FRANCISCO RABAL
Name: Francisco Rabal
Born: 8 March 1926 Águilas, Murcia, Spain
Died: 29 August 2001 Bordeaux , France
Francisco Rabal (March 8, 1926 - August 29, 2001), perhaps better known as Paco
Rabal, was a Spanish actor born in Águilas, a small town in the province of
Murcia, Spain.
In 1936, 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 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 Asunción Balaguer; they
married and remained together for life. Their daughter, Teresa Rabal, is also an
actor.
In 1947, Rabal got some regular jobs in theater. He used his full name,
Francisco Rabal, as 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 late 1940s, Rabal began acting in movies as an extra, but it was not
until 1950 that he got some speaking roles in cinema. He only needed a few years
to fully consolidate his career in this new medium, mainly thanks to Luis Buñuel
and to his ease in roles as a beau or as a rogue. He starred in three films
directed by Buñuel - Nazarín (1959), Viridiana (1961) and Belle de jour (1966).
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 has previously worked with Rey in Viridiana.
Throughout his carrier, he worked in France, Italy and Mexico with famed
directors such as Gillo Pontecorvo, Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti,
Luis Buñuel, Valerio Zurlini, Jacques Rivette, Alberto Lattuada, etc.
It is widely considered that Rabal's best performances came after Francisco
Franco's death on 1975. In the 1980s, Rabal starred in Los Santos Inocentes,
winning the Award as Best Actor in Cannes Film Festival, in El Disputado Voto
del Señor Cayo and also in the TV series Juncal. In the 1999 he played the
character of Francisco Goya in Carlos Saura ' Goya en Burdeos, winning a Goya
Award as Best Actor.
Francisco Rabal is the only Spanish actor to have received a honoris causa
doctoral degree from the University of Murcia.
Rabal died in 2001 from compensatory dilating emphysema, while on an airplane
travelling to Bordeaux, when he was coming back from receiving an Award at
Montreal Film Festival.
Name: Francisco Rabal
Born: 8 March 1926 Águilas, Murcia, Spain
Died: 29 August 2001 Bordeaux , France
Francisco Rabal (March 8, 1926 - August 29, 2001), perhaps better known as Paco
Rabal, was a Spanish actor born in Águilas, a small town in the province of
Murcia, Spain.
In 1936, 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 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 Asunción Balaguer; they
married and remained together for life. Their daughter, Teresa Rabal, is also an
actor.
In 1947, Rabal got some regular jobs in theater. He used his full name,
Francisco Rabal, as 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 late 1940s, Rabal began acting in movies as an extra, but it was not
until 1950 that he got some speaking roles in cinema. He only needed a few years
to fully consolidate his career in this new medium, mainly thanks to Luis Buñuel
and to his ease in roles as a beau or as a rogue. He starred in three films
directed by Buñuel - Nazarín (1959), Viridiana (1961) and Belle de jour (1966).
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 has previously worked with Rey in Viridiana.
Throughout his carrier, he worked in France, Italy and Mexico with famed
directors such as Gillo Pontecorvo, Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti,
Luis Buñuel, Valerio Zurlini, Jacques Rivette, Alberto Lattuada, etc.
It is widely considered that Rabal's best performances came after Francisco
Franco's death on 1975. In the 1980s, Rabal starred in Los Santos Inocentes,
winning the Award as Best Actor in Cannes Film Festival, in El Disputado Voto
del Señor Cayo and also in the TV series Juncal. In the 1999 he played the
character of Francisco Goya in Carlos Saura ' Goya en Burdeos, winning a Goya
Award as Best Actor.
Francisco Rabal is the only Spanish actor to have received a honoris causa
doctoral degree from the University of Murcia.
Rabal died in 2001 from compensatory dilating emphysema, while on an airplane
travelling to Bordeaux, when he was coming back from receiving an Award at
Montreal Film Festival.