Paul Naschy (born Jacinto Molina à lvarez, September 6, 1934 â€"
November 30, 2009) was a Spanish movie actor, screenwriter, and
director working primarily in horror films. His portrayals of numerous
classic horror figuresâ€"The Wolfman, Frankenstein's monster, Count
Dracula, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Fu Manchu and a mummyâ€"earned
him recognition as the Spanish Lon Chaney. He had one of the most
recognizable faces in Spanish horror film. Naschy also starred in
dozens of action films, historical dramas, crime movies, TV shows and
documentaries. He also wrote the screenplays for most of his films and
directed a number of them as well. King Juan Carlos I presented Naschy
with Spain's Gold Medal Award for Fine Arts in 2001 in honor of his
work, the Spanish equivalent of being knighted.Naschy was born as
Jacinto Molina Alvarez in Madrid in 1934, and grew up during the
Spanish Civil War, a period of great turmoil in Spanish history. His
father Enrique Molina was a successful furrier, and Naschy grew up in
very comfortable surroundings, at one point living in a veritable
country mansion. Naschy went to college initially to become an
architect. After college, he started out as a professional
weightlifter, but soon gravitated to acting and filmmaking. His
favorite film character from childhood was the Wolf Man, dating back
to when he saw the classic Universal film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf
Man (1943) as a child. At times, he tried his hand at designing record
album covers, writing pulp western novels and drawing comic book
stories, but did not meet with much success. In his 20s, Naschy moved
back and forth between professional weightlifting and acting, but
wasn't able to secure important roles, usually obtaining just bit
parts.Naschy had an uncredited bit part in the classic 1961 Biblical
epic King of Kings and a few other films of that period, and the
experience drew him further into filmmaking. While appearing as an
extra in an episode of the American TV show I Spy that was being
filmed in a remote country site in Spain in 1966, Naschy met horror
icon Boris Karloff on the set, a thrill he never forgot. (Karloff was
in a very poor mood that day, apparently depressed and in poor health.
This encounter led to a posthumously produced film biography on Naschy
being entitled Paul Naschy: The Man Who Saw Frankenstein Cry.)
November 30, 2009) was a Spanish movie actor, screenwriter, and
director working primarily in horror films. His portrayals of numerous
classic horror figuresâ€"The Wolfman, Frankenstein's monster, Count
Dracula, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Fu Manchu and a mummyâ€"earned
him recognition as the Spanish Lon Chaney. He had one of the most
recognizable faces in Spanish horror film. Naschy also starred in
dozens of action films, historical dramas, crime movies, TV shows and
documentaries. He also wrote the screenplays for most of his films and
directed a number of them as well. King Juan Carlos I presented Naschy
with Spain's Gold Medal Award for Fine Arts in 2001 in honor of his
work, the Spanish equivalent of being knighted.Naschy was born as
Jacinto Molina Alvarez in Madrid in 1934, and grew up during the
Spanish Civil War, a period of great turmoil in Spanish history. His
father Enrique Molina was a successful furrier, and Naschy grew up in
very comfortable surroundings, at one point living in a veritable
country mansion. Naschy went to college initially to become an
architect. After college, he started out as a professional
weightlifter, but soon gravitated to acting and filmmaking. His
favorite film character from childhood was the Wolf Man, dating back
to when he saw the classic Universal film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf
Man (1943) as a child. At times, he tried his hand at designing record
album covers, writing pulp western novels and drawing comic book
stories, but did not meet with much success. In his 20s, Naschy moved
back and forth between professional weightlifting and acting, but
wasn't able to secure important roles, usually obtaining just bit
parts.Naschy had an uncredited bit part in the classic 1961 Biblical
epic King of Kings and a few other films of that period, and the
experience drew him further into filmmaking. While appearing as an
extra in an episode of the American TV show I Spy that was being
filmed in a remote country site in Spain in 1966, Naschy met horror
icon Boris Karloff on the set, a thrill he never forgot. (Karloff was
in a very poor mood that day, apparently depressed and in poor health.
This encounter led to a posthumously produced film biography on Naschy
being entitled Paul Naschy: The Man Who Saw Frankenstein Cry.)
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