Alfonso Paso

Alfonso Paso (12 September 1926 – 10 July 1978) was a Spanish dramatist. He wrote over a hundred plays, mainly light comedies, sometimes laced with black humour and tragedy. There were also police dramas and examples of what he called "social theatre". He was known for the well crafted complexity of his plots and for the originality of his situations and characters.

Life Alfonso Paso Gil was born into a "theatre dynasty" in Madrid. His father was the Zarzuela playwright and librettist (1878–1950). His mother was the actress Juana Gil.

Early on he abandoned a career as an aeronautical engineer and turned to the study of Philosophy and Literature, graduating in 1952 and focusing on American History and Archeology. Later he studied Medicine and Psychiatry, then switching again, this time to journalism. He married Evangelina Jardiel, daughter of Enrique Jardiel Poncela (1901–1952). Their children included the actress . Although he often worked as an actor, his more lasting notability results from his work as a writer. Another of his plays, Que casado casa quiere, is best known as the basis of the long-running Mexican television series Una familia de diez.

A particular admirer was the actor-director , who found large audiences for his work on Chilean and Peruvian television during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Output

Theatre (some better known works)

Juicio contra un sinvergüenza (1952) Una bomba llamada Abelardo (1953) Los pobrecitos (1957) El cielo dentro de casa (1957) Usted puede ser un asesino (1958, llevada al cine) Papá se enfada por todo (1959) No hay novedad, Doña Adela (1959) La boda de la chica (1960) Pregunta por Julio César (1960) Cuidado con las personas formales (1960) Cosas de papá y mamá (1960) Cuatro y Ernesto (1960) Sentencia de muerte (1960) Una tal Dulcinea (1961) Vamos a contar mentiras (1961) Aurelia y sus hombres (1961, Premio Nacional de Teatro) Los derechos de la mujer (1962) Al final de la cuerda (1962) De profesión, sospechoso (1962) Las que tienen que servir (1962) El mejor mozo de España (1962) Sosteniendo el tipo (1962) El canto de la cigarra (1963) Las mujeres los prefieren pachuchos (1963) La corbata, (1963) Los Palomos (1964, llevada al cine) Carmen tomó la roja, (1964) La oficina (1965) Educando a un idiota (1965) Enseñar a un sinvergüenza (1966) ¡Estos chicos de ahora! (1967) Atrapar a un asesino (1968) ¡Cómo está el servicio! (1968) Viuda ella, viudo él (1968) Una monja (1968) El armario (1969) Nerón-Paso (1969) Tú me acostumbraste (1970)