Sara Montiel
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2013) |
Sara Montiel | |
|---|---|
 Montiel in 1955 | |
| Born | María Antonia Alejandra Vicenta Elpidia Isidora Abad Fernández 10 March 1928 |
| Died | 8 April 2013 (aged 85) Madrid, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1943–2013 |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 |
María Antonia Abad Fernández MML (10 March 1928 – 8 April 2013), known professionally as Sara Montiel, and as Sarita Montiel, was a Spanish singer and actress.[1][2][3]
Montiel was born in Campo de Criptana in the region of Castile–La Mancha in 1928.[2] She worked in Europe, Latin America and United States. Her films The Last Torch Song and The Violet Seller netted the highest gross revenues ever recorded for films made in the Spanish-speaking movie industry during the 1950s/60s.[2][4]
Montiel's film Variety was banned in Beijing in 1973. She played the role of Antonia, the niece of Don Quixote, in the 1947 Spanish film version of Cervantes's novel.
She was portrayed in the Pedro Almodóvar film Bad Education by a male actor in drag (Gael García Bernal) as the cross-dressing character Zahara, and a film clip from one of her movies was used, as well.[1]
Acting career
| This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2015) |
Montiel started in movies at 16[5] in her native Spain, where she filmed her first movie Empezó en boda (It Began with a Wedding) in 1944.[6] In April of 1950, accompanied by her mother, she moved to Mexico, starring in a dozen films in less than five years.[7] It was in Mexico that she first learned how to read and write, taught by the poet Felipe Leon.[7] Hollywood came calling afterwards, and she was introduced to United States moviegoers in the film Vera Cruz (1954), directed by Robert Aldrich. She was offered the standard seven-year contract at Columbia Pictures, which she refused, afraid of Hollywood's typecasting policies for Hispanics. Instead she freelanced at Warner Bros. in Serenade (1956), directed by Anthony Mann, and at RKO in Samuel Fuller's Run of the Arrow (1957).
In 1957 she returned to Spain and starred in El último cuplé (The Last Torch Song),[8] which was filmed with a very low budget, became a worldwide megahit, and made Montiel a film and singing superstar.[7][4] After The Last Torch Song, she combined filming, recording songs in five languages and performing live.
Almost all of her films earned high box office results. Among the films during the 1960s and early 1970s were The Violet Seller (1958 - Her fee for this film was one million dollars, which was "something unheard of for a Spanish star in those days."),[2] Carmen, la de Ronda (1959), Mi Último Tango (1960), Pecado de Amor (1961), La Bella Lola (a 1962 version of Camille), Casablanca, Nid d'espions (1963), Samba (1964), La Femme Perdue (1966), Tuset Street (1967), Esa Mujer (1969), Varietes (1971) and others. By then she had become dissatisfied with the movie industry when producers started offering her erotic roles in comedy films[citation needed]. In 1974, Montiel announced her retirement from movies but continued performing live, recording and starring on her own variety television shows in Spain.[9]
In November 2009, the performer Alaska, from the Spanish pop group Fangoria, invited Montiel to record a track sharing vocals with her for the re-release of the band's album Absolutamente. They recorded the title track "Absolutamente" as a duet. The music video for the song was released on December 18, 2009.[10] Well into her 80s, he had no plans to retire, and continued working in various projects.[6] In May 2011, after almost 40 years without making a movie, she performed in a feature film directed by Óscar Parra de Carrizosa. The film title is Abrázame and was shot on location in La Mancha.
She is considered "one of the most important actresses in the history of Spain",[5] and appeared in nearly 50 films and recorded around 500 songs.[5]
Personal information
Montiel was born María Antonia Abad Fernández (complete name María Antonia Alejandra Vicenta Elpidia Isidora Abad Fernández) in 1928 in Campo de Criptana (Ciudad Real), Spain[2]. She entered films after winning a beauty and talent contest at age 15[citation needed]. In her first movie, she was credited as "María Alejandra" a shortened version of her real name. For her next film, she changed her name to Sara, after her grandmother, and Montiel after the Montiel fields in the Castile–La Mancha region of her birth. She was married four times,[11][7] and was ex-communicated by the Catholic Church in Spain for the civil-wedding ceremony of her first marriage:[7]
- Anthony Mann (American actor, film director); 1957-1963 (divorced)
- José Vicente Ramírez Olalla (attorney); 1964-1978 (annulled)
- José Tous Barberán (attorney, journalist); 1979-1992 (Tous's death); this union produced two adopted children: Thais (born 1979) and José Zeus (born 1983)[12]
- Antonio Hernández (Cuban videotape operator); 2002-2005 (divorced)
In 2000, Montiel published her autobiography Memories: To Live Is a Pleasure, an instant best seller with 10 editions to date. A sequel Sara and Sex followed in 2003. In these books, Montiel revealed other relationships in her past, including one-night stands with writer Ernest Hemingway[7] as well as actor James Dean. She also claimed a long-term affair in the 1940s with playwright Miguel Mihura[7] and mentioned that science wizard Severo Ochoa, a Nobel Prize winner, was the true love of her life.[7]
Montiel died in 2013 at her home in Madrid at the age of 85 from congestive heart failure[13] and was buried in the San Justo Cemetery in Madrid.[6]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Te Quiero Para Mí | Ana María | Spain | Credited as "María Alejandra" |
| 1944 | Empezó en Boda | Spain | ||
| 1945 | Bambú | Yoyita, hija del gobernador | Spain | |
| 1945 | Se le Fue el Novio | Spain | ||
| 1945 | El Misterioso Viajero del Clipper | Cristina Gutiérrez | Spain | |
| 1946 | Por el Gran Premio | Spain | ||
| 1946 | Mariona Rebull | Lula | Spain | |
| 1947 | Don Quixote | Antonia | Spain | Released in the U.S. in 1949 |
| 1947 | Alhucemas | María Luisa Pereira | Spain | |
| 1948 | Confidencia | Elena | Spain | |
| 1948 | Madness for Love | Aldara | Spain | Released in the U.S. in 1949 as The Mad Queen |
| 1948 | La Mies es Mucha | Guyerati | Spain | |
| 1949 | Vidas Confusas | Spain | ||
| 1950 | Pequeñeces... | Monique | Spain | |
| 1951 | Women's Prison | Dora | Mexico | |
| 1951 | Red Fury | María Stevens | Mexico / United States | Stronghold is its English version with Veronica Lake in Montiel's part |
| 1951 | Captain Poison | Angustias | Spain | |
| 1952 | Necesito Dinero | María Teresa | Mexico | |
| 1952 | Here Comes Martin Corona | Rosario | Mexico | |
| 1952 | El Enamorado / Vuelve Martín Corona | Rosario | Mexico | |
| 1953 | She, Lucifer and I | Isabel | Mexico | |
| 1953 | That Man from Tangier | Aixa | Spain / United States | |
| 1953 | Cinnamon Skin | Marucha | Mexico / Cuba | |
| 1953 | Yo soy gallo dondequiera | Rosalia | Mexico | |
| 1953 | Reportaje | Mexico | She does not appear in the final cut | |
| 1954 | Porque Ya No Me Quieres | Rosaura Moreno / Lilia | Mexico | |
| 1954 | Se solicitan modelos | Rosina | Mexico | |
| 1954 | Vera Cruz | Nina | United States | |
| 1955 | Frente al Pecado de Ayer / Cuando se Quiere de Veras | Lucecita | Mexico / Cuba | |
| 1955 | Yo no Creo en los Hombres | María Caridad Robledo | Mexico / Cuba | |
| 1956 | Serenade | Juana Montes | United States | |
| 1956 | Where the Circle Ends | Isabel | Mexico | Circle of Death in the U.S. |
| 1957 | The Last Torch Song | Maria Luján | Spain | |
| 1957 | Run of the Arrow | Yellow Moccasin | United States | |
| 1958 | The Violet Seller | Soledad Moreno | Spain | |
| 1959 | A Girl Against Napoleon | Carmen | Spain | The Devil Made a Woman in the U.S. and U.K. |
| 1960 | My Last Tango | Marta Andreu | Spain | |
| 1961 | Pecado de amor | Magda Beltrán / Sor Belén | Spain | |
| 1962 | The Lovely Lola | Lola | Spain | |
| 1962 | Queen of The Chantecler | La Bella Charito | Spain | |
| 1963 | Casablanca, Nest of Spies | Teresa Vilar | Spain | |
| 1965 | Samba | Belén / Laura Monteiro | Spain / Brazil | |
| 1965 | La dama de Beirut | Isabel Llanos | Spain | |
| 1966 | The Lost Woman | Sara Fernán | Spain | |
| 1967 | Tuset Street | Violeta Riscal | Spain | |
| 1969 | Esa Mujer | Soledad Romero Fuentes | Spain | |
| 1971 | La casa de los Martínez | |||
| 1971 | Variety | Ana Marqués | Spain | |
| 1974 | Cinco Almohadas para una Noche | Rosa López / Ana | Spain | |
| 1996 | Asaltar los Cielos | Herself | Spain | Documental |
| 2002 | Sara Una Estrella | Herself | Spain | Documental |
| 2002 | Machin, Toda Una Vida | Herself | Spain | Documental |
| 2003 | A Thousand Clouds of Peace | Spain | Montiel's recording of "Nena" used as theme song | |
| 2004 | Bad Education | Spain | Features a couple of Montiel's songs and film clips | |
| 2011 | Abrázame | Sara Montiel | Spain | (final film role) |
Discography
- Sara Montiel en Mexico
- Canciones de la Película "El Último Cuple" - London 5409
- La Violetera - Columbia - EX 5056
- Baile con Sara Montiel
- Carmen la de Ronda - Columbia EX 5020
- Besos de Fuego
- Mi Último Tango - Columbia EX 5048
- El Tango
- Pecado de Amor - Columbia EX 5092
- La Bella Lola
- Noches De Casablanca
- Samba
- La Dama de Beirut
- Canta Sarita Montiel
- Esa Mujer
- Sara
- Varietés
- Sara... Hoy
- Saritisima
- Anoche con Sara
- Purisimo Sara
- Sara De Cine
- Sara A Flor de Piel
- Amados Mios
- Todas Las Noches A Las Once
- Sara Montiel La Diva
- Sara Montiel La Leyenda
- Besame - Columbia EX 5077 (1962)
- Songs From The Film Besame - Columbia EX 5135
Honours
- Gold Medal of Merit in Labour (Kingdom of Spain, 5 December 2008).[14]
Awards
- 2012 - "Reina de la Belleza Honorífica".[15]
References
- ^ a b "La Gran Diva: Remembering Sara Montiel". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ a b c d e "PASSINGS: Sara Montiel, Josep Joan Bigas Luna". Los Angeles Times. 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ Sevilla, Diario de (2019-12-15). "Sara Montiel es hoy de las 'Imprescindibles'". Diario de Sevilla (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ a b "Muere Sara Montiel a los 85 años". FormulaTV (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ a b c Moya, Edwin López (2018-04-12). "New Sara Montiel biography is being written in Philadelphia". AL DÍA News. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ a b c "Sara Montiel". www.bekia.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "La boda de Sara Montiel y Toni Hernández: el día que se acuñó el ¿Pero qué pasa? ¿Pero qué invento es esto?". Vanity Fair (in Spanish). 2019-10-12. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ The Last Torch Song (1957), retrieved 2020-05-08
- ^ "Sara Montiel Dies; Actress Was 85" webpronews.com
- ^ Music video for Absolutamente 2009 on YouTube
- ^ Baez, Marcelo (2013-04-23). "An Imaginary Cocktail Party Tribute to Diva Sara Montiel". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
- ^ "Sara Montiel Dead: Spanish Film Legend Dies At 85". Huffington Post. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
- ^ Certamen Reina Belleza S.L.
