Fernando Fernán Gómez

Fernando Fernández Gómez (28 August 1921 – 21 November 2007), better known as Fernando Fernán Gómez, was a Spanish actor, screenwriter, film director, theater director, novelist, and playwright. Prolific and outstanding in all these fields, he was elected member of the Royal Spanish Academy in 1998. He was born in Lima, Peru while his mother, Spanish actress Carola Fernán-Gómez, was making a tour in Latin America. He would later use her surname for his stage name when he moved to Spain in 1924.

Fernán Gómez was regarded as one of Spain's most beloved and respected entertainers. He received two Silver Bears for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, the National Theater Award, the Gold Medal of the Spanish Film Academy, and six Goya Awards, among other honours. He appeared in 200 films between 1943 and 2006, which included ''The Spirit of the Beehive'' (1973), ''Ana and the Wolves'' (1973), ''Mama Turns 100'' (1979), ''Belle Époque'' (1992), ''The Grandfather'' (1998), ''Butterfly's Tongue'' (1999), and ''All About My Mother'' (1999). Throughout his career he worked with directors such as Carlos Saura, Víctor Erice, Pedro Almodóvar, Fernando Trueba, Luis García Berlanga, Juan Antonio Bardem, José Luis Garci, Jaime de Armiñán, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, Mario Camus, José Luis Cuerda, José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, José Antonio Nieves Conde, Rafael Gil, Edgar Neville, Antonio Pietrangeli, Luigi Comencini, and G. W. Pabst.

He directed over 25 films, including ''El extraño viaje'' (1964), and ''Life Goes On'' (1965), both great classics of the Spanish cinema that were very limited distribution due to Franco's censorship. His film ''Voyage to Nowhere'' (1986) earned him critical acclaim, becoming the most awarded Spanish film at the 1st Goya Awards ceremony. Provided by Wikipedia