Francisco Rabal

Francisco Rabal
Francisco Rabal
	Rabal in El hombre de la isla [es] (1960)
Born	Francisco Rabal Valera; 8 March 1926; Águilas, Murcia, Spain
Died	29 August 2001 (aged 75); Bordeaux, France
Other names	Paco Rabal
Years active	1946–2001
Spouse	Asunción Balaguer (m. 1950)

Francisco Rabal Valera (8 March 1926 – 29 August 2001), better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter born in Águilas, a town in the south-western part of the province of Murcia, Spain. Throughout his career, Rabal appeared in around 200 films working with directors including Francisco Rovira Beleta, Luis Buñuel, José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, Carlos Saura, Pedro Almodóvar, William Friedkin, Michelangelo Antonioni, Claude Chabrol, Luchino Visconti, and Gillo Pontecorvo. Paco Rabal was recognized both in his native Spain and internationally, winning the Award for Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for Los Santos Inocentes and a Goya Award for Best Actor for playing Francisco de Goya in Carlos Saura's Goya en Burdeos. One of Spain's most loved actors,^[1] Rabal also was known for his commitment to human rights and other social causes.^[2]

Life and career

In 1936, after the Spanish Civil War broke out, Rabal and his family left Murcia and moved to Madrid. Young Francisco had to work as a street salesboy and in a chocolate factory. When he was 13 years old, he left school to work as an electrician at film studios Estudios Chamartín.

Rabal got some sporadic jobs as an extra. Dámaso Alonso and other people advised him to try his luck with a career in theater.

During the following years, he got some roles in theater companies such as Lope de Vega or María Guerrero. It was there that he met actress Asunción Balaguer; they married in 1951 and remained together for the rest of Rabal's life.^[3] Their daughter, Teresa Rabal, is also an actress.

In 1947, Rabal got some regular jobs in theater. He used his full name, Francisco Rabal, as his stage name. However, the people who knew him always called him Paco Rabal (Paco is the familiar form for Francisco.) "Paco Rabal" became his unofficial stage name.

During the 1940s, Rabal began acting in movies as an extra, but it was not until 1950 that he was first cast in speaking roles, and played romantic leads and rogues. He starred in three films directed by Luis Buñuel - Nazarín (1959), Viridiana (1961) and Belle de jour (1967) - with whom he would develop a lifelong friendship.^[4]

He was named best actor by the Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos for El hombre de la isla [es] in 1962.^[5]

William Friedkin thought of Rabal for the French villain of his 1971 movie The French Connection. However, he could not remember the name of "that Spanish actor". Mistakenly, his staff hired another Spanish actor, Fernando Rey. Friedkin discovered that Rabal did not speak English or French, so he decided to keep Rey. Rabal had previously worked with Rey in Viridiana. Rabal did, however, work with Friedkin in the much less successful but Academy Award-nominated cult classic Sorcerer (1977), a remake of The Wages of Fear (1953).

Throughout his career, Rabal worked in France, Italy and Mexico with directors such as Gillo Pontecorvo, Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti, Valerio Zurlini, Jacques Rivette, Alberto Lattuada and Silvano Agosti.

It is widely considered that Rabal's best performances came after Francisco Franco's death in 1975. In the 1980s, Rabal starred in Los Santos Inocentes - winning the Award for Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival - in El Disputado Voto del Señor Cayo and also in the TV series Juncal. In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.^[6] In 1999 he played the part of Francisco Goya in Carlos Saura's Goya en Burdeos, winning a Goya Award for Best Actor.

Rabal's final movie was Dagon, directed by Stuart Gordon. The film, which was released after Rabal's death in 2001, was dedicated to him. The dedication, which appears before the end credits, reads: "Dedicated to Francisco Rabal, a wonderful actor and even better human being."

Rabal died in 2001 from compensatory dilating emphysema while on an airplane travelling to Bordeaux, returning from having received an Award at the Montreal World Film Festival.^[7]^[8]^[9] His death happened only a few weeks before he was due to collect the lifetime Donostia Award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. The award was accepted by his grandson, Liberto Rabal, also an actor.^[10]

Francisco Rabal is the only Spanish actor to have received an honoris causa doctoral degree from the University of Murcia. Murcia's Film Library and Cinematheque, Filmoteca Regional Francisco Rabal, created in 2004 as a meeting point for movie lovers, was named after him.

Selected filmography

La rueda de la vida (1942) - Bronquista de pelea en salón (uncredited)
The Prodigal Woman (1946)
El crimen de Pepe Conde (1946)
Don Quijote de la Mancha (1947) - (uncredited)
Alhucemas (1948) - Tostado (uncredited)
Revelación (1948)
The Honesty of the Lock (1950) - Ernesto
María Antonia 'La Caramba' (1951)
Doubt (1951) - Rafael Figueroa
María Morena (1951) - El Sevillano
Luna de sangre (1952) - Pedro
The Song of Sister Maria (1952) - Tomás
Perseguidos (1952)
Hay un camino a la derecha (1953) - Miguel
I Was a Parish Priest (1953) - Martín
Judas' Kiss (1954) - Quinto Licinio
All Is Possible in Granada (1954) - Fernando Ortega
He Died Fifteen Years Ago (1954) - Diego
Historias de la radio (1955) - Gabriel
The Cock Crow (1955) - Padre Miller
La pícara molinera (1955) - Cristóbal Paterna - el molinero
Revelation (1955) - Sergio Gresky
The Big Lie (1956) - César Neira
Saranno uomini (1957) - Giacomo
Amanecer en Puerta Oscura (1957) - Juan Cuenca
Marisa la civetta [it] (1957) - Antonio
La grande strada azzurra (1957) - Salvatore
Vengeance (1958) - Narrador (voice, uncredited)
The Mighty Crusaders (1958) - Tancredi d'Altavilla
L'amore più bello (1958) - Mario
Night and Dawn (1958) - Pedro
Los clarines del miedo (1958) - Aceituno
Ten Ready Rifles (1959) - José Iribarren
Nazarín (1959) - Padre Nazario
Llegaron dos hombres (1959) - Superintendente
Sonatas (1959) - Marqués Javier de Bradomín
El hombre de la isla [es] (1960) - Lorenzo 'El moro'
Trío de damas (1960) - Alberto Sáinz Robledo
Cavalcata selvaggia (1960)
At Five in the Afternoon (1960) - Juan Reyes
Azahares rojos (1961) - Arturo Gómez Mancera
La sed (1961)
Viridiana (1961) - Jorge
La Mano en la trampa (1961) - Cristóbal Achával
Tiro al piccione (1961) - Elia
Hijo de Hombre (1961) - Vito Ribera - un famoso bandito siciliano
L'Eclisse (1962) - Riccardo
Setenta veces siete (1962) - Pascual / The Horsethief
Fra Diavolo (1962) - Fra Diavolo
Mathias Sandorf (1963) - Frédéric de Rotenbourg
Noche de verano (1963) - Bernardo
The Reunion (1963) - Alberto
Autopsy of a Criminal (1963) - Carlos
Le gros coup (1964) - Michel Arland
Llanto por un bandido (1963) - José María 'El Tempranillo'
L'autre femme (1964) - Zaylor
Intimidad de los parques (1965)
El Diablo también llora (1965) - Tomás
Currito of the Cross (1965) - Manuel Carmona
Legacy of the Incas (1965) - Gambusino
Marie-Chantal contre le docteur Kha (1965) - Paco Castillo
María Rosa (1965) - Marsal
La Religieuse (1966) - Dom Morel
Hoy como ayer (1966) - Ramón
Road to Rocío (1966) - José Antonio
Le Streghe (1967) - Paolo (Segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")
Long Days of Vengeance (1967) - Sceriffo Douglas
Belle de Jour (1967) - Hyppolite
Cervantes (1967) - Rodrigo Cervantes
Oscuros sueños de agosto (1968) - Julio
Spain Again (1968) - Reportero (uncredited)
Después del diluvio (1968) - Pedro
Blood in the Bullring (1969) - Juan Carmona
El Che Guevara (1968) - Che Guevara
Cervantes (1968)
A Decent Adultery (1969) - Conserje (uncredited)
Simón Bolívar (1969) - gen. José Antonio Del Llano
El largo día del águila (1969) - Martin Donovan
Ann and Eve (1970) - Francesco
Cutting Heads (1970) - Díaz II
Goya, a Story of Solitude (1970) - Goya
La grande scrofa nera (1971) - Il Medico
El apartamento de la tentación (1971) - Hombre que se cruza con Julieta (uncredited)
N.P. - Il segreto (1971) - engineer N.P.
Las melancólicas (1971)
Nothing Less Than a Real Man (1972) - Alejandro Gómez
Laia (1972) - Quelot
It Can Be Done Amigo (1972) - Franciscus
Le soldat Laforêt (1972) - Paco
Pianeta Venere (1972) - Party chauffer
La colonna infame (1972) - Giacomo Mora - il barbiere
The Guerrilla (1973) - El Cabrero
La Leyenda del Alcalde de Zalamea (1973) - Pedro Crespo, Alcalde de Zalamea
La otra imagen (1973)
Counselor at Crime (1973) - Vincent Garofalo
The Devil Is a Woman (1974) - Bishop Marquez
Lola (1974) - Tío
Tormento (1974) - Agustín Caballero
Death Will Have Your Eyes (1974) - Il ricattatore
Metralleta 'Stein' (1975) - Comisario Emilio Mendoza
Cacique Bandeira (1975) - Azevedo Bandeira
Faccia di spia (1975) - Mehdi Ben Barka
Las bodas de Blanca (1975) - Antonio
Attenti al buffone (1976) - Eminence
La peccatrice (1975) - 'Turco'
Las largas vacaciones del 36 (1976) - El Maestro
Emilia... parada y fonda (1976)
The Desert of the Tartars (1976) - Marshal Tronk
Sorcerer (1977) - Nilo
Il prefetto di ferro (1977) - Il brigante Albanese
Pensione paura (1978) - Marta's lover
Yo soy mia (1978) - Padre di Orio
El buscón (1979) - Mata
Así como eres (1978) - Lorenzo
Corleone (1978) - Don Giusto Provenzano
Hunted City (1979) - Don Alfonso
Ciao cialtroni! (1979)
El buscón (1979) - Mata
Under Siege (1980) - William Lombard
The Rebel (1980) - Tony
El gran secreto (1980) - Domingo
Speed Driver (1980) - Esposito
Nightmare City (1980) - Major Warren Holmes
Buitres sobre la ciudad (1981) - Bender
Reborn [es] (1981) - Giacomo
Sal Gorda (1982)
La colmena (1982) - Ricardo Sorbedo
Treasure of the Four Crowns (1983) - Sócrates
Victòria! La gran aventura d'un poble (1983) - Coronel Márquez
Truhanes (1983) - Ginés Jiménez Valera
Victòria! 2: La disbauxa del 17 (1983) - Coronel Márquez
Escapada Final (1983)
Epílogo (1984) - Rocabruno
Victòria! 3: El seny i la rauxa (1984) - Coronel Márquez
Sal gorda (1984) - Gabino
Los santos inocentes (1984) - Azarías
Los zancos (1984) - Manuel
Futuro imperfecto (1985)
Padre nuestro (1985) - Abel
Luces de Bohemia (1985) - Max Estrella
The Old Music (1985) - Domingo Ferreiro
Marbella, un golpe de cinco estrellas (1985) - Juan
Los paraísos perdidos (1985) - El político anciano
La hora bruja (1985) - César
Escapada final (Scapegoat) (1985) - Comisario Cárdenas
Camorra: Contacto en Nápoles (1985) - Guaglione
Tiempo de silencio (1986) - Muecas
El hermano bastardo de Dios (1986) - Rosendo
El disputado voto del señor Cayo (1986) - Señor Cayo
Divinas palabras (1987) - Pedro Gailo
Gallego (1988) - Fabián
A Time of Destiny (1988) - Jorge Larraneta
El aire de un crimen (1988) - Coronel Olvera
Torquemada (1989) - Torquemada
Barroco (1989) - El Hispano
La Blanca Paloma (1989) - Domingo
¡Átame! (1989) - Máximo Espejo
Breath of Life (1990) - Il Gran Magro
La taberna fantástica (1991)
El hombre que perdió su sombra (1991) - Antonio
L'autre (1991) - Simm
Manuel, le fils emprunté (1991) - Alvarez
La Lola se va a los puertos (1993) - Don Diego
One Hundred and One Nights (1995) - La voix de Buñuel (voice)
El palomo cojo (1995) - Tío Ricardo
Así en el cielo como en la tierra (1995) - San Pedro
Felicidades, Tovarich (1995) - Abuelo
Oedipo alcalde (1996) - Tiresias
Day and Night (1997) - Cristobal
Airbag (1997) - Villambrosa
Pequeños milagros (1997) - Don Francisco
Pajarico (1997) - El Abuelo
La novia de medianoche (1997) - Wenceslao Corredoira
Water Easy Reach (1998)
El evangelio de las maravillas (1998) - Papá Basilio
Talk of Angels (1998) - Don Jorge
Goya en Burdeos (1999) - Goya
Tú qué harías por amor (1999) - Don Vicente
Peixe-Lua (2000) - Tio Nini
Divertimento (2000) - Bernardo Gabler
Lázaro de Tormes (2001) - El Ciego
Off to the Revolution by a 2CV (2001) - zio Enrique
Dagon (2001; Final film before death) - Ezequiel
Las noches de Constantinopla (2001) - Doña Eugenoia's brother
El sueño del caimán (2001) - Anciano
Torero, fra sogno e realtà (2001) - Narrator
Zero/infinito (2002) - (voice) (final film role)

References

^ "Francisco Rabal". The Independent. 2001-09-01. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
^ Bergan, Ronald (2001-09-14). "Obituary: Francisco Rabal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
^ Pérez Ródenas, Mariano (30 August 2001). "Dramática muerte de Paco Rabal a los 75 año". ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 December 2018.
^ Bergan, Ronald (2001-09-14). "Obituary: Francisco Rabal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
^ "Spain's Own 'Bests' Include 'Placido'". Variety. April 11, 1962. p. 5.
^ "Berlinale: 1989 Juries". Berlinale.de. Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. 1989. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
^ "Francisco Rabal, 75, Prominent Spanish Actor". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2001-09-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
^ "Paco Rabal; Award-Winning Spanish Actor". Los Angeles Times. 2001-08-31. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
^ "Francisco Rabal". The Independent. 2001-09-01. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
^ Gala Premio Donostia - Paco Rabal - 49 edición 2001, archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2019-08-06