José Luis López Vázquez
(Madrid, 1922-2009) Spanish actor with a long professional career.Completely removed from the prototype of the gallant, he knew how to stay active decade after decade thanks to his interpretive wisdom, although he did not have many opportunities to prove his worth.In the 70s he participated in comedies of little value that took advantage of the open censorship and showed the sexual attitude of the Spanish with a crude humor; hence the typical image of an angry and gesticulating López Vázquez.He is one of the most lavish actors in the history of Spanish cinema: he worked almost uninterruptedly since 1953, often participating in several films a year, until he accumulated more than 220 titles that make up his filmography.
José Luis López Vázquez
José Luis López Vázquez entered the cinema as a costume designer and designed the costumes for some films, performing at the same time certain performances in the theater.His meeting with Luis Escobar, director of the María Guerrero Theater, led to his professional debut and his inclusion in the company's cast.In 1955 he achieved his first success on stage with A young girl from Valladolid , with the Alberto Closas company.
In the cinema, on the other hand, despite a remarkable beginning in That Happy Couple (1951), by Luis García Berlanga and Juan Antonio Bardem, everything pointed to an actor's career of distribution, given its physical characteristics; his talent allowed him to participate in many films, becoming a regular figure in the costumbrista frieze displayed by the best ( El pisito , Robbery at three ) and the worst Spanish comedy.He still shot notable titles, such as Plácido (1961) or El verdugo (1963).It was Carlos Saura who got him out of that kind of interpretive quagmire by offering him the leading role in Peppermint frappé (1967, with Geraldine Chaplin and Alfredo Mayo).From then on he continued his usual intense work (he shot up to twelve films in a single year), but each time in higher quality cinema, with memorable compositions.
In 1972 he made an impressive performance in the well-remembered short film by Antonio Mercero The cabin , which won an Emmy.Within such a vast filmography, it is almost impossible to cite all the outstanding titles; Some of them are La prima Angélica (1973), La escopeta nacional (1978), La vaquilla (1985) and Spanish soldier (1988).A source of memorable roles was the film adaptations of literary works: with Antonio Drove he shot The truth about the Savolta case (1979), based on the work of Eduardo Mendoza; Mario Camus directed it in his version of La colmena (1982), by Camilo José Cela; and under the baton of Pedro Olea he participated in El maestro de esgrima (1992), according to the novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.
Already in the 90s he worked for television and intervened in films such as The Long Winter (1992), All in Prison (1993) and Memoirs of the Fallen Angel (1997).In his later years he saw both his theatrical career (with the National Theater Award, which he received in 2002) and his film career, for which he deserved the honorary Goya in 2005.
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