Fernando Guillén Gallego (29 November 1931 – 17 January 2013) was a Spanish
actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
with a long and distinguished career spanning more than five decades.
[D’Lugo, ''Guide to the Cinema of Spain'', p. 231]
Career
Guillén was born in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
in 1932.
He began studies at the
University of Madrid, taking part in the Spanish University theater. He eventually abandoned his studies to follow a career as an actor.
His professional career began in 1952 working with the theatrical companies of
Fernando Fernán Gómez
Fernando Fernández Gómez (28 August 1921 – 21 November 2007), better known as Fernando Fernán Gómez, was a Spanish actor, screenwriter, film director, theater director, novelist, and playwright. Prolific and outstanding in all these fiel ...
and
Conchita Montes
Conchita Montes (13 March 1914 – 18 October 1994) was a Spanish film actress.
Career
Born in Madrid, Montes became a popular actress in Spanish films of the 1940s and 1950s. In 1950 she starred in '' El último caballo''
an Edgar Neville
...
, and later in the
National Theatre of Catalonia. He later formed his own theatrical company with his wife, actress
Gemma Cuervo
Gemma Cuervo de Igartua (born 22 July 1934) is a Spanish TV, Film, cinema and theatre actress.
Biography
Her best known works are her roles in the TV programs ''Estudio 1'', ''Médico de familia'' and ''Aquí no hay quien viva''. She also wo ...
. The couple had three children, actors:
Fernando
Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...
and
Cayetana, as well as another daughter, Natalia. They separated years later. Fernando Guillén continued to work in the theater until 2008 when, at age 75, he announced his retirement from the stage.
In addition to theater, he worked extensively in television and film, beginning in 1953 with the film ''Un dia perdido'' directed by
José María Forqué. Over the next three decades he appeared in more than two dozen films, mostly in secondary roles in which his face became familiar to Spanish audiences. However, it was on television where he consolidated his career as an actor, debuting in 1958 with the adaptation of the play ''Nightmare'' by
William Irish
Cornell George Hopley Woolrich ( ; December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley.
His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr., rated Woolrich th ...
, under the direction of
Juan Guerrero Zamora.
He worked regularly in the 1980s and 1990s in films like ''
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'' () is a 1988 Spanish black comedy film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas and Julieta Serrano. The plot follows actress Pepa, who, after her lover Ivá ...
'' (1988) and ''
All About My Mother'' (1999). Besides Almodovar, Guillén worked with
José María Forqué,
Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda Ezquerra (; 9 November 1926 – 26 May 2015) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.
Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founding member ...
,
Pedro Lazaga, Fernando Fernan Gomez,
Imanol Uribe and
Gonzalo Suarez, among others.
On 7 February 2008
Forges,
Amparo Baró and Guillén received the Gold
Medal of Merit in Labour by the Minister of Labour
Jesús Caldera
Jesús Caldera Sánchez-Capitán (born 31 October 1957 in Béjar, Salamanca) is a Spanish socialist politician. He holds degrees in political science and sociology from the Complutense University of Madrid and a law degree from UNED.He was Mini ...
.
He died aged 80 following a long illness on 17 January 2013.
Honours
* Gold
Medal of Merit in Labour (Kingdom of Spain, 7 December 2007).
Boletín Oficial del Estado
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Notes
References
* D’Lugo, Marvin. '' Guide to the Cinema of Spain''. Greenwood Press, 1997.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guillen, Fernando
1932 births
2013 deaths
Male actors from Barcelona
Spanish male film actors