José Isbert
José Isbert (real name: José Ysbert Alvarruiz), also known as Pepe Isbert (3 March 1886 in Madrid – 28 November 1966 in Madrid), was a Spanish actor.
Biography
Early life
In 1903 he worked at the Court of Accounts (Tribunal de Cuentas), but decided to give up working as a civil servant and that same year he made his stage debut at the Teatro Apolo in Madrid in the play El iluso Cañizares, changing the spelling of his real name from Y to I. He moved to the Teatro Lara, where he was very successful.
He was married to Elvira Soriano and he was father of the actress María Isbert[1] and grandfather of Tony Isbert and Carlos Ysbert (the second Spanish voice of Homer Simpson).
Career
In 1912 he debuted in the short film Asesinato y entierro de Don José Canalejas (playing Pardiñas, the anarchist who killed José Canalejas).
During the silent era he worked in theatre with supporting roles in cinema, but with the advent of sound, he made a big screen comeback in the comedy directed by Florián Rey, La pura verdad in (1931).
In the 1930s he acted in half a dozen films including: ¿Cuándo te suicidas? (1931) directed by Manuel Romero, La bien pagada (1935) by Eusebio Fernández Ardavín or El bailarín y el trabajador (1935), directed by Luis Marquina and based on a play by Jacinto Benavente.
In the 1940s he gained great popularity in films such as Te quiero para mí (1944) and El testamento del virrey (1944), both directed by Ladislao Vajda; Ella, él y sus millones (1944) by Juan de Orduña; El fantasma y doña Juanita (1945) by Rafael Gil and Pacto de silencio (1949), by Antonio Román.
The films he is most remembered for are from the 1950s and 1960s, in classics directed by Luis García Berlanga: Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953), Los jueves, milagro (1957) and El verdugo (1963); and the dark comedy masterpiece El cochecito by Marco Ferreri, all written by Rafael Azcona.
He was the grandfather in the Spanish classic La gran familia (1962), and its sequel La gran familia... y uno más (1965), these films earning him still greater popularity.
Pepe Isbert died in Madrid due to a heart condition when he was 80 years old. He was buried at Tarazona de la Mancha cemetery in the province of Albacete.
Selected filmography
- El Verdugo (1963)
- Los dinamiteros (1962)
- El sol en el espejo (1962)
- Cuando estalló la Paz (1962)
- La gran familia (1962)
- Sabían demasiado (1962)
- Margarita se llama mi amor (1961)
- Don Lucio y el hermano Pío (1960)
- El cochecito (1960)
- Policarpo (1959)
- Vida sin risas (1959)
- Don José, Pepe y Pepito (1959)
- Despedida de soltero (1958)
- Faustina (1957)
- Los ángeles del volante (1957)
- Los jueves, milagro (1957)
- Lo que cuesta vivir (1957)
- Uncle Hyacynth (1956)
- Fulano y Mengano (1956)
- We Thieves Are Honourable (1956)
- Manolo, guardia urbano (1956)
- Afternoon of the Bulls (1956)
- Historias de la radio (1955)
- Congress in Seville (1955)
- Recluta con niño (1955)
- An Andalusian Gentleman (1954)
- All Is Possible in Granada (1954)
- Aventuras del barbero de Sevilla (1954)
- Doña Francisquita (1953)
- Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953)
- Así es Madrid (1953)
- Lovers of Toledo (1953)
- Aeropuerto (1953)
- Spanish Serenade (1952)
- Cerca de la ciudad (1952)
- Lola la Piconera (1951)
- A Cuban in Spain (1951)
- My Beloved Juan (1950)
- The Vila Family (1950)
- Séptima página (1950)
- Tales of the Alhambra (1950)
- El capitán Veneno (1950)
- Pacto de silencio (1949)
- In a Corner of Spain (1949)
- They Always Return at Dawn (1949)
- The Party Goes On (1948)
- The Princess of the Ursines (1947)
- Life Begins at Midnight (1944)
- Ella, él y sus millones (1944)
- Orosia (1943)
- Aventura (1942)
- El bailarín y el trabajador (1936)
- Asesinato y entierro de Don José Canalejas (1912)
References
- ^ "Falleció la veterana actriz española María Isbert". El Universal (Caracas). 2011-04-25. Retrieved 2011-05-14.