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Sancho Grace

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He was one of the great stars of the early days of television in Spain, in the 60s and 70s. Sancho Gracia is known above all as the bandit Curro Jiménez, although he had a long career. The actor has died at the Quirón clinic in Madrid, at the age of 75, as a result of a complication of lung cancer that he suffered. The actor was surrounded by his wife and his children, shocked because they did not expect such a quick outcome.

Born in Madrid on September 27, 1936 in Madrid, since the Civil War broke out that year, his family emigrated to Uruguay. There he lived his childhood and most of his youth, and he studied acting at the Margarita Xirgú Conservatory. With this actress he made his stage debut with a version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare .

He moved to Spain in 1963, where at first he concentrated on the stage, under the orders of the best directors of the day, such as José Tamayo and Miguel Narros . He made his film debut with a small role in Una chica casi formal , a comedy by Ladislao Vajda , followed by titles such as The other woman , The sheriff does not shoot , and The city is not for me , the famous comedy by Paco Martínez Soria , where embodies a doctor.

But where Sancho Gracia really established himself was on television, especially after his participation in the mythical Estudio 1 space, where he took part in the adaptations of works such as “Othello”, “The Mayor of Zalamea” and “Twelve merciless men”. Later he became very popular as the protagonist of Los Camioneros , a series directed by Mario Camus , with Adolfo Aristarain as an assistant director, in which he played Paco, a trucker with a reputation for being a ‘gulf’.

His greatest success was undoubtedly Curro Jiménez , a series created by the Uruguayan playwright Antonio Larreta, who took advantage of the enormous wealth of popular mythology around the figure of the Andalusian bandit. He played a romantic and righteous bandit who spent more time fighting French invaders and righting wrongs than stealing. The figure of Curro Jiménez was based on the Barquero de Cantillana, a royal bandit from Seville. He was accompanied as protagonists by Álvaro de Luna (El Algarrobo), José Sancho (El estudiante), Francisco Algora (El Fraile) and José García (El gypsy), in addition to the fact that prominent actors of the time passed through the series, such as Bárbara Rey , charo lopez, Emma Cohen and a very young Isabel Pantoja . In addition, great professionals such as the aforementioned Mario Camus , Pilar Miró , Antonio Drove and Francisco Rovira Beleta worked as directors .

The former President of the Government, Adolfo Suárez, was his best man when he married the Uruguayan Noelia Aguirre Gomensoro. They had three children, Rodrigo, Félix and the actor Rodolfo Sancho , who triumphed with the series La señora .

After the adventures of the bandit ended in 1978 (there was a late and disappointing sequel in the 90s entitled Curro Jiménez: The Return of a Legend) , Sancho Gracia continued starring in various television series, such as The Black Mask or The Disasters of War , which had no the same impact. His work as the murderer Jarabo stands out, in La huella del crimen . In cinema, he intervenes in titles such as Montoyas and Tarantos , The Witching Hour and the controversial El crimen del padre Amaro , where he played a priest.

He made his debut as a director, with Huidos , which he signed as Félix Sancho Gracia, and which went unnoticed. Two well-known filmmakers took a lot out of him in cinema, specifically Enrique Urbizu ( Cachito , La caja 507 ) and Álex de la Iglesia , who made him a specialist in the golden age of the spaghetti-western in 800 bullets , and also featured him for The Community , Plutón BRB Nero and Sad Trumpet Ballad . His last feature film was Entrelobos , based on true events.

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