Spanish actor (1917–1994)
Fernando Casado Arambillet (A Coruña (Spain ), 20 September 1917 – Madrid (Spain), 9 March 1994), best known as Fernando Rey , was a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States. A suave, international actor best known for his roles in the films of surrealist director Luis Buñuel (Viridiana , 1961; Tristana , 1970; Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie , 1972; That Obscure Object of Desire , 1977) and as the drug lord Alain Charnier in The French Connection (1971) and French Connection II (1975), he appeared in more than 150 films over half a century.
The debonair Rey was described by French Connection producer Philip D'Antoni as "the last of the Continental guys".[clarification needed ] He achieved his greatest fame after he turned 50: "Perhaps it is a pity that my success came so late in life", he told the Los Angeles Times . "It might have been better to have been successful while young, like El Cordobés in the bullring . Then your life is all before you to enjoy it."[ 1]
Rey was born in A Coruña , Spain, the son of Fernando Casado Veiga and Sara Arambillet Rey. He studied architecture , but the Spanish Civil War interrupted his university studies which led him to his success. Rey and his father fought on the side of the Loyalists and by the end of the war were impoverished.[ 2]
Fernando Rey with Silvia Pinal in Viridiana , in the cover of the film script book. In 1936, Rey began his career in films as an extra , sometimes even getting credited. It was then that he chose his stage name , Fernando Rey. He kept his first name, but took his mother's second surname, Rey, a short surname with a clear meaning ("Rey" is Spanish for "King").
In 1944, his first speaking role was the Duke of Alba in José López Rubio 's Eugenia de Montijo . Four years later, he acted the part of Felipe I el Hermoso , King of Spain, in the Spanish cinema blockbuster Locura de amor .
This was the start of a prolific career in film (he played in around two hundred films), radio, theatre, and television. Rey was also a great dubbing actor in Spanish television. His voice was considered intense and personal, and he became the narrator of important Spanish movies including Luis García Berlanga 's Bienvenido Mr. Marshall (1953), Ladislao Vajda 's Marcelino Pan y Vino (1955), and even the 1992 re-dubbed version of Orson Welles ' Don Quixote . In fact, Rey acted in four different film versions of Don Quixote in different roles, if one counts the Welles version (for which Rey supplied offscreen narration in the final scene).
His brilliant performance in the role of a demotivated and doubtful actor in Juan Antonio Bardem 's Cómicos (1954), while showing him for the first time in a successful lead part, paradoxically, as he saw himself as the real incarnation of the role, plunged him in a professional depression, of which he did not emerge until his collaboration with Luis Buñuel several years later. However, in the short term, Buñuel's disconcerting public remark on Rey's performance in another of Bardem's film, Sonatas (1959), "I love how this actor plays a corpse", could only increase Rey's apprehensions. Nevertheless, eventually Rey became Buñuel's preferred actor and closest friend.
International career [ edit ] Fernando Rey with Gloria Grahame in Tarot (The Magician , 1973). Rey's first international performance was in The Night Heaven Fell (Les bijoutiers du clair de lune ) a 1958 French-Italian film directed by Roger Vadim , where he acted alongside Stephen Boyd , Marina Vlady and Brigitte Bardot . Previously he had played in an American TV series, It happens in Spain , the story of the exploits of a private detective, operating out in Spain, who helps distressed American tourists.
In 1959, Rey co-starred with Steve Reeves and Christine Kaufmann in the Italian sword and sandal film The Last Days of Pompeii .
In 1961 Rey played in a European Western , The Savage Guns , and as the popularity of that genre increased during that decade appeared in some other movies, including the political The Price of Power (1969), the cult classic Compañeros , and two sequels of The Magnificent Seven , namely Return of the Seven (1966) and Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969).
It was his work with Orson Welles and Luis Buñuel during the 1960s and 1970s that made Rey internationally prominent; becoming the first 'international Spanish actor.' Rey starred in Buñuel's Viridiana (1961), Tristana (1970), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie) (1972) (a surreal movie which received the 1972 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film ) and That Obscure Object of Desire (1977). For Welles, Rey performed in two completed films, Chimes at Midnight (1966) and The Immortal Story (1968).
Rey played memorably the French villain Alain Charnier in William Friedkin 's The French Connection (1971). Initially, Friedkin intended to cast Francisco Rabal as Charnier, but could not remember his name after seeing him in Luis Buñuel 's Belle de jour ; he only knew the person he had in mind was a Spanish actor who had worked with Buñuel. Rey was hired after he flew to New York to be met by a surprised Friedkin. Rey's English and French were not perfect, but Friedkin discovered that Rabal spoke neither of them,[ 3] and opted to keep Rey, who reprised the role in the less successful sequel, French Connection II (1975).
Along 1970s and 1980s Rey played in many international co-productions, some of his appearances being cameos . These films include Lewis Gilbert 's The Adventurers (1970), Mauro Bolognini 's Drama of the Rich (1974), Vincente Minnelli 's A Matter of Time (1976), Valerio Zurlini 's The Desert of the Tartars (1976), Robert Altman 's Quintet (1979), J. Lee Thompson 's Caboblanco (1980) and Frank Perry 's Monsignor (1982). One of Rey's greater successes in these years was Elisa, vida mía , a 1977 Spanish drama film written and directed by Carlos Saura .
On his work in Stuart Rosenberg 's Voyage of the Damned (1976), Rey once said: "I played [Cuban] president Brú ; a cameo. They paid me a lot of money for less than six hours of shooting, in the Barcelona Stock Exchange building, with James Mason . I got more money than Orson Welles, who played a great role ...".[ 4]
Fernando Rey, as Don Quixote, with Alfredo Landa , as Sancho Panza, in El Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes (1992). In later years, Rey preferred to work in Spain, with successes as Francisco Regueiro's Padre Nuestro (1985), José Luis Cuerda 's El bosque animado (1987) and Jaime de Armiñán 's Al otro lado del túnel (1992) as well as his portrayal of Don Quixote , alongside Alfredo Landa as Sancho Panza , in the memorable Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón 's El Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes (1992) for Televisión Española .
His last appearance on the screen was in a supporting role in the Spanish black comedy El cianuro ... ¿sólo o con leche? (Cyanide ... pure or with milk? ) (1994).
Recognition and awards [ edit ] In 1971 Fernando Rey won the best actor award in the San Sebastián International Film Festival , for his performance in Rafael Gil 's La duda , based, like Viridiana and Tristana , on a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós .[citation needed ]
Another of the successes of Rey-Buñuel's collaboration was That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), nominated for another Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category, though the movie failed to win either. Rey's voice had to be dubbed by Michel Piccoli .[citation needed ]
In Lina Wertmüller 's Academy Award -nominated film, Seven Beauties (1975), Rey played the role of Pedro the anarchist who, as a friend of the protagonist and fellow prisoner Pasqualino Settebellezze, chooses a gruesome suicide, rather than spend another day in a Nazi concentration camp .[citation needed ]
Rey won Best Actor award at 1977 Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Elisa, vida mía .[citation needed ]
In 1988 he again won the best actor award in the San Sebastián International Film Festival, this time for his performance in two films: Francisco Regueiro's Diario de invierno and Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi 's El Aire de un Crimen (The Hint of a Crime) .[citation needed ]
Fernando Rey was also awarded the gold medal of the Spanish Movie Arts and Sciences Academy.[citation needed ]
Personal life and death [ edit ] In 1960, Rey married the Argentine actress Mabel Karr.[ 5] They had a son, Fernando Casado Campolongo.[ 6]
In 1992 he became chairman of the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España succeeding Antonio Giménez-Rico .[ 7] He died of bladder cancer in Madrid on 9 March 1994.[ 8]
He was survived by his wife, who died on 1 May 2001 at Hospital Ramon Cajal from a generalized infection .[ 9] On 25 September 2018 their son Fernando Casado confirmed she died from a sharp mediastinitis during the filming of a tv series named El Secreto .[ 10] [ 11]
Selected filmography [ edit ]
1935: Fazendo Fitas
1936: Nuestra Natacha
1939: Los cuatro robinsones
1940: Leyenda rota as Extra (uncredited)
1940: El rey que rabió as Extra (uncredited)
1940: La Dolores as Extra (uncredited)
1940: La gitanilla as Extra (uncredited)
1941: ¡A mí no me mire usted! as Viajero (uncredited)
1941: Escuadrilla as Extra (uncredited)
1944: Eugenia de Montijo as Duque de Alba
1945: Thirsty Land
1945: Last Stand in the Philippines as Juan Chamizo
1945: Estaba escrito
1946: White Mission as Carlos
1946: The Prodigal Woman as José
1947: Don Quixote as Sansón Carrasco
1947: The Holy Queen as Infante Alfonso
1947: The Princess of the Ursines as Felipe V
1947: Fuenteovejuna as Frondoso
1948: La próxima vez que vivamos as Óscar Mulden
1948: Madness for Love as Felipe el Hermoso
1948: Mare Nostrum as Ulises / Capitán Ferragut
1948: Si te hubieses casado conmigo as Enrique Marín
1949: Sabela de Cambados as Narrator (voice, uncredited)
1949: Noche de Reyes
1949: Aventuras de Juan Lucas as Juan Lucas
1950: Agustina of Aragon as General Palafox / Pastor Lorenzo
1951: Black Sky as Ángel López Veiga
1951: La trinca del aire (voice)
1951: Our Lady of Fatima as Lorenzo Duarte
1952: Devil's Roundup as Atracador
1952: La laguna negra as Miguel
1953: Les amants de Tolède (voice)
1953: Cabaret as Carlos Jiménez
1953: Welcome Mr. Marshall! as Narrator (voice)
1953: Airport as Fernando
1954: Crimen en el entreacto
1954: The Mayor of Zalamea as The King
1954: Rebellion as Capellán
1954: Comedians as Miguel Solís
1955: Miracle of Marcelino as Narrator / Monk
1955: Tangier Assignment as Inspector
1956: La vida en un bloc (voice, uncredited)
1956: The Adventures of Gil Blas as Capitaine Rolando
1956: Playa prohibida
1956: Don Juan as Don Iñigo
1956: Calle Mayor as Federico Rivas (voice, uncredited)
1956: The Singer from Mexico as Cartoni, l'impresario (uncredited)
1957: Faustina as Valentín
1957: Horas de pánico
1957: Madrugada as Mauricio (voice, uncredited)
1957: Un marido de ida y vuelta as Paco
1957: Las últimas banderas
1957: El andén as Don Enrique
1958: The Night Heaven Fell as Tío (alternate version)
1958: La venganza as Escritor
1958: ¡Viva lo imposible! as Narrator (voice, uncredited)
1959: Parque de Madrid as Don Luis
1959: Sonatas as Capitán Casares
1959: The Last Days of Pompeii as Arbaces , High Priest of Isis
1959: Las dos y media... y veneno as Ramón
1959: Mission in Morocco as Prince Achmed
1960: La rana verde as Narrator (voice)
1960: Culpables as Mario
1960: Vida sin risas
1960: Don Lucio y el hermano pío as Señor Aguilar
1960: The Revolt of the Slaves as Valerio
1961: Teresa as Profesor Héctor De La Barrera
1961: Goliath Against the Giants as Bokan, i usurpario
1961: Viridiana (Directed by Luis Buñuel ) as Don Jaime
1961: Fantasmas en la casa as Raimundo Rodríguez de Toledo
1961: Siempre es domingo as Juez Andonelli
1962: My Son, the Hero as Sumo Sacerdote / High Priest
1962: Tierra brutal as Don Hernán
1962: Face of Terror as Dr. Charles Taylor
1962: Rogelia as Máximo García
1963: El valle de las espadas as Ramiro II, Rey de León
1963: The Running Man as Police Official
1963: Shéhérazade
1963: The Ceremony as Sanchez
1964: Backfire as Commissioner of Beirut Harbor
1964: El espontáneo as El Rico Pintor
1964: Los Palomos as Don Alberto
1964: Fin de semana as Entrevistador
1964: La nueva Cenicienta as Juan Echarre
1964: La hora incógnita as Sacerdote
1964: El señor de La Salle as Luis XIV
1964: Dulcinea del Toboso
1965: El Diablo también llora as Ramòn Quiroga
1965: Son of a Gunfighter as Don Pedro Fortuna
1965: Legacy of the Incas as President Castillo
1965: I grandi condottieri as Lo straniero / The Stranger, Angel of the Lord
1965: Two Mafiosi Against Goldfinger as Goldginger
1965: Espionage in Lisbon as Agent of The New World Organization
1965: El marqués (1965) as Ramos, The Publisher
1965: Chimes at Midnight as Worcester
1966: Attack of the Robots as Sir Percy
1966: Zampo y yo as Luis 'Zampo'
1966: El Greco (Directed by Luciano Salce ) as Felipe II
1966: Return of the Seven as Priest
1966: Navajo Joe (Directed by Sergio Corbucci ) as Reverend Rattigan
1967: The Desperate Ones as Ibram
1967: The Viscount as Marco Demoygne
1967: Run Like a Thief as Colonel Romero
1967: Cervantes (Directed by Vincent Sherman ) as Philip II
1967: Love in Flight as Carlos Mª Saldiez
1968: The Immortal Story (Directed by Orson Welles ) as Merchant Telling Clay's History (uncredited)
1968: Villa Rides as Fuentes
1969: Guns of the Magnificent Seven as Quintero
1969: Un sudario a la medida as Marco Augusto
1969: The Price of Power (Directed by Tonino Valerii ) as Pinkerton
1970: Land Raiders as Priest
1970: The Adventurers (Directed by Lewis Gilbert ) as Jaime Xenos
1970: Tristana (Directed by Luis Buñuel ) as Don Lope
1970: Aoom
1970: Chicas de club as Padrino Elisa
1970: La collera del vento (Directed by Mario Camus ) as Don Antonio
1970: Compañeros (Directed by Sergio Corbucci ) as Professor Xantos
1971: Historia de una traición as Luis
1971: Cold Eyes of Fear (Directed by Enzo G. Castellari ) as Judge Bedell
1971: A Town Called Bastard (Directed by Robert Parrish ) as Old Blind Man
1971: The Light at the Edge of the World (Directed by Kevin Billington ) as Captain Moriz
1971: The French Connection (Directed by William Friedkin ) as Alain "Frog One" Charnier
1972: This Kind of Love as Giovanna's Father
1972: Antony and Cleopatra as Lepidus
1972: The Two Faces of Fear as Inspector Nardi
1972: White Sister (Directed by Alberto Lattuada ) as Jefe Médico
1972: The Doubt as Don Rodrigo, Conde de Albrit
1972: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Directed by Luis Buñuel ) as Don Rafael Acosta
1973: Tarot as Arthur
1973: High Crime (Directed by Enzo G. Castellari ) as Cafiero
1973: One Way as Mr. David
1973: La Chute d'un corps as M. Nansoit
1973: White Fang (Directed by Lucio Fulci ), as Father Oatley
1974: Pena de muerte as Oscar Bataille
1974: ¿... Y el prójimo? as Luis Ignacio
1974: Dites-le avec des fleurs as Jacques Berger
1974: Drama of the Rich (Directed by Mauro Bolognini ) as Il Professore Murri
1974: La Femme aux bottes rouges (Directed by Juan Luis Buñuel ) as Perrot
1975: Corruzione al palazzo di giustizia (Directed by Marcello Aliprandi ) as Judge Vanini
1975: French Connection II (Directed by John Frankenheimer ) as Alain "Frog One" Charnier
1975: Seven Beauties (Directed by Lina Wertmüller ) as Pedro, The Anarchist Prisoner
1976: Illustrious Corpses (Directed by Francesco Rosi ) as Security Minister
1976: Manuela as Don Ramón
1976: A Matter of Time (Directed by Vincente Minnelli ) as Charles Van Maar
1976: The Desert of the Tartars (Directed by Valerio Zurlini ) as Colonel Nathanson
1976: Voyage of the Damned (Directed by Stuart Rosenberg ) as President Bru
1976: Striptease as Alfonso
1976: El segundo poder as Cardenal
1977: Jesus of Nazareth (TV miniseries) (Directed by Franco Zeffirelli ) as Gaspar
1977: Elisa, vida mía (Directed by Carlos Saura ) as Luis
1977: The Assignment (Directed by Mats Arehn ) as Roberto Bidara
1977: Eyes Behind the Wall as Ivano
1977: That Obscure Object of Desire (Directed by Luis Buñuel ) as Mathieu
1978: Le Dernier Amant romantique as Max
1978: Rebeldía as Don Luis
1979: Traffic Jam (Directed by Luigi Comencini ) as Carlo
1979: Quintet (Directed by Robert Altman ) as Grigor
1980: Caboblanco (Directed by J. Lee Thompson ), as Police Captain Terredo
1980: The Crime of Cuenca as Contreras
1980: Memorias de Leticia Valle as Don Fernando Valle
1981: The Lady of the Camellias (Directed by Mauro Bolognini ) as Count Stackelberg
1981: Honey as Editor
1981: Chaste and Pure (Directed by Salvatore Samperi ) as Antonio Di Maggio
1981: Trágala, perro as Juez
1982: Cercasi Gesù as Don Filippo
1982: A Estrangeira as André
1982: Monsignor (Directed by Frank Perry ) as Santoni
1983: Bearn o la sala de las muñecas as Don Antonio
1984: The Hit (Directed by Stephen Frears ) as Senior Policeman
1984: A Strange Passion as Piacchi
1985: A.D. (Directed by Stuart Cooper ) as Seneca
1985: Black Arrow (Directed by John Hough ) as Warwick
1985: Padre nuestro as Cardenal
1985: Rustlers' Rhapsody (Directed by Hugh Wilson ) as Railroad Colonel
1985: The Knight of the Dragon (Directed by Fernando Colomo ) as Fray Lupo
1986: Saving Grace (Directed by Robert M. Young ) as Cardinal Stefano Biondi
1986: Elogio della pazzia
1987: Commando Mengele as Ohmei Felsberg
1987: Hôtel du Paradis (Directed by Jana Boková ) as Joseph
1987: Mi general as Director Almirante
1987: El bosque animado (Directed by José Luis Cuerda ) as Senor D'Abondo
1988: The Tunnel as Allende
1988: Pasodoble as Don Nuño
1988: Moon over Parador (Directed by Paul Mazursky ) as Alejandro
1988: Diario de invierno as Padre
1988: El aire de un crimen as Fayón
1989: Esmeralda Bay as Ramos
1990: Naked Tango (Directed by Leonard Schrader ) as Juez Torres
1990: Breath of Life (Directed by Beppe Cino ) as Gran Magno
1990: La batalla de los Tres Reyes as Papa Pablo V
1992: Don Quixote as Closing Scene Narrator (voice, uncredited)
1992: 1492: Conquest of Paradise (Directed by Ridley Scott ) as Marchena
1992: Después del sueño as Ramiro Lanza
1992: La marrana as Fray Juan
1992: L'Atlantide (Directed by Bob Swaim ) as Father Mauritius
1993: Madregilda as Padre de Franco
1994: On the Far Side of the Tunnel (Directed by Jaime de Armiñán ) as Miguel
1994: El cianuro... ¿solo o con leche? as Gregorio (final film role)
^ Olive, Myrna (20 March 1994). "Fernando Rey, 76; Debonair Film Star" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 17 December 2015 .
^ Fernando Rey, 76; Debonair Film Star Los Angeles Times via Internet Archive . Retrieved August 16, 2023.
^ "William Friedkin on Casting Fernando Rey" . YouTube . AFISilverTheatre's channel. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2014 .
^ Cebollada, Pascual, Fernando Rey , Madrid 1992 page 299.
^ "Muere la actriz argentina Mabel Karr, viuda del célebre actor Fernando Rey" . Hola! (in Spanish). 2 May 2001. Retrieved 25 July 2019 .
^ Ferrer Molina, Vicente (14 January 2016). Buenas noches y saludos cordiales: José María García. Historia de un periodista irrepetible . Córner. p. 358. ISBN 9788494425646 .
^ "Fernando Rey, nuevo presidente de la Academia del Cine de España" . El País (in Spanish). Madrid: Prisa . 14 December 1992. Retrieved 25 July 2019 .
^ "Fernando Rey dies of cancer" . Star-News . Madrid. 10 March 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 25 July 2019 .
^ "Muere la actriz Mabel Karr, viuda de Fernando Rey" . ABC . Madrid: Vocento . 1 May 2001. Retrieved 25 July 2019 .
^ Migelez, Xabier; Madrid, José (25 September 2018). "El hijo de Fernando Rey, contra el debate de 'Las Campos' " . El Confidencial (in Spanish). Titania Compañía Editorial, S.L. Retrieved 25 July 2019 .
^ Migelez, Xabier (1 October 2018). "La abogada Paloma Zorrilla se disculpa por una afirmación errónea en 'Las Campos' " . El Confidencial (in Spanish). Titania Compañía Editorial, S.L. Retrieved 25 July 2019 .
Cebollada, Pascual (1992). Fernando Rey . Madrid: C.I.L.E.H. ISBN 84-87411-12-6 .
Torres, Augusto M. (1994). Diccionario del cine español . Madrid: Espasa Calpe. ISBN 84-239-9203-9 .
Awards for Fernando Rey
1946–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
International National People Other