), directed by

Victor Tourjansky The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * Victor (1951 film), ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * Victor (1993 film), ...

. He became popular thanks to his role as ''The Student'', in

Televisión Española Televisión Española (acronym TVE, branded tve, "Spanish Television") is Spain's national state-owned public television broadcaster and the oldest regular television service in the country. It was also the first regular television service in ...

series ''

Curro Jiménez ''Curro Jiménez'' was a successful Spanish television historical drama series that was first broadcast on La Primera Cadena of Televisión Española from December 22, 1976 to March 25, 1978. Its main theme was Andalusian "bandolerismo" (bandi ...

'' (1977–1978), directed by

Pilar Miró Pilar Mercedes Miró Romero (20 April 1940 in Madrid – 19 October 1997 in Madrid) was a Spanish screenwriter and film director. She was the General Director of RTVE from 1986 to 1989. In the 1990s, she directed the television broadcasts of th ...

Mario Camus Mario Camus García (20 April 1935 – 18 September 2021) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. He won the Golden Bear at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival with '' La colmena''. His 1987 film '' The House of Bernarda Alba'' ...

, ,

Rafael Romero Marchent Rafael Romero Marchent (3 May 1926 – 13 February 2020) was a Spanish director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Born in Madrid, the son of the author Joaquín Romero Marchent Gómez de Avellaneda, he started his career as an actor, mai ...

Francisco Rovira Beleta Francisco Rovira Beleta (Barcelona, 1913 – 23 June 1999) was a twice Academy Award nominee Spanish screenwriter and film director. His film '' Los atracadores'' was entered into the 12th Berlin International Film Festival. His 1963 film '' ...

and others. Almost twenty years after that work, he returned to star in another television series, ' (1995), together with Beatriz Carvajal and his former partner in ''Curro Jiménez'',

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence in t ...

. One year later, he joined up with

Rocío Dúrcal María de los Ángeles de las Heras Ortiz (4 October 1944 – 25 March 2006), better known professionally as Rocío Dúrcal (), was a Spanish singer and actress. Widely successful in Mexico, she earned the sobriquet of ''Reina de las Rancheras'' ...

in ''

Los negocios de mamá ''Los negocios de mamá'' is a Spanish comedy television series starring Rocío Dúrcal and José Sancho and directed by Luis Sanz. It aired in 1997 on La Primera. Premise The storyline focuses on Ana (Rocío Dúrcal), a pro-business entrepre ...

'' (1997), also for television. Among his many roles in films is his collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar in ''Talk to Her'' and in ''Live Flesh'' along with

Javier Bardem Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (; born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. Known for his roles in blockbusters and foreign films, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the psychopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in ...

, where he won the

Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor The Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor ( es, Premio Goya a la mejor interpretación masculina de reparto) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain. It is given in honor of an actor who has deli ...

in 1997. In 2000 he guest-starred as ''Don Rafael Alvarado'' in the syndicated television series ''

Queen of Swords The Queen of Swords is a card in the Suit of Swords, part of the Minor Arcana set of the Tarot. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, Tarot cards are utilized primarily for div ...

'', who is murdered in the first episode, "

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

", causing his daughter Tessa to take up arms as the title character. His involvement in several films and theatrical activity was significant, but his role of ''Don Pablo'', in Televisión Española series ''

Cuéntame cómo pasó ' (Spanish, 'Tell me how it happened'), usually shortened to ''Cuéntame'' and also known in English as ''Remember When'', is a Spanish prime-time television drama series which has been broadcast on La 1 of Televisión Española since 2001. It ...

'', from 2001 to 2008, brought his greatest popularity and recognition.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1944 births 2013 deaths People from Horta Oest Spanish male film actors Spanish male television actors Best Supporting Actor Goya Award winners Deaths from lung cancer in Spain 20th-century Spanish male actors 21st-century Spanish male actors Male actors from the Valencian Community {{Spain-actor-stub