Alfredo Alcón

Alfredo Félix Alcón (Spanish pronunciation: [alˈfɾeðo alˈkon]; 3 March 1930 – 11 April 2014) was an Argentine theatre and film actor born in Buenos Aires. Widely regarded as one of the best and most important Argentine actors of the 20th century.[1]

Alfredo Alcón
Born
Alfredo Félix Alcón Riesco

(1930-03-03)3 March 1930
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died11 April 2014(2014-04-11) (aged 84)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
OccupationActor
Years active1955–2014

He worked in more than 50 movies since his first one, El amor nunca muere (Love Never Dies), in 1955,[2] and received many recognitions for his work: among others, the Silver Condor, the Martin Fierro Award and the 1981 Diamond Konex Award.[3]

He died on April 11, 2014 at the age of 84.[4]

Biography

Alfredo Alcón was born on March 3, 1930, in Liniers. His family has Spanish ancestry: his paternal grandmother immigrated from Cádiz, and his mother from Castile. As a result, he had a fluent Spanish accent, which helped him when he worked in Spain.[5] His father died soon after his birth, and so the family moved to Ciudadela, Buenos Aires. One of his early influences was Richard III by William Shakespeare, which he read at the age of 11.[6]

He began working as a radio host, announcing news from the Liniers market (the main market of livestock in Argentina).[6] His first famous film was the 1955 Love Never Dies, starred by Mirtha Legrand. The film was directed by Luis César Amadori. The success of the film made them work again as lead actors in La Pícara soñadora, directed by Ernesto Arancibia, and Con gusto a rabia, directed by Fernando Ayala.[5]

He made his most successful films with the director Leopoldo Torre Nilsson. Un Guapo del '900 (1968) was followed by three historical films: Martín Fierro (based in the poem Martín Fierro) in 1968, El Santo de la Espada in 1970 (based in the life of José de San Martín), and Güemes: la tierra en armas in 1971 (based in the life of Martín Miguel de Güemes). They also filmed La Mafia in 1972, The Seven Madmen in 1973, Boquitas pintadas in 1974 and El Pibe Cabeza in 1975.[5]

He has worked in theater as well, both as actor and director. Some of his plays were directed by Margarita Xirgu, Carlos Gandolfo and Omar Grasso, and he directed the plays Los caminos de Federico, Bocca-Alcón, Homenaje Ibsen, ¡Shakespeare todavía! and Final de partida.[5] He played Hamlet during the Dirty War, amid concerns for its potential political connotations.[6]

His last work in television was a cameo in Herederos de una venganza (2011), as the leader of a masonic lodge. He had worked before in Por el nombre de Dios and Vulnerables (both from 1999). He also worked in the play Los reyes de la risa with Guillermo Francella.[6]

Alcón was hospitalized on November 28, 2013.[7] He did not recover, and died on April 11, 2014 of respiratory failure.[8][6] He was mourned at the Argentine National Congress, and the coffin was taken to La Chacarita Cemetery, with a brief stop at the Teatro General San Martín.[9]

Selected filmography

References
  1. "Alfredo Alcón: a cara limpia". LaNacion.com.ar (in Spanish). 2005-03-20. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  2. Alfredo Alcón at IMDb
  3. "Alfredo Alcón". Konex Foundation (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  4. "Murió Alfredo Alcón, el maestro del escenario" [Alfredo Alcón, the master of the stage, died]. Ambito (in Spanish). 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  5. Silvina Ajmat (2014-04-11). "Murió Alfredo Alcón, el primer actor argentino" [Alfredo Alcón, the main Argentine actor, died] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  6. "Murió Alfredo Alcón" [Alfredo Alcón died] (in Spanish). Clarín. 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  7. "Alfredo Alcón, internado" [Alfredo Alcón, hospitalized] (in Spanish). Clarín. 2013-11-28. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  8. Lentz III, Harris M. (2015). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2014. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1961-3.
  9. "El último adiós a Alfredo Alcón" [The last goodbye to Alfredo Alcón] (in Spanish). Clarín. 2014-04-12. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
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