Famous Spanish characters that came out at the cinema
people who, because they were known, were recruited to appear in audiovisual works.
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- Writer
- Director
Jacinto Benavente was born on 12 August 1866 in Madrid, Spain. He was a writer and director, known for La madona de las rosas (1919), Los intereses creados (1919) and Para toda la vida (1923). He died on 14 July 1954 in Madrid, Spain.- Joaquín Álvarez Quintero was born on 20 January 1873 in Utrera, Seville, Andalucía, Spain. He was a writer, known for Mariquilla Terremoto (1939), La patria chica (1943) and Malvaloca (1954). He died on 14 June 1944 in Madrid, Spain.
- Serafín Álvarez Quintero was born on 26 March 1871 in Utrera, Seville, Andalucía, Spain. He was a writer, known for Mariquilla Terremoto (1939), La patria chica (1943) and Malvaloca (1954). He died on 12 April 1938 in Madrid, Spain.
- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Alfonso Paso was born on 12 September 1926 in Madrid, Spain. He was a writer and actor, known for Aquellos tiempos del cuplé (1958), Sierra maldita (1954) and La otra residencia (1970). He died on 10 July 1978 in Madrid, Spain.- Ricardo has since his youth graduated in the general military academy of Zaragoza, winning on the fronts more gallons and medals, including the military merit individual and the laureate of San Fernando, acting in the revolts of Cuba and the Philippines, as well as in the Morocco war where he acts as general and high commissioner. In the following years he occupies very prominent military positions as the military governor of Madrid during the twenties, the Chief of the Civil Guard or the teacher of the royal infantes of Spain. In times of the republic was the maximum military judge who could judge any coup action, however his position was eradicated by removing the rank of lieutenant general by the president of the republic.
- King Alfonso XIII was born on May 17, 1886. His mother was the former Queen of Spain and his father was the deceased King Alfonso XII. Because his father died before he was born he was considered King of Spain from the moment he was born. He grew up in and around Spain with his mother (she was an Austrian Princess) and his two sisters. In 1906 at the age of 18 he went searching for a bride. Hearing about the loveliness of the granddaughters of Queen Victoria of England he went to the court of King Edward (Victoria's son) he originally wanted Princess Patricia but since she was the daughter of Queen Victoria's second son and fourth born child she was considered too close to the throne to become Queen of Spain. Alfonso then hit on Queen Victorias 37th grandchild Victoria Eugenia. Bridging a communication gap by speaking French together, they fell in love and married in Spain on May 31, 1906. They were happy for a little bit, but the wedge that drove them apart was Victoria Eugenia's blood. Ena as Victoria was called had two brothers with a genetic disorder called hemophilia which affects how the blood clots. When Ena and Alonso's first child was born it was soon apparent that Ena had transmitted the disorder to their son. In a short time they had several other children, but never regained the intimacy that their early marriage had. One or two more children born to them had hemophilia, one of their sons became blind, and they had two daughters one of which transmitted the disorder further.
Alfonso tried to get his marriage annulled, but the Pope would not let him because of the number of children that they had together. He ruled Spain for the most part without the help of his wife, but in the 1930s Fransico Franco took over in Spain leaving the family to split up and he and Ena never saw each other again.
Happily after the death of Franco, Alonso and Ena's grandson Jaun Carlos became king of Spain. - Cayetana de Alba was born on 28 March 1926 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain. She was married to Alfonso Diez Carabantes, Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zárate and Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz. She died on 20 November 2014 in Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Ruperto Chapí was born on 27 March 1851 in Villena, Alicante, Spain. He was a composer, known for Teatro Apolo (1950), De Madrid al cielo (1952) and La danza del corazón (1953). He was married to Vicenta Selva Alvarez. He died on 25 March 1909 in Madrid, Spain.- Producer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Flora Disney (née Call) and Elias Disney, a Canadian-born farmer and businessperson. He had Irish, German, and English ancestry. Walt moved with his parents to Kansas City at age seven, where he spent the majority of his childhood. At age 16, during World War I, he faked his age to join the American Red Cross. He soon returned home, where he won a scholarship to the Kansas City Art Institute. There, he met a fellow animator, Ub Iwerks. The two soon set up their own company. In the early 1920s, they made a series of animated shorts for the Newman theater chain, entitled "Newman's Laugh-O-Grams". Their company soon went bankrupt, however.
The two then went to Hollywood in 1923. They started work on a new series, about a live-action little girl who journeys to a world of animated characters. Entitled the "Alice Comedies", they were distributed by M.J. Winkler (Margaret). Walt was backed up financially only by Winkler and his older brother Roy O. Disney, who remained his business partner for the rest of his life. Hundreds of "Alice Comedies" were produced between 1923 and 1927, before they lost popularity.
Walt then started work on a series around a new animated character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. This series was successful, but in 1928, Walt discovered that M.J. Winkler and her husband, Charles Mintz, had stolen the rights to the character away from him. They had also stolen all his animators, except for Ub Iwerks. While taking the train home, Walt started doodling on a piece of paper. The result of these doodles was a mouse named Mickey. With only Walt and Ub to animate, and Walt's wife Lillian Disney (Lilly) and Roy's wife Edna Disney to ink in the animation cells, three Mickey Mouse cartoons were quickly produced. The first two didn't sell, so Walt added synchronized sound to the last one, Steamboat Willie (1928), and it was immediately picked up. With Walt as the voice of Mickey, it premiered to great success. Many more cartoons followed. Walt was now in the big time, but he didn't stop creating new ideas.
In 1929, he created the 'Silly Symphonies', a cartoon series that didn't have a continuous character. They were another success. One of them, Flowers and Trees (1932), was the first cartoon to be produced in color and the first cartoon to win an Oscar; another, Three Little Pigs (1933), was so popular it was often billed above the feature films it accompanied. The Silly Symphonies stopped coming out in 1939, but Mickey and friends, (including Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, and plenty more), were still going strong and still very popular.
In 1934, Walt started work on another new idea: a cartoon that ran the length of a feature film. Everyone in Hollywood was calling it "Disney's Folly", but Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was anything but, winning critical raves, the adoration of the public, and one big and seven little special Oscars for Walt. Now Walt listed animated features among his ever-growing list of accomplishments. While continuing to produce cartoon shorts, he also started producing more of the animated features. Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942) were all successes; not even a flop like Fantasia (1940) and a studio animators' strike in 1941 could stop Disney now.
In the mid 1940s, he began producing "packaged features", essentially a group of shorts put together to run feature length, but by 1950 he was back with animated features that stuck to one story, with Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953). In 1950, he also started producing live-action films, with Treasure Island (1950). These began taking on greater importance throughout the 50s and 60s, but Walt continued to produce animated features, including Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), and One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).
In 1955 he opened a theme park in southern California: Disneyland. It was a place where children and their parents could take rides, just explore, and meet the familiar animated characters, all in a clean, safe environment. It was another great success. Walt also became one of the first producers of films to venture into television, with his series The Magical World of Disney (1954) which he began in 1954 to promote his theme park. He also produced The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) and Zorro (1957). To top it all off, Walt came out with the lavish musical fantasy Mary Poppins (1964), which mixed live-action with animation. It is considered by many to be his magnum opus. Even after that, Walt continued to forge onward, with plans to build a new theme park and an experimental prototype city in Florida.
He did not live to see the culmination of those plans, however; in 1966, he developed lung cancer brought on by his lifelong chain-smoking. He died of a heart attack following cancer surgery on December 15, 1966 at age 65. But not even his death, it seemed, could stop him. Roy carried on plans to build the Florida theme park, and it premiered in 1971 under the name Walt Disney World. His company continues to flourish, still producing animated and live-action films and overseeing the still-growing empire started by one man: Walt Disney, who will never be forgotten.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Alfredo Kraus was born on 24 November 1927 in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. He was an actor, known for The Family Man (2000), Analyze This (1999) and Gayarre (1959). He was married to Rosa ?. He died on 10 September 1999 in Madrid, Spain.- Actress
- Music Department
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Her childhood was shaped by the Spanish Civil War and the modest means of her working-class family. Her musical talent developed early and she was already singing classical cantatas at the age of seven. From 1942 she trained in singing at the Conservatorio Superior de Musica in Barcelona. She was able to study thanks to a scholarship. In 1954 she finished with the best award. The following year, Montserrat Caballé made his debut in Reus, southern Catalonia, in the leading female role in the comic opera "La serva padrona" by the Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. She then received a three-year engagement at the theater in Basel from 1956. From 1959 to 1962 she worked at the theater in Bremen. During this time in German-speaking countries, she learned to speak the local language fluently. 1965 was the beginning of her great international career. On April 20th of this year, she briefly replaced her pregnant colleague Marilyn Horne in the opera "Lukrezia Borga" by Gaetano Donizetti, which took place as a concert performance at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Montserrat Caballé was enthusiastically celebrated by the audience, highly praised by the press and mentioned alongside renowned personalities such as Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland. With this event she became a star and the doors of the most important international houses opened to her. Immediately afterwards, the Metropolitan Opera contacted her with a permanent contract. There she started in the role of Marguérite in the master opera "Faust" by the French composer Charles Gounod. This was followed by a record contract with the music label RCA Records in New York City. In 1962 she met her future husband, the tenor Bernabé Marti. This year she appeared with him in the opera production of Giacomo Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" at the Teatro del Liceo in Barcelona. Two years later, the two married in the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat in the mountains of the same name near Barcelona. From 1971, the soprano performed regularly at the State Opera in Hamburg. Her favorite composers include Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi and Puccini. In addition, Caballé often worked as a concert singer.
In 1986, she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. She became known to a wider, more operatic audience through her legendary performance on the rock crossover title "Barcelona" on the occasion of the 1992 Olympic Games there, which she sang together with Freddie Mercury and which comes from the 1987 album of the same name. This and other engagements show the versatility of the artist Caballé. The solo title was written by Mercury. Her album "Friends For Life" was released in 1997 with the participation of Bruce Dickinson, Johnny Hallyday, Johnny Logan, Gino Vannelli and Helmut Lotti. A year later, Caballé was awarded the Bambi. The singer celebrated her comeback as an opera diva in 2002 at the Gran Teatro des Liceo in Barcelona after ten years away from the stage. In 2007 she was awarded the Echo Klassik Music Prize for her life's work. In the same year on April 1st she returned to the stage of the Vienna State Opera after 18 years. She played and sang the role of Duchesse de Crakentorp in Gaetano Donizetti's opera "La Fille du Régiment", an international production between the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera New York.
The diva's other awards include the Order of Doña Isabel La Católica as the highest title of the Spanish government, R.SH Gold for pop music from Radio Schleswig-Holstein, the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Cross of Honor for Arts and Science. Montserrat Caballé also volunteers as a United Nations ambassador. With her excellent bel canto interpretations, she is one of the greatest singers in the field and its innovators. In addition to her exceptional artistic qualities, her more than 90 opera roles and her around 4,000 performances made her popular as one of the greatest opera singers. In addition to the opera stage and musical theater, she delighted audiences with her heartwarming appearances in talk shows, galas and film documentaries.- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Although born in Madrid, Spain, Placido Domingo spent a major portion of his life living in Mexico City where he graduated from the Mexico City Conservatory. His first operatic performance was in a staging of La Traviata in Monterrey playing Alfredo. He was then a Tenor for the Israel National Opera and subsequently moved to Europe.- Sofía de Grecia was born on 2 November 1938 in Athens, Greece. She has been married to Juan Carlos de Borbón since 14 May 1962. They have three children.
- Manolete was born on 4 July 1917 in Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain. He was an actor, known for Garabatos Manolete (1945), Mi Carro (2018) and Antología taurina (1972). He died on 29 August 1947 in Linares, Jaén, Spain.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Victoria de los Ángeles was born on 1 November 1923 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She was an actress, known for Rat Race (2001), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) and Atonement (2007). She was married to Enrique Magriñá Mir. She died on 15 January 2005 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teoula Franco y Bahamonde was born on December 4, 1892, in Ferrol, Spain. He entered the Spanish Military Academy in 1907 and upon graduation three years later was commissioned as a lieutenant. His career path seemed assured after he was detailed to the colony of Spanish Morocco to fight against the Berber tribes and acquitted himself well. In 1916 he won the Battle of El Biutz, which stopped Berber attacks against Spanish outposts. In 1923 he was appointed commander of the Spanish Foreign Legion, and in 1926 at the age of 33 was named the army's youngest brigadier general.
Franco returned to Spain in 1927 to lead the National Military Academy. He was assigned to quell a miners' strike in the Masturias in 1934, and revealed himself to be a ruthless authoritarian by ordering the execution of over 2,000 miners and other workers who were "suspected" of being Marxists. Franco proved to be one of Spain's staunchest and most rabid anti-Communists, and as such was invited to take a leading role in a right-wing coup being planned by fellow officers to overthrow the government of the Republic of Spain, which had large numbers of Socialist and democratic members in its ruling circles. Franco accepted and, shortly after the revolt broke out on July 17, 1936, he was named commander of the nationalist forces with the title of "Generalísimo". Although he had hoped to seize control of the government quickly, the republican forces proved to be more formidable than Franco and his conspirators had counted on, and the struggle evolved into a full-scale civil war that lasted nearly three years. With much political, financial and material support from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini, both of whom sent tanks, arms and even combat troops to aid him, Franco emerged as the victor, capturing the capital of Madrid on March 28, 1939, which ended the Spanish Civil War. Named "el caudillo" (the leader), dictator for life, Generalísimo Franco proved to be an astute political leader as well as a masterful military commander. Although he owed a great debt to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy for their aid, he managed to keep Spain officially neutral during World War II despite pressure from many senior political and military leaders in the government to enter the war on the side of the Axis Powers. Franco was initially keen to join the Axis, and wrote to Hitler offering to join the war on 19 June 1940. However by the end of the year he had decided to stay out of the conflict and let Spain recover from the terrible civil war that wrecked its economy and severely weakened its military. Nevertheless he provided considerable help to the Axis from 1940 to 1943. After the Axis Powers were defeated in 1945, Spain was isolated for many years before Franco tried allying himself with the west by pushing his anti-Communist "credentials". Spain was admitted into the United Nations in 1955 and was soon allied with the United States and other western powers. He served as supreme leader of Spain until his death on November 20, 1975, at the age of 82. - Sélica Pérez Carpio was born on 19 September 1900 in Valencia, Spain. She was an actress, known for La verbena de la Paloma (1935), Los dinamiteros (1964) and Sábado 64 (1964). She died on 23 May 1984 in Madrid, Spain.
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll was born on December 5, 1946, in Barcelona, Spain. His father was the owner of a small chemical plant. Young Carreras showed early interest in music after seeing Mario Lanza in the film The Great Caruso (1951) at the age of 6. He gave his first public performance on the Spanish National Radio at the age of 8. At that time, he began his piano and solfeggio studies. His parents had a season subscription at the Liceo Opera, and young Carreras with his brother became regular opera goers. He studied chemistry on the insistence of his father. At the age of 17, he started taking voice lessons from Jaime Francisco Puig in Conservatorio Superior de Musica del Liceo in Barcelona. He also excelled in sports having tennis as a hobby. Jose Carreras and his wife Mercedes were married in Barcelona cathedral In May of 1971, the couple has two sons.
Carreras made his debut at the age of 18, as Flavio in Norma by Vincenzo Bellini , where his stage partner was Montserrat Caballé in the title role. The two singers made a steady duet for the next fifteen opera productions. Caballe invited Carreras to sing the part of Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia by Gaetano Donizetti in Teatre Liceo. That role became the first major breakthrough for the young tenor. Carreras won the International Verdi Lyrical song contest in Parma in 1971. He made his London debut in 1971 with Caballe. In 1976, he was invited by Herbert von Karajan to appear at the Summer and Winter Festivals of Salzburg. Carreras made notable recordings under the baton of Herbert von Karajan, including the Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi. He made an acclaimed recording of the 'West Side Story' with Leonard Bernstein.
Jose Carreras' lyrical tenor had its finest quality during the 1970s and early 1980s. He sung the lead tenor in 24 different operas by the age of 28. He performed the total of over 60 roles during the years of intense singing career from 1964-1987, making over a thousand performances in various formats: operas, concerts, recordings and festival recitals. In the 1980s, Carreras' voice started to show some signs of strain, especially detectable when he pushed or forced his voice to harmful open notes.
In 1987, at the peak of his career, Jose Carreras collapsed in Paris while a recording performance opposite Kiri Te Kanawa in Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini. He was diagnosed with leukemia and was given low chance of survival. He underwent a year-long treatment of radiation, chemotherapy and an autologus bone marrow transplant in Seattle. In 1988, Carreras returned to singing and was greeted by a crowd of 150,000 at an open air performance in Barcelona. In 1990, he made the acclaimed Three Tenors performance at the opening of the World Cup in Rome. It was originally planned as a fund-raiser for the Jose Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation. A series of "The Three Tenors" concerts during the 1990s followed by the record-breaking sales of their recordings.
Jose Carreras made a remarkable comeback after his treatment and recovery from leukemia. He maintains a busy concert schedule and his performance calendar is booked through the year 2007.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Anne Igartiburu was born on 18 February 1969 in Elorrio, Vizcaya, País Vasco, Spain. She is an actress, known for El lápiz del carpintero (2003), ¡Mira quién baila! (2005) and Zigortzaileak (2010). She has been married to Pablo Heras-Casado since 2015. They have one child. She was previously married to Igor Yebra.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Antonio Gades was born on 14 November 1936 in Elda, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain. He was an actor and writer, known for Carmen (1983), Blood Wedding (1981) and Los Tarantos (1963). He was married to Eugenia Eiriz, Daniela Frey, Marisol, Pilar Sanclemente and Marujita Díaz. He died on 20 July 2004 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Marifé de Triana was born on 13 September 1936 in Burguillos, Seville, Andalucía, Spain. She was an actress, known for Bajo el cielo andaluz (1960), Canto para ti (1959) and The Days of the Past (1977). She was married to José María Alonso Calvo. She died on 16 January 2013 in Benalmádena, Málaga, Andalucía, Spain.- Actress
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Since very young she is famous as a dancer and singer of andalusian folklore. In 1939 she debuts in cinema in the role of a gipsy. Her greatest success is in folklore shows with Manolo Caracol as artistic partner till 1951. She marries in 1958 to the guitarrist Antonio González "El Pescaílla".- Actress
- Producer
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Marujita Díaz was born on 27 April 1932 in Seville, Seville, Andalucía, Spain. She was an actress and producer, known for Pelusa (1960), La corista (1960) and La casta Susana (1963). She was married to Antonio Gades, Espartaco Santoni and Ricardo Ferrante. She died on 23 June 2015 in Madrid, Spain.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Cinematographer
Antonio El Bailarín was born on 4 November 1921 in Seville, Seville, Andalucía, Spain. He was an actor and cinematographer, known for Nuits andalouses (1954), Hollywood Canteen (1944) and Pan-Americana (1945). He died on 5 February 1996 in Madrid, Spain.