Fernando Fernan Gomez

Fernando Fernández Gómez (his real name) was born on August 28, 1921, in Lima (Peru), the city where his mother, the Spanish actress Carola Fernán Gómez, was on tour. His family lived in Argentina until he was three years old, when they decided to move to Madrid. Although he was going to study Philosophy and Letters, he could not enter the University, due to the outbreak of the Civil War. He decided to dedicate himself to the theater, in one of those companies, that of Laura Pinillos, which he later knew how to portray so well in El voyage to nowhere . The great promoter of his career was the writer Enrique Jardiel Poncela , who personally chose him to star in some of his plays.

When he had already obtained a certain prestige on the stage, he made his film debut, at the hands of the prolific Ignacio F. Iquino , in Turbante blanco . It was the first film of a vast filmography that includes 212 films. Fernán Gómez was a very hard-working man, heir to the mentality of the old itinerant comedians, who accepted any job, regardless of the budget, in case a dry season came later. Of course, he was always impeccable, substantially raising the quality of films that sometimes left much to be desired, such as the drama Cristina Guzmán , based on an outdated novel by Carmen de Icaza, very fashionable in Spain at the time.

His first big hit was Autumn Roses , based on a play by Jacinto Benavente and directed by Eduardo Morera and Juan de Orduña , one of the most successful directors of the moment in Spain. From that moment on, Fernán Gómez is in demand by the most renowned filmmakers, such as Ladislao Vajda ( A palace is sold ), Edgar Neville ( Carnival Sunday , The Last Horse ), Ramón Torrado ( Anchor Button ), José Antonio Nieves Conde ( Balarrasa ), Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga( That happy couple ) and especially José Luis Sáenz de Heredia ( Fate apologizes , Bambú , La mies es mucha ).

In 1945, Fernán Gómez married the famous actress and singer María Dolores Pradera , with whom he coincided in the film It is dangerous to look outside . The marriage had a daughter, Helena, although they divorced in 1959. In the last years of his life, the actor has shared his life with the also actress Emma Cohen .

Like the Renaissance artists, Fernán Gómez was a restless man who set his sights on various disciplines. Thus, he debuted as a filmmaker, directing the film Manicomio (1954) with Luis María Delgado . It is obligatory to mention his brilliant adaptation of La venganza de Don Mendo , the ingenious play text by Don Pedro Muñoz Seca , which Fernán Gómez wrote, directed and starred in. Also noteworthy are El extraño viaje , a true classic, his version of the work by Mihura Ninette and a man from Murcia , El viaje a nunparte –a tribute to the acting profession, based on one of his novels- and the television series Juan Soldado andThe rogue .

He was the ideal actor to embody the most famous character of Cervantes, as he demonstrated in Don Quixote rides again , by Roberto Gavaldón, and the animated series Don Quixote de la Mancha , in which he gave the voice of the protagonist. Having become a consecrated actor, from the 70s he combines the occasional comedy ( I am Fulana de tal ) with the best films of the new generation of filmmakers, such as Carlos Saura ( Ana and the wolves , Mama has a hundred years ), Víctor Erice ( The spirit of the beehive ), Pedro Olea ( Pim, pam, pum… fire!), Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón (Feroz , The most beautiful night , Half of the sky ), Jaime de Armiñán ( Stico , My general ), José Luis García Sánchez ( Pharaoh’s court ), Imanol Uribe ( The stunned king , Full moon ), José Luis Garci ( The grandfather ) and Fernando Trueba ( Belle Epoque , The Shanghai Haunting ). His last film to be released was Mia Sarah , although he leaves it pending release Fuera de cara , by Nacho Velilla.