The museum where he worked as a beadle, the Film Library and the profession pay tribute to the versatile comedian on the first hundredth anniversary of his birth. From ‘Los Cheats’ to ‘Torrente’, the actor embodied today’s villain like no other
Throughout his life, actor Tony Leblanc (1922-2012) repeated that he was born on the morning of May 7, 1922, in the Prado rooms dedicated to Goya. It wasn’t true, but it could have been. And it is that the father of Ignacio Fernández Sánchez, real name of the actor, lived in the art gallery. Ignacio Fernández Blan, his father, was the concierge of the museum between 1943 and 1953, living in a house for the staff of the institution attached to the Villanueva building.
To be born well is to be thankful, and Leblanc always fondly remembered the Prado Museum, where he would return as a janitor and from where he began his rise to the top of show business. He had a funny story about how his mother decided to visit his father at the museum and bring him food at work. It was then that “Ignacio decided that he wanted to reach the world and see the national art gallery as soon as possible.”
On the first centenary of the actor’s birth, and as a prelude to the cycle dedicated to the versatile comedian by the Spanish Film Library and in honor of the profession, the Prado publishes ‘Did Tony Leblanc live in the Prado Museum?’, a video recalling the intimate bond between Leblanc and the home of Velázquez, Goya, Zurbarán, Bosch and many other geniuses of universal painting.
In the footsteps of his father, the actor worked in the museum, as evidenced by ‘El Pobre García’, a 1961 film whose director and screenwriter was Leblanc, in which he plays a young man who earns a living with the most diverse works , including a guide to the Prado.
Thanks to the collaboration of the Spanish Film Library in the “Audiovisual Memory” project, this film is the starting point for the video tribute that the Prado dedicates “to the most popular of its inhabitants”, whose memory shines in some of the stories “in the first person» of workers and co-workers in another video ‘Voces del Prado’.
It’s another tribute to the most traditional actor of our cinema, a comic genius who, like no other, managed to embody the Spanish villain and his different formulations over several decades and changing social ‘habitats’, from the tocomocho scam in ‘Los cheats ‘ (1959) by Pedro Lazaga to the falsely disabled, con man and trafficker who played the role of the father of the dandy protagonist of ‘Torrente, the foolish arm of the law (1998) and the other parts of the saga created, directed and starring Santiago Segura.
His first job was as a beadle and lift operator at the Prado. But his hobbies were different and he became an accomplished tap dancer, a style in which he was proclaimed champion of Spain in 1942 and which would become his passport to business. He also tried his luck in boxing and had a brilliant career in the ring as ‘El Tigre de Chamberí’, winning the Castilla Lightweight Championship in 1943. He had no disdain for football – he played with Carabanchel CF, in the third division – and knowing music composed almost 300 songs and wrote stories and poems.
He made his debut in the late 1950s as an extra in the shows of Pastora Imperio and Celia Gámez. In the theater he worked in the companies of Ana Mariscal, Manuel Paso and Luis Escobar. But he soon jumped into the film, announcing that he looked confident, sassy and comedic in ‘The Red Cross Girls’ (1958), ‘Love Below Zero’ (1960) and ‘Lovers’ Day’ (1959), all Along with Concha Velasco, his amazing partner on and off screen.
He would soon become an essential figure in Spanish comedy and he achieved that by playing all the tricks of the trade, as an actor, director and producer in the late 1950s. They are commissioned by Pedro Lazaga, who served him for eight years. would direct. including “Three Suecas for Three Rodríguez,” Leblanc’s last film before he decided to retire in 1975.
In 1983, a serious traffic accident rendered him useless for years, until he returned to the big screen with ‘Torrente’. When ill health kept him away from the sets, Santiago Segura’s rescue would earn him the 1997 Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he received after winning the honorary Goya in 1993. His career revived and he repeated with Segura. in ‘Torrente 2 : Misión en Marbella’ (2001), and ‘Torrente 3: El protector’ (2005), two of the highest-grossing films in Spanish cinema.
Earlier, Luis García Berlanga and Antonio Mercero had to reject the offers. But he recovered to take part in the TVE series “Cuéntame how it happened,” where the younger generations would discover him as the endearing Cervan, the San Genaro kiosk salesman he played between 2001 and 2008.
A heart failure ended the life of Tony Leblanc on November 24, 2012. He was 90 years old. His remains rest in the Almudena Cemetery in Madrid.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
