Valentín Parera

Biography

Following his father's wishes (his father was a very important mine engineer) he enters in the Militar Academy but later he abandones and loses all support from his father. Starting to live on his own resources, he works in different fields: representant of an inssurance firm, car industry and very very little roles in french movies, until he is discovered by Benito Perojo who offers him the marquis role in "El negro que tenia el alma blanca" (aka the black man that had a white soul)in 1927. Benito Perojo counts on him for his next four productions, although almost always in antagonist roles. He also works under the direction of Florian Rey in "Los claveles de la Virgen" (aka The Virgin's carnation flowers" in 1928. His elegance and "mondaineté" makes him an important figure among the last years of spanish silent movies and the first of french and german sound ones. His real high point in his career starts when he appears as first figure among with Conchita Piquer in the rural drama written by Vicente Blasco Ibañez: "La Bodega" (aka "The Cellar")(B.Perojo, 1930) and the MGM calls him to work in Hollywood. But the movie in question is cancelled. During his trip back to Spain on ship in 1931 he meets Grace Moore, famous opera singer and actress with whom he get married several months later (Cannes, France, on July 15). In 1934 he signs a contract with FOX for six months. Nevertheles, his refined aspect is starting to look old fashioned and the roles he is offered are grotesque (like the dumb archeologist in "Two and one makes two" (J. Tinling, 1934). He leaves the scene to assit his wife's contracts until Grace dies in a plane crash in 1947. After this he lets himself fall in a long period of inactivity. Later on, he starts various enterprises on television and lives between Madrid and New York.