Francisco Rabal

Francisco Rabal Valera (8 March 1926 – 29 August 2001), popularly known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor. His career spanned more than 200 film and television roles, between 1942 and 2001. He received numerous accolades both in Spain and abroad, including the Cannes Film Festival's Best Actor Award and the Goya Award for Best Actor.

Rabal was best known internationally for his collaborations with director Luis Buñuel, with Ronald Bergan writing "most of his other major roles he carried the heady, perverse whiff of the great surrealist director with him." He worked with many other notable directors, including Carlos Saura, Pedro Almodóvar, William Friedkin, Michelangelo Antonioni, Claude Chabrol, Luchino Visconti, and Gillo Pontecorvo.

One of Spain's most-loved and acclaimed actors during his lifetime, he also was known for his commitment to human rights and other social causes.

Early life Rabal was born in Águilas, a town in the south-western part of the province of Murcia. In 1936, after 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 film studios 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 actress Asunción Balaguer; they married in 1951 and remained together for the rest of Rabal's life. Their daughter, Teresa Rabal, is also an actress.

Career In 1947, Rabal got some regular jobs in theater. He used his full name, Francisco Rabal, as his 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 1940s, Rabal began acting in movies as an extra, but it was not until 1950 that he was first cast in speaking roles, and played romantic leads and rogues. He starred in three films directed by Luis Buñuel - Nazarín (1959), Viridiana (1961) and Belle de jour (1967) - with whom he would develop a lifelong friendship.

He was named best actor by the Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos for in 1962.

Rabal was William Friedkin's first choice to play the antagonist Alain Charnier in his 1971 film The French Connection. However, he could not remember the name of "that Spanish actor", only remembering that his name started with an 'F' and that he worked with Luis Buñuel. Mistakenly, his staff hired another Spanish actor, Fernando Rey. Friedkin later discovered that Rabal did not speak English or French, so he decided to keep Rey. Rabal had previously worked with Rey in Viridiana. Rabal did, however, work with Friedkin in the much less successful but Academy Award-nominated cult classic Sorcerer (1977), a remake of The Wages of Fear (1953).

Throughout his career, Rabal worked in France, Italy and Mexico with directors such as Gillo Pontecorvo, Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti, Valerio Zurlini, Jacques Rivette, Alberto Lattuada and Silvano Agosti.

It is widely considered that Rabal's best performances came after Francisco Franco's death in 1975. In the 1980s, Rabal starred in Los Santos Inocentes - winning the Award for Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival - in El Disputado Voto del Señor Cayo and also in the TV series Juncal. In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1999 he played the part of Francisco Goya in Carlos Saura's Goya en Burdeos, winning a Goya Award for Best Actor.

Rabal's final movie was Dagon, directed by Stuart Gordon. The film, which was released after Rabal's death in 2001, was dedicated to him. The dedication, which appears before the end credits, reads: "Dedicated to Francisco Rabal, a wonderful actor and even better human being."

Death Rabal died in 2001 from compensatory dilating emphysema while on an airplane travelling to Bordeaux, returning from having received an Award at the Montreal World Film Festival.

Legacy Francisco Rabal is the only Spanish actor to have received an honoris causa doctoral degree from the University of Murcia. Murcia's Film Library and Cinematheque, Filmoteca Regional Francisco Rabal, created in 2004 as a meeting point for movie lovers, was named after him.

A square and the civic center in the town of Alpedrete are named after Rabal and his wife. In 2024, the city council, governed by the right-wing parties People's Party and Vox, announced plans to rename the venues, due to Rabal and his wife's membership in the Communist Party of Spain. The plan met widespread backlash, and was eventually cancelled.

Selected filmography

La rueda de la vida (1942) - Bronquista de pelea en salón (uncredited) The Prodigal Woman (1946) El crimen de Pepe Conde (1946) Don Quijote de la Mancha (1947) - (uncredited) Alhucemas (1948) - Tostado (uncredited) Revelación (1948) The Honesty of the Lock (1950) - Ernesto María Antonia 'La Caramba''' (1951)Doubt (1951) - Rafael FigueroaMaría Morena (1951) - El SevillanoLuna de sangre (1952) - PedroThe Song of Sister Maria (1952) - TomásPerseguidos (1952)Hay un camino a la derecha (1953) - MiguelI Was a Parish Priest (1953) - MartínJudas' Kiss (1954) - Quinto LicinioAll Is Possible in Granada (1954) - Fernando OrtegaHe Died Fifteen Years Ago (1954) - DiegoHistorias de la radio (1955) - GabrielThe Cock Crow (1955) - Padre MillerLa pícara molinera (1955) - Cristóbal Paterna - el molineroRevelation (1955) - Sergio GreskyThe Big Lie (1956) - César NeiraSaranno uomini (1957) - GiacomoAmanecer en Puerta Oscura (1957) - Juan Cuenca (1957) - AntonioLa grande strada azzurra (1957) - SalvatoreVengeance (1958) - Narrador (voice, uncredited)The Mighty Crusaders (1958) - Tancredi d'AltavillaL'amore più bello (1958) - MarioNight and Dawn (1958) - PedroLos clarines del miedo (1958) - AceitunoTen Ready Rifles (1959) - José IribarrenNazarín (1959) - Padre NazarioLlegaron dos hombres (1959) - SuperintendenteSonatas (1959) - Marqués Javier de Bradomín (1960) - Lorenzo 'El moro'Trío de damas (1960) - Alberto Sáinz RobledoCavalcata selvaggia (1960)At Five in the Afternoon (1960) - Juan ReyesAzahares rojos (1961) - Arturo Gómez ManceraLa sed (1961)Viridiana (1961) - JorgeLa Mano en la trampa (1961) - Cristóbal AchávalTiro al piccione (1961) - EliaHijo de Hombre (1961) - Vito Ribera - un famoso bandito sicilianoL'Eclisse (1962) - RiccardoSetenta veces siete (1962) - Pascual / The HorsethiefFra Diavolo (1962) - Fra Diavolo Mathias Sandorf (1963) - Frédéric de RotenbourgNoche de verano (1963) - BernardoThe Reunion (1963) - AlbertoAutopsy of a Criminal (1963) - CarlosLe gros coup (1964) - Michel ArlandLlanto por un bandido (1963) - José María 'El Tempranillo'L'autre femme (1964) - ZaylorIntimidad de los parques (1965)El Diablo también llora (1965) - TomásCurrito of the Cross (1965) - Manuel Carmona Legacy of the Incas (1965) - GambusinoMarie-Chantal contre le docteur Kha (1965) - Paco CastilloMaría Rosa (1965) - MarsalLa Religieuse (1966) - Dom MorelHoy como ayer (1966) - RamónRoad to Rocío (1966) - José AntonioLe Streghe (1967) - Paolo (Segment "Strega Bruciata Viva, La")Long Days of Vengeance (1967) - Sceriffo DouglasBelle de Jour (1967) - HyppoliteCervantes (1967) - Rodrigo CervantesOscuros sueños de agosto (1968) - JulioSpain Again (1968) - Reportero (uncredited)Después del diluvio (1968) - PedroBlood in the Bullring (1969) - Juan CarmonaEl Che Guevara (1968) - Che GuevaraCervantes (1968)A Decent Adultery (1969) - Conserje (uncredited)Simón Bolívar (1969) - gen. José Antonio Del LlanoEl largo día del águila (1969) - Martin DonovanAnn and Eve (1970) - FrancescoCutting Heads (1970) - Díaz IIGoya, a Story of Solitude (1970) - GoyaLa grande scrofa nera (1971) - Il MedicoEl apartamento de la tentación (1971) - Hombre que se cruza con Julieta (uncredited)N.P. - Il segreto (1971) - engineer N.P.Las melancólicas (1971)Nothing Less Than a Real Man (1972) - Alejandro GómezLaia (1972) - QuelotIt Can Be Done Amigo (1972) - FranciscusLe soldat Laforêt (1972) - PacoPianeta Venere (1972) - Party chaufferLa colonna infame (1972) - Giacomo Mora - il barbiereThe Guerrilla (1973) - El CabreroLa Leyenda del Alcalde de Zalamea (1973) - Pedro Crespo, Alcalde de ZalameaLa otra imagen (1973)Counselor at Crime (1973) - Vincent GarofaloThe Devil Is a Woman (1974) - Bishop MarquezLola (1974) - TíoTormento (1974) - Agustín CaballeroDeath Will Have Your Eyes (1974) - Il ricattatoreMetralleta 'Stein' (1975) - Comisario Emilio MendozaCacique Bandeira (1975) - Azevedo BandeiraFaccia di spia (1975) - Mehdi Ben BarkaLas bodas de Blanca (1975) - AntonioAttenti al buffone (1976) - EminenceThe Sinner (1975) - 'Turco'Las largas vacaciones del 36 (1976) - El MaestroEmilia... parada y fonda (1976)The Desert of the Tartars (1976) - Marshal TronkSorcerer (1977) - NiloI Am the Law (1977) - Il brigante AlbanesePensione paura (1978) - Marta's loverYo soy mia (1978) - Padre di OrioEl buscón (1979) - MataAsí como eres (1978) - LorenzoCorleone (1978) - Don Giusto ProvenzanoHunted City (1979) - Don AlfonsoCiao cialtroni! (1979)El buscón (1979) - MataUnder Siege (1980) - William LombardThe Rebel (1980) - TonyEl gran secreto (1980) - DomingoSpeed Driver (1980) - EspositoNightmare City (1980) - Major Warren HolmesBuitres sobre la ciudad (1981) - BenderReborn (1981) - GiacomoSal Gorda (1982)La colmena (1982) - Ricardo SorbedoTreasure of the Four Crowns (1983) - SócratesVictòria! La gran aventura d'un poble (1983) - Coronel MárquezTruhanes (1983) - Ginés Jiménez ValeraVictòria! 2: La disbauxa del 17 (1983) - Coronel MárquezEscapada Final (1983)Epílogo (1984) - RocabrunoVictòria! 3: El seny i la rauxa (1984) - Coronel MárquezSal gorda (1984) - GabinoLos santos inocentes (1984) - AzaríasLos zancos (1984) - ManuelFuturo imperfecto (1985)Padre nuestro (1985) - AbelLuces de Bohemia (1985) - Max EstrellaThe Old Music (1985) - Domingo FerreiroMarbella, un golpe de cinco estrellas (1985) - JuanLos paraísos perdidos (1985) - El político ancianoLa hora bruja (1985) - CésarEscapada final (Scapegoat) (1985) - Comisario CárdenasCamorra: Contacto en Nápoles (1985) - GuaglioneTiempo de silencio (1986) - MuecasEl hermano bastardo de Dios (1986) - RosendoEl disputado voto del señor Cayo (1986) - Señor CayoDivinas palabras (1987) - Pedro GailoGallego (1988) - FabiánA Time of Destiny (1988) - Jorge LarranetaEl aire de un crimen (1988) - Coronel OlveraTorquemada (1989) - TorquemadaBarroco (1989) - El HispanoLa Blanca Paloma (1989) - Domingo¡Átame! (1989) - Máximo EspejoBreath of Life (1990) - Il Gran MagroLa taberna fantástica (1991)El hombre que perdió su sombra (1991) - AntonioL'autre (1991) - SimmManuel, le fils emprunté (1991) - AlvarezLa Lola se va a los puertos (1993) - Don DiegoOne Hundred and One Nights (1995) - La voix de Buñuel (voice)El palomo cojo (1995) - Tío RicardoAsí en el cielo como en la tierra (1995) - San PedroFelicidades, Tovarich (1995) - AbueloOedipo alcalde (1996) - TiresiasDay and Night (1997) - CristobalAirbag (1997) - VillambrosaPequeños milagros (1997) - Don FranciscoPajarico (1997) - El AbueloLa novia de medianoche (1997) - Wenceslao CorredoiraWater Easy Reach (1998)El evangelio de las maravillas (1998) - Papá BasilioTalk of Angels (1998) - Don JorgeGoya en Burdeos (1999) - GoyaTú qué harías por amor (1999) - Don VicentePeixe-Lua (2000) - Tio NiniDivertimento (2000) - Bernardo GablerLázaro de Tormes (2001) - El CiegoOff to the Revolution by a 2CV (2001) - zio EnriqueDagon (2001; Final film before death) - EzequielLas noches de Constantinopla (2001) - Doña Eugenoia's brotherEl sueño del caimán (2001) - AncianoTorero, fra sogno e realtà (2001) - NarratorZero/infinito'' (2002) - (voice) (final film role)