Celebrity Biographies
Manuel Tejada
A lifelong Spanish actor, he was present in some of the most popular television series, and was a regular in the cinema of José Luis Garci and Álex de la Iglesia. Manuel Tejada died on December 4, 2019, at the age of 79, in Benidorm, the Alicante city where he had settled a few years ago.
Born on July 18, 1940 in Puente de Génave (Jaén), Manuel Tejada de Luna –his full name– made his debut alongside Rocío Dúrcal in Canción de juventud , from 1962. For a long time he lavished himself on popular comedies, such as La ciudad no es para mí , where he played a priest, along with Paco Martínez Soria , and he appeared in some European westerns, such as His death paid dearly . In the theater he made his debut in 1960, in “The Cherry Orchard”, by Anton Chekhov , to later become a regular on the scene. Occasionally, he also worked as a voice actor.
He became very popular when he played Tono, the son of Tío Paloma ( Alfredo Mayo ), who abandons his family’s activity, fishing, to dedicate himself to growing rice, in Cañas y barro , an adaptation of the book by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez that opened the TVE’s practice during the Transition, of adapting great authors of the 19th and 20th centuries. Shortly after, Manuel Tejada gave life to the father of Tito and Bea, two of the popular protagonists of Verano azul , another series that made history. He began to play great roles on the big screen, such as Don Alberto, “El guapo”, a corrupt policeman from El crack , by José Luis Garci , who would have him again inStories from the Other Side , Carousel c. 1950 , May Blood , and Holmes & Watson: Madrid Days .
He also gave life to one of the neighbors who yearned for the money found by the protagonist in La comunidad , by Álex de la Iglesia , who would recruit him again for Balada triste de trompeta , where he was the ringmaster of the circus.