Jose Sazatornil

Celebrated for his comedic characters in 1970s movies, Saza has a very extensive filmography, although many of his films are far from being masterpieces. With a great sense of humor, he used to play stiff characters, often with easy fits of anger, which he offered to the camera with unparalleled sympathy, also thanks to exaggerated gestures supported by his broad features (that huge mouth) and a great talent to make laugh Directors also often required him to play guys from another era, classy and stale, with a whiff of the right. This is how Luis García Berlanga characterized him in La escopeta nacional , one of Saza’s most remembered films.

Born in Barcelona on August 13, 1925, José Sazatornil made his debut as a professional actor at the age of 21, at the Victoria Theater in Barcelona. In the cinema, his first film was Spanish Fantasy (1953), where he joined the team of another famous comedian of the time,  Paco Martínez Soria , with whom he repeated in the famous La ciudad no es para mí . In 1955 he filmed Good Bye, Sevilla , by Ignacio F. Iquino , who was the person who nicknamed him Saza, the affectionate name with which he would be remembered.

Throughout his career, Saza shot renowned titles, although often as a supporting actor and even with a multitude of minimal roles. In his first period, Las viudas , Una señora stupenda  or Las Leandras stand out . Later, Saza was a regular in racy comedies from Spain in the 1970s, with not-so-good films, although his presence always provided play.

Among his most important films of the last period are The astronaut , the aforementioned The national shotgun , The hive , the surreal Dawn that is not little , Hotel Danubio and Go away from me, which was his last appearance on screen.

Saza, who was married to Carmen Serrano from Murcia, received the Medal of Honor from the CEC (Circle of Film Writers) in 2012, a well-deserved recognition for someone who has made several generations of Spaniards laugh.