Jump to content

Fernando Rey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisCasadoand the second or maternal family name isArambillet.

Fernando Rey
Rey atPalazzo d'Accursio,Bologna,in April 1974
Born
Fernando Casado Arambillet

(1917-09-20)20 September 1917
A Coruña,Galicia,Spain
Died9 March 1994(1994-03-09)(aged 76)
Madrid,Spain
OccupationActor
Years active1935–1994
Spouse
Mabel Karr
​
(m.1960)​
Children2
AwardsCannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor
1977Elisa, vida mía

Fernando Casado Arambillet(A Coruña(Spain), 20 September 1917 –Madrid(Spain), 9 March 1994), best known asFernando Rey,was a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States. A suave, international actor best known for his roles in the films of surrealist directorLuis Buñuel(Viridiana,1961;Tristana,1970;Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie,1972;That Obscure Object of Desire,1977) and as thedrug lordAlain Charnier inThe French Connection(1971) andFrench Connection II(1975), he appeared in more than 150 films over half a century.

The debonair Rey was described byFrench ConnectionproducerPhilip D'Antonias "the last of the Continental guys".[clarification needed]He achieved his greatest fame after he turned 50: "Perhaps it is a pity that my success came so late in life", he told theLos Angeles Times."It might have been better to have been successful while young, likeEl Cordobésin thebullring.Then your life is all before you to enjoy it. "[1]

Biography[edit]

The beginnings[edit]

Rey was born inA Coruña,Spain, the son of Fernando Casado Veiga and Sara Arambillet Rey. He studiedarchitecture,but theSpanish Civil Warinterrupted his university studies which led him to his success. Rey and his father fought on the side of theLoyalistsand by the end of the war were impoverished.[2]

Fernando Rey withSilvia PinalinViridiana,in the cover of the film script book.

In 1936, Rey began his career in films as anextra,sometimes even getting credited. It was then that he chose hisstage name,Fernando Rey. He kept his first name, but took his mother's second surname, Rey, a short surname with a clear meaning ( "Rey" is Spanish for "King" ).

In 1944, his first speaking role was theDuke of AlbainJosé López Rubio'sEugenia de Montijo.Four years later, he acted the part ofFelipe I el Hermoso,King of Spain, in the Spanish cinema blockbusterLocura de amor.

This was the start of a prolific career in film (he played in around two hundred films), radio, theatre, and television. Rey was also a greatdubbing actorin Spanish television. His voice was considered intense and personal, and he became the narrator of important Spanish movies includingLuis García Berlanga'sBienvenido Mr. Marshall(1953),Ladislao Vajda'sMarcelino Pan y Vino(1955), and even the 1992 re-dubbed version ofOrson Welles'Don Quixote.In fact, Rey acted in four different film versions ofDon Quixotein different roles, if one counts the Welles version (for which Rey supplied offscreen narration in the final scene).

His brilliant performance in the role of a demotivated and doubtful actor inJuan Antonio Bardem'sCómicos(1954), while showing him for the first time in a successful lead part, paradoxically, as he saw himself as the real incarnation of the role, plunged him in a professional depression, of which he did not emerge until his collaboration withLuis Buñuelseveral years later. However, in the short term, Buñuel's disconcerting public remark on Rey's performance in another of Bardem's film,Sonatas(1959), "I love how this actor plays a corpse", could only increase Rey's apprehensions. Nevertheless, eventually Rey became Buñuel's preferred actor and closest friend.

International career[edit]

Fernando Rey withGloria GrahameinTarot(The Magician,1973).

Rey's first international performance was inThe Night Heaven Fell(Les bijoutiers du clair de lune) a 1958 French-Italian film directed byRoger Vadim,where he acted alongsideStephen Boyd,Marina VladyandBrigitte Bardot.Previously he had played in an American TV series,It happens in Spain,the story of the exploits of a private detective, operating out in Spain, who helps distressed American tourists.

In 1959, Rey co-starred withSteve ReevesandChristine Kaufmannin the Italiansword and sandalfilmThe Last Days of Pompeii.

In 1961 Rey played in aEuropean Western,The Savage Guns,and as the popularity of that genre increased during that decade appeared in some other movies, including the politicalThe Price of Power(1969), the cult classicCompañeros,and two sequels ofThe Magnificent Seven,namelyReturn of the Seven(1966) andGuns of the Magnificent Seven(1969).

It was his work with Orson Welles andLuis Buñuelduring the 1960s and 1970s that made Rey internationally prominent; becoming the first 'international Spanish actor.' Rey starred in Buñuel'sViridiana(1961),Tristana(1970),The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie(Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie)(1972) (asurrealmovie which received the 1972Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film) andThat Obscure Object of Desire(1977). For Welles, Rey performed in two completed films,Chimes at Midnight(1966) andThe Immortal Story(1968).

Rey played memorably the French villain Alain Charnier inWilliam Friedkin'sThe French Connection(1971). Initially, Friedkin intended to castFrancisco Rabalas Charnier, but could not remember his name after seeing him inLuis Buñuel'sBelle de jour;he only knew the person he had in mind was a Spanish actor who had worked with Buñuel. Rey was hired after he flew to New York to be met by a surprised Friedkin. Rey's English and French were not perfect, but Friedkin discovered that Rabal spoke neither of them,[3]and opted to keep Rey, who reprised the role in the less successful sequel,French Connection II(1975).

Along 1970s and 1980s Rey played in many international co-productions, some of his appearances beingcameos.These films includeLewis Gilbert'sThe Adventurers(1970),Mauro Bolognini'sDrama of the Rich(1974),Vincente Minnelli'sA Matter of Time(1976),Valerio Zurlini'sThe Desert of the Tartars(1976),Robert Altman'sQuintet(1979),J. Lee Thompson'sCaboblanco(1980) andFrank Perry'sMonsignor(1982). One of Rey's greater successes in these years wasElisa, vida mía,a 1977 Spanish drama film written and directed byCarlos Saura.

On his work inStuart Rosenberg'sVoyage of the Damned(1976), Rey once said: "I played [Cuban] presidentBrú;a cameo. They paid me a lot of money for less than six hours of shooting, in theBarcelonaStock Exchange building, withJames Mason.I got more money than Orson Welles, who played a great role... ".[4]

Back in Spain[edit]

Fernando Rey, as Don Quixote, withAlfredo Landa,as Sancho Panza, inEl Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes(1992).

In later years, Rey preferred to work in Spain, with successes as Francisco Regueiro'sPadre Nuestro(1985),José Luis Cuerda'sEl bosque animado(1987) andJaime de Armiñán'sAl otro lado del túnel(1992) as well as his portrayal ofDon Quixote,alongsideAlfredo LandaasSancho Panza,in the memorableManuel Gutiérrez Aragón'sEl Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes(1992) forTelevisión Española.

His last appearance on the screen was in a supporting role in the Spanishblack comedyEl cianuro... ¿sólo o con leche?(Cyanide... pure or with milk?) (1994).

Recognition and awards[edit]

In 1971 Fernando Rey won the best actor award in theSan Sebastián International Film Festival,for his performance inRafael Gil'sLa duda,based, likeViridianaandTristana,on a novel byBenito Pérez Galdós.[citation needed]

Another of the successes of Rey-Buñuel's collaboration wasThat Obscure Object of Desire(1977), nominated for another Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category, though the movie failed to win either. Rey's voice had to be dubbed byMichel Piccoli.[citation needed]

InLina Wertmüller'sAcademy Award-nominated film,Seven Beauties(1975), Rey played the role of Pedro theanarchistwho, as a friend of the protagonist and fellow prisoner Pasqualino Settebellezze, chooses a gruesome suicide, rather than spend another day in aNaziconcentration camp.[citation needed]

Rey wonBest Actoraward at 1977Cannes Film Festivalfor his performance inElisa, vida mía.[citation needed]

In 1988 he again won the best actor award in the San Sebastián International Film Festival, this time for his performance in two films: Francisco Regueiro'sDiario de inviernoandAntonio Isasi-Isasmendi'sEl Aire de un Crimen (The Hint of a Crime).[citation needed]

Fernando Rey was also awarded the gold medal of the Spanish Movie Arts and Sciences Academy.[citation needed]

Personal life and death[edit]

In 1960, Rey married theArgentineactress Mabel Karr.[5]They had a son, Fernando Casado Campolongo.[6]

In 1992 he became chairman of theAcademia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de EspañasucceedingAntonio Giménez-Rico.[7]He died ofbladder cancerinMadridon 9 March 1994.[8]

He was survived by his wife, who died on 1 May 2001 at Hospital Ramon Cajal from a generalizedinfection.[9]On 25 September 2018 their son Fernando Casado confirmed she died from a sharpmediastinitisduring the filming of a tv series namedEl Secreto.[10][11]

Selected filmography[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Olive, Myrna (20 March 1994)."Fernando Rey, 76; Debonair Film Star".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved17 December2015.
  2. ^Fernando Rey, 76; Debonair Film StarLos Angeles TimesviaInternet Archive.Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  3. ^"William Friedkin on Casting Fernando Rey".YouTube.AFISilverTheatre's channel.Archivedfrom the original on 13 December 2021.Retrieved4 October2014.
  4. ^Cebollada, Pascual,Fernando Rey,Madrid 1992 page 299.
  5. ^"Muere la actriz argentina Mabel Karr, viuda del célebre actor Fernando Rey".Hola!(in Spanish). 2 May 2001.Retrieved25 July2019.
  6. ^Ferrer Molina, Vicente (14 January 2016).Buenas noches y saludos cordiales: José María García. Historia de un periodista irrepetible.Córner. p. 358.ISBN9788494425646.
  7. ^"Fernando Rey, nuevo presidente de la Academia del Cine de España".El País(in Spanish). Madrid:Prisa.14 December 1992.Retrieved25 July2019.
  8. ^"Fernando Rey dies of cancer".Star-News.Madrid. 10 March 1994. p. 22.Retrieved25 July2019.
  9. ^"Muere la actriz Mabel Karr, viuda de Fernando Rey".ABC.Madrid:Vocento.1 May 2001.Retrieved25 July2019.
  10. ^Migelez, Xabier; Madrid, José (25 September 2018)."El hijo de Fernando Rey, contra el debate de 'Las Campos'".El Confidencial(in Spanish). Titania Compañía Editorial, S.L.Retrieved25 July2019.
  11. ^Migelez, Xabier (1 October 2018)."La abogada Paloma Zorrilla se disculpa por una afirmación errónea en 'Las Campos'".El Confidencial(in Spanish). Titania Compañía Editorial, S.L.Retrieved25 July2019.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Cebollada, Pascual (1992).Fernando Rey.Madrid: C.I.L.E.H.ISBN84-87411-12-6.
  • Torres, Augusto M. (1994).Diccionario del cine español.Madrid: Espasa Calpe.ISBN84-239-9203-9.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fernando_Rey&oldid=1232526763"