José María Íñigo Gómez (4 June 1942 – 5 May 2018) was a Spanish journalist, radio and television presenter, and stage and screen actor.

Biography

Career

Born in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, Íñigo began his professional career in his hometown as he was hired by Radio Bilbao, and then by

COPE The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colours, litu ...

. Shortly after he moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, from where he collaborated with different music programmes on

Cadena SER La Cadena SER (the SER Network) is Spain's premier radio network in terms of both seniority (it was created in 1924) and audience share (it had a regular listenership in 2018 of 4,139,000). The acronym SER stands for ''Sociedad Española de Radi ...

. Back to Spain, he settled in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, where he worked in radio music shows ''El Musiquero'', ''El Gran Musical'' and ''

Los 40 Principales Los 40 (The 40, stylized as LOS40 and formerly ''Los 40 Principales'', es, Los Cuarenta) is a Top 40 music radio network and radio station brand in many Spanish-speaking countries from PRISA Radio. The station has its origins as a music show ...

''. He joined

Televisión Española Televisión Española (acronym TVE, branded tve, "Spanish Television") is Spain's national state-owned public television broadcaster and the oldest regular television service in the country. It was also the first regular television service in ...

(TVE) in 1968 working in the show ''Último grito'', created by

Pedro Olea Pedro Olea (30 June 1938, Bilbao) is a Spanish screenwriter, film producer and film director. His 1984 film '' Akelarre'' was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival. Selected directorial filmography * ''Días de viejo color' ...

. Later he presented music programme ''Ritmo 70'', directed by

Pilar Miró Pilar Mercedes Miró Romero (20 April 1940 in Madrid – 19 October 1997 in Madrid) was a Spanish screenwriter and film director. She was the General Director of RTVE from 1986 to 1989. In the 1990s, she directed the television broadcasts of th ...

. He became one of the most popular television presenters in Spain with the show ''Estudio abierto'' which he hosted from 1972 until 1975 and again from 1984 until 1985. Between 1975 and 1984 he presented other shows with a similar format, which included musical performances and interviews to celebrities or common people with curious stories: ''Directísimo'', ''Esta noche...fiesta'', and ''Fantástico''. After a hiatus, in 1993 and 1994 Íñigo hosted the morning show on

Telecinco Telecinco is a Spanish free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset España. The channel was previously known as Tele 5, because it had first begun its experimental transmissions on 10 March 1989, and a year later, it was officially launc ...

alongside

Laura Valenzuela Rocío Espinosa López-Cepero (born 18 February 1931, in Seville), known professionally as Laura Valenzuela, or Laurita Valenzuela in her beginnings, is a retired Spanish television presenter, actress and model. She was one of the first televi ...

. Since then, he worked for several variety shows, talk shows and reality shows on both public and private broadcasters. Since 2000 he also worked for

Radio Nacional de España Radio Nacional de España (acronym RNE, branded rne, "National Radio of Spain") is the national state-owned public service radio broadcaster in Spain. RNE is the radio division and Televisión Española (TVE) is the television division of R ...

(RNE).

Eurovision Song Contest

Over the years Íñigo has been associated with the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

. Between the 1975 Contest and 1976 Contest he announced the Spanish jury result. In 2008 his testimony for a Spanish documentary was used to claim that at the 1968 Contest the voting had been rigged by Spanish dictator

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

and that the United Kingdom should have won the contest, although he later clarified that he had just repeated a widespread rumour and that his words had been taken out of context. Between the 2011 Contest and the 2017 Contest, he provided the TVE commentary. Íñigo was joined by

Julia Varela Julia Varela Ruano (born 30 June 1981) is a Spanish television and radio presenter, newsreader, reporter and director. Biography After graduating in journalism at the Complutense University of Madrid, Varela began her professional career at R ...

between the 2015 Contest and the 2017 Contest.

Personal life

In 1970 he married painter and model designer Josette Nahmias in Santo Cristo de El Pardo chapel. On 17 December 1984, he married María del Pilar Piniella by

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religion, religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintai ...

at the Registro Civil of Barcelona.

Death

Íñigo died in Madrid aged 75 on 5 May 2018, just before the first semi-final of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song " Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broa ...

on 8 May. The last night, Íñigo told Pepa Fernández he did not have any strength, and died in his sleep. It was then when his widow revealed that he had been diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

two years earlier, but he kept working until the last day. His

chapelle ardente A (; French for "burning chapel") is a chapel or room in which the corpse of a sovereign or other exalted personage lies in state pending the funeral service. The name is in allusion to the many candles which are lighted round the catafalque. ...

was installed the same day in Tanatorio de La Paz. His death has been linked to

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining ...

, a lung cancer caused by

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

. In Íñigo's case, it would caused by the soundproofing in the Studio 1 of

Prado del Rey Prado del Rey is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 5,968 inhabitants. History Human remains have been found dating back to the Paleolithic but the first mention in anci ...

. RTVE and the Spanish Social security deny the link.

Career on television

*''Último grito'' (1968–1969) on TVE. *''Ritmo 70'' (1970) on TVE. *''Estudio abierto'' (1972-1975, 1984-1985) on TVE. *''Hoy 14,15'' (1974–1975) on TVE. *''Directísimo'' (1975–1976) on TVE. * Spanish spokesperson in the

(1975-1976). *''Esta noche...fiesta'' (1976-1977) on TVE. *''Estudio 2'' (1970s),

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

*''Fantástico'' (1978–1981) on TVE. *''Íñigo en directo'' (1986) on ETB. *''Las Mañanas de Telecinco'' (1993-1994) on

. *''¿De qué parte estás?'' (1994–1995) on Telecinco. *''El Show de Flo'' (2002–2003) on TVE, co-host. *''Vivo cantando'' (2003) on Telecinco, co-host. *''Carta de ajuste'' (2004) on TVE. *'' Supervivientes: Perdidos en el Caribe'' (2006) on Telecinco, co-host. *''El Club de Flo'' (2006) on

laSexta La Sexta (; "The Sixth"; stylized as laSexta) is a Spanish free-to-air television channel. It is privately owned and was originally founded on 18 March 2001 as Beca TV that began broadcasting on 1 April 2001, that same year. By 21 July 2003, the ...

, contestant. *'' Destino Oslo, La Gala de Eurovisión 2010'' on TVE, jury member. * Spanish commentary for the

(2011–2017), on TVE. *''Así nos va'' (2013) on laSexta, section co-host. *''¡Qué tiempo tan feliz!'' (2014-2017) on Telecinco, panelist. *''Aquí la Tierra'' (2017–2018) on TVE, panelist. *''Hora punta'' (2017–2018) on TVE, panelist.

References

External links

*
José María Íñigo's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Inigo Maria, Jose 1942 births 2018 deaths People from Bilbao Spanish television presenters Spanish radio personalities Spanish male television actors Spanish game show hosts Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest Deaths from cancer in Spain Recipients of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise