Actor Héctor Alterio died this Saturday at the age of 96, as confirmed by Pentación Espectáculos, the producer of his last show, and sources close to the artist.
“It is with deep sorrow that we wish to inform you that today, December 13 in the morning, Héctor Alterio left us. He left in peace after a long and full life devoted to his family and to art, being active professionally until this day. May he rest in peace,” say his loved ones in a press release released by his production company.
Jesús Cimarro, producer of his latest theatrical show, a little storyunderlined that “one of our great performers on the Spanish and Argentine scene is leaving us”.
Alterio (Buenos Aires, 1929), who devoted himself to theater at the age of 18, is one of the most notable actors of his generation. This earned him the Honorary Goya, which he received from his children, Malena and Ernesto Alterio, in 2004.
Although he made his debut as an actor in the theater, with the play Suicide prohibited in springby Alejandro Casona, in 1948, and devoting the 60s to his company Nuevo Teatro, with which he worked to renew the Argentine scene, his fame as a performer came to him with the cinema, in which he made his debut alongside Alfredo Mathé.
After his debut in All the sun is bitterparticipated in numerous films by the new generation of Argentine filmmakers between the end of the 60s and the beginning of the 70s, such as Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, who put him under his command in The seven fools. Already in 1975 he moved to Spain after receiving death threats from the far-right terrorist group Triple A (Argentine Anti-Communist Alliance), which began a full career in Spanish cinema.
Under the orders of Carlos Saura in Raising crowshe collaborated with the most notable figures of cinema from the post-death period of dictator Francisco Franco such as Jaime Chávarri, in To an unknown godwith which he won the Silver Shell at the San Sebastian Festival; The Cuenca crimeby Pilar Miró; either The nestthe story of Jaime de Armiñán, nominated for an Oscar in 1980.
Despite forced exile, Héctor Alterio did not stop working in Argentine cinema, earning him four Oscar nominations for The truce, Camille, The bride’s son And The official historywhich won the Hollywood Academy Award.
His last film was Noraby director Lara Izagirre, released in 2020. Although she then continued to work in the theater or with occasional appearances in television series like Your Majesty.
In addition to the honorary Goya that the Cinema Academy, to which he belonged, awarded him in 2004, in 2008 Argentina awarded him the Silver Condor for his cinematic career and, already in 2023, the Kirchner Cultural Center in Buenos Aires paid him a tribute in which a large group of professionals of the Argentine seventh art participated, such as Ricardo Darín.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, deeply regretted the death of the artist, whom he described as a “huge and beloved” actor, and who, according to him, left “an indelible mark on cinema, theater and television”. “His talent and his humanity will continue to live on in each of his professions. All my love to his family and friends,” added the leader of the Executive in a message on the social network X.
Government spokesperson Pilar Alegría also dedicated a few words to the actor after his death: “an immense actor and a lucid awareness of exile, memory and dignity”. “His voice, his look and his commitment will continue to educate us about culture. Thank you very much,” he added in a message on the Bluesky social network.
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