Vicente Parra facts for kids

Vicente Parra Collado (February 5, 1931 – March 2, 1997) was a Spanish actor. He was known for playing many different roles in movies and on stage.

Early Acting Days

Vicente Parra was born in Oliva, a town in Valencia, Spain. His family was not wealthy. He started acting at a young age in plays. He joined several different acting groups.

His first movie role was in Rumbo (1949) when he was 18. It was a small part. He became well-known after starring in the exciting movie El expreso de Andalucía (The Andalusian Express) (1956). This movie was directed by Francisco Rovira Beleta. After this, he focused more on movies and less on theater.

He made two movies with director Manuel Mur Otis. One was Fedra (1956), which was based on an old play. The other was El batallón de las sombras (1957), a drama with strong feelings. In the same year, he starred in Rapsodia de sangre (1957). This movie, directed by Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi, was about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

Becoming a Star

Vicente Parra's most famous role was in the movie ¿Dónde vas Alfonso XII? (Where Are You Going, Alfonso XII?) (1958). In this film, he played King Alfonso XII of Spain. The singer Paquita Rico played Queen Mercedes of Orléans. This movie was directed by Luis César Amadori.

Two years later, he played King Alfonso XII again in the next movie in the series. It was called ¿Dónde vas, triste de ti? (Where Are You Going, Sad Man?) (1960). In this movie, Mexican actress Marga López played Queen Maria Christina of Austria. Both films were very emotional. They were inspired by the "Empress Sissi" movies. These roles made people think he could only play kings. This caused his popularity to go down later.

In the years that followed, Parra starred in the musical Nobleza baturra (Aragonese Nobility) (1965). He also started his own acting group for plays. He took on more serious or different movie roles, like in Varietés (Variety) (1971). This film was directed by Juan Antonio Bardem. He changed his image as a handsome leading man. He did this by acting in two horror films for director Eloy de la iglesia. These were La Semana del Asesino (The Cannibal Man) (1972) and Nadie oyó gritar (No One Heard the Scream) (1973).

Later Career and Final Years

After these films, Vicente Parra's acting career did not become as big again. For a few years, he lived and worked in Argentina. When he came back to Spain, he appeared in movies less often. He had brief but memorable parts in films like:

• Las Largas vacaciones del 36 (The Long Vacations of 1936) (1976), directed by Jaime Camino.
• La siesta (The Nap) (1976), directed by Jorge Grau.
• The comedy Nosotros que fuimos tan felices (We Who Were So Happy) (1976), directed by Antonio Drove.
• La Guerra de Papá (Dad's War) (1977), directed by Antonio Mercero. This movie was based on a book by Miguel Delibes.

In the early 1980s, Vicente Parra stopped acting for ten years. He returned to movies with smaller roles in two films. Both were directed by José Luis García Sánchez. These were Suspiros de españa y Portugal (Sighs of Spain and Portugal) (1995), a dark comedy, and Tranvía a la Malvarrosa (Streetcar to the Malvarosa) (1997). The latter was his very last movie.

Vicente Parra passed away on March 2, 1997, at the age of 66. He died from lung cancer.

See also

In Spanish: Vicente Parra para niños