Considered one of the greats of the Spanish drama scene, his career was divided between acting, directing and producing
The actor and theater director Gerardo Malla passed away on Friday afternoon at the age of 84, after a long illness. Malla, born in Buendía (Cuenca) in 1936, is considered one of the greats of the Spanish drama scene, a complete professional dedicated to acting, directing, and also writing.
Father of the musicians Miguel and Coque Malla, the actor, who was married to the actress Amparo Valle (who died three years ago) made his debut at the Spanish Theater in 1959, but it was not until 1974 that he began his career as a theater director.
Gerardo Malla created in 1988 together with Alonso de Santos, Rafael Alvarez El Brujoand Jesus Cimarro, the theater production company Pentación, a company that brought together artists and managers to fill a gap between public and private theater, and in which he was a partner for ten more years. “He was an elegant actor, a true heartthrob, a very good traveling companion in the performing arts,” Jesus Cimarro, who today continues to lead Pentación, told this newspaper
Gerardo Malla directed both classical and contemporary theater or zarzuela. His work as an actor was developed mainly together with Adolfo Marsillach, with whom he worked, among other works, in the Marat-Sade that premiered at the Spanish Theater in 1968 and which caused major disturbances.
His first work as a partner in Pentación was Pares y Nines, which premiered in 1988. Written by Jose Luis Alonso de Santos, directed by Malla himself, and starring El Brujo, Pares y Nines, it was the beginning of a very prolific career in those years. Among his works as a director, we can highlight Bajar al Moro and Out of Quicio, both by Alonso de Santos; The fantastic tavern, by Alfonso Sastre or Double couples, by David Wise.
Malla directed El picacar o, by Fernando Fernán Gómez, at the Seville Expo in 1992, a great show that also starred in El Brujo, along with eighteen other interpreters, and that consisted of 15 episodes and lasted three hours.
One of his last works as a director was the assembly of La Familia Pascual Duarte, by Camilo Jose Cela , which premiered in 2012. As an actor, he said goodbye to the scene a year later with the romantic comedy Entre Marta y Lope , written by himself.
Malla with Santiago Miralles, in which the circumstances of the decline of the success of Lope de Vega were reviewed. Of his work in this work stood out “the humanity” with which he had endowed his character.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
