Luis Fernando Romo
Updated Monday, April 1, 2024-21:28
Vidas José Luis López Vázquez: the stingy millionaire whose inheritance has disappeared
On one occasion, director
George Cukor
, creator of masterpieces such as
Luz que agoniza
(1944) or
My Fair Lady
(1964), called
José Luis López Vázquez
to apologize for having offered him such a brief role in
Viajes con mi aunt (Travels with my aunt
). 1972), where he worked with Maggie Smith (89) and Louis Gossett Jr, recently deceased at age 87.
His last partner, the always elegant
Carmen de la Maza,
who died in 2022 at the age of 81, confessed at the time to LOC: "When Cukor saw
My Dear Miss
, he phoned him
to apologize
since he was not aware that
he was a great actor." "
He had many temptations to go to Hollywood, but he liked to go
to Ciriaco's house to eat
and no one would take him away from there." Even
Charles Chaplin paid homage to him
by taking off his bowler hat when he told him that he was one of the best performers in the world.
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José Luis is one of the greatest stars of our national cinema with such renowned films as
Atraco a las 3
(1962) or
La gran familia
(1962) or the medium-length film
La Cabin
(1972), winner
of the International Emmy.
However, one of his
facets less known
to the general public was that of a
costume designer and collector
of works of art. On the occasion of the closing of the centenary of the interpreter's birth, the Serrería Belga Cultural Space offers until June the
José Luis before López Vázquez
exhibition
of his work as a
cartoonist
, designer, actor and collector of works.
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A disciple of Pepe Caballero and inspired by
Le Corbusier
and
Jean Cocteau
, the protagonist of
My Dear Young Lady
(1972)
alleviated the poverty of his childhood by drawing
the faces of the stars of world cinema and early sound films that used to appear on matchboxes. Pencils
and markers
were his best allies to combat the misery of the Civil War.
'Adam and Eve', one of the actor's drawings.
He did not know where
this gift
came from or who he had inherited it from, but as a teenager he thought that he could
make a good living
making costumes, sets and posters for films and theater performances. One of his first great works was as a costume designer in
Eugenia de Montijo
(1944), starring Amparo Rivelles and Fernando Rey. He also dared to create the figurines of
Don Juan Tenorio
,
The Duende Lady
or
The King's Postman
, as well as
sketches for the sets
of
The Dog in the Manger
or
Life is a Dream
. During his lifetime he always cherished his experience at the Teatro Español Universitario and the Teatro María Guerrero directed by Luis Escobar where
he met Salvador Dalí,
set designer for
Don Juan Tenorio
in 1949.
Work by Maruja Mallo that is part of the López Vázquez collection.
The passion he had for the genius of Figueras was such that
he treasured one of his works,
Cabeza de Gala
, which is exhibited at the
Belga Sawmill.
Visitors can also enjoy other works such as
Jazz
by
Antoni Tàpies
,
Ancestro 5
by
Antonio Saura
,
Quai de la Seine
by
Edgar Neville
and two
drawings by Federico García Lorca
from 1935.
He enjoyed drawing like a child. He even
dared to create book covers
and those closest to him fondly remember the
handmade
Christmas cards
. At the inauguration of the
José Luis López Vázquez exhibition, art on paper,
carried out by the Aisge Foundation in 2013, actress
Julia Gutiérrez Caba
(91) stated that "one year she told us that she could no longer send us any more. Since then, Christmas has They weren't the same."
He drew uninterruptedly for 18 years
until, starting in 1951, he began to act constantly and made 262 films. During her lifetime, Carmen de la Maza treasured almost
a hundred works
by López Vázquez that she later
donated to different institutions.
It is unknown if
his three children,
José Luis (62), the result of his relationship with the French actress Katty Magerus - his other daughter, Virginia, died in 1994 - and the
twins
Cayetana (42) and Camino (42), born from his Married to journalist Flor Aguilar (69),
they inherited some of his works.