José Isbert

José Isbert real name José Ysbert Alvarruiz also known as Pepe Isbert 3 March 1886 in Madrid  28 November 1966 in Madrid was a Spanish actor In 1912 he debuted in the short film Asesinato y entierro de Don José Canalejas playing Pardiñas the anarchist who killed José Canalejas During the silent era he worked in theatre with supporting roles in cinema but with the advent of sound he made a big screen comeback in the comedy directed by Florián Rey La pura verdad in 1931 In the 1930s he acted in half a dozen films including Cuándo te suicidas 1931 directed by Manuel Romero La bien pagada 1935 by Eusebio Fernández Ardavín orEl bailarín y el trabajador 1935 directed by Luis Marquina and based on a play by Jacinto Benavente In the 1940s he gained great popularity in films such as Te quiero para mí 1944 and El testamento del virrey 1944 both directed by Ladislao Vajda Ella él y sus millones 1944 by Juan de Orduña El fantasma y doña Juanita 1945 by Rafael Gil and Pacto de silencio 1949 by Antonio Román The films he is most remembered for are from the 1950s and 1960s in classics directed by Luis García Berlanga Welcome Mr Marshall 1953 Los jueves milagro1957 and El verdugo 1963 and the dark comedy masterpiece El cochecito by Marco Ferreri all written by Rafael Azcona He was the grandfather in the Spanish classic La gran familia 1962 and its sequel La gran familia y uno más 1965 these films earning him still greater popularity Pepe Isbert died in Madrid due to a heart condition when he was 80 years old He was buried at Tarazona de la Mancha cemetery in the province of Albacete