Celebrity Biographies
Josep Maria Benet i Jornet
He is considered the father of current Catalan theater and created successful series for Catalan television such as “Poble Nou” or “Nissaga de poder” and triumphed throughout Spain with “Amar en tiempos revueltos”. Josep Maria Benet i Jornet died on April 6, 2020, at the age of 79, due to complications from the coronavirus. He had suffered from Alzheimer’s for some years and was admitted to a residence in Lleida.
Born on June 20, 1940, in Barcelona, Josep Maria Benet i Jornet studied Philosophy and Letters at the University of Barcelona. After a long career as an anti-Franco activist, he enrolled in the Escola d’art dramàtic. He made his debut as a playwright with “Una vella, coneguda olor”, from 1964.
In 1999, Ventura Pons took one of his texts, Amic/Amat , to the cinema . In addition to creating the aforementioned Poble Neu and Nissaga de poder , he wrote others, such as Amar en tiempos revueltos . “As a screenwriter, he wanted not only to make stories that could be liked, but somehow to educate the viewer and give them a vision of life beyond four brush strokes,” he declared.