Luisa Vehil (November 12, 1912, Montevideo,

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

– October 24, 1991,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

) was an

an theater and movie actress who had a notable career in Argentina. She was an iconic figure in the Argentine theatre scene.

Biography

Luisa Vehil was born in 1912 in Montevideo,

, she belongs to an eight generation dynasty of actors originally from

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

; daughter and granddaughter of theatre players. Her brothers were Paquita and Juan. She was also the aunt of actors Miguel Ángel Solá and Mónica Vehil. Luisa moved to

, Argentina at an early age, and starred in her first movie in 1933, '' Los tres berretines'', directed by

Enrique Telémaco Susini Enrique Telémaco Susini (January 31, 1891 – July 4, 1972) was an Argentine entrepreneur and media pioneer. In 1920, Susini led the effort for the first radio broadcast in Argentina, and subsequently established one of the earliest regular ra ...

. It was the second Argentine talk movie. She went on to appear in other minor 'talkies' throughout the '30s, working in

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

-oriented films by famed tango writer Manuel Romero and

Eduardo Morera Eduardo Morera (9 January 1906 – 21 January 1997) was an Argentine film director. Although his career was relatively short compared to other directors of the period, he directed 18 films between 1930 and 1943, including influential tango ...

. Opposite to Juan Perón regime she suffered an attack when playing the leading role in the play '' Fascination''. Vehil's next big role was in '' Pampa bárbara'', an epic western directed by

Lucas Demare Lucas Demare (July 14, 1910 – September 6, 1981) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter, and film producer prominent in the Cinema of Argentina in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Biography At the 1943 Argentine Film Critics Association Aw ...

and

Hugo Fregonese Hugo Geronimo Fregonese (April 8, 1908 in Mendoza – January 11, 1987 in Tigre) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter who worked both in Hollywood and his home country.''Cine Nacional''Hugo Fregonese filmography Cinenacional.com ...

. It was her second and last screen appearance throughout the '40s; likewise, she acted in film once per decade – once in the '50s ('' En la ardiente oscuridad'', by

Daniel Tinayre Daniel Tinayre (14 September 1910 – 24 October 1994) was a French-born Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer. Moving to Buenos Aires at a young age, Tinayre directed some 23 films between 1934 and 1974, directing films such ...

, 1958) and once in the '60s (''El bote, el río y la gente'', 1960). Nevertheless, her main activity was the theater where she was regarded as one of the ''Grand-Dames'' of the national scene, a revered and iconic figure. She played Mary Stuart,

Juana La Loca Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad ( es, link=no, Juana la Loca), was the nominal Queen of Castile from 1504 and Queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was married by arrangement to Phi ...

, Samuel Beckett's

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

, ''Madame Desmortes'' in

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an a ...

's L'Invitation au Château and

L'Alouette (The Lark) ''The Lark'' () is a 1952 play about Joan of Arc by the French playwright Jean Anouilh. It was presented on Broadway in English in 1955, starring Julie Harris as Joan and Boris Karloff as Pierre Cauchon. It was produced by Kermit Bloomgarden. Lill ...

Alejandro Casona Alejandro Rodríguez Álvarez, known as Alejandro Casona (3 March 1903 – 17 September 1965) was a Spanish poet and playwright born in Besullo, Spain, a member of the Generation of '27. Casona received his bachelor's degree in Gijon and la ...

's ''Los árboles mueren de pie'', etc. Between 1964–1967 she directed the Argentina's National Comedy and was also a member of the National Fund for Arts. She made a comeback in the '70s, appearing in films by

Juan Bautista Stagnaro ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, Alejandro Doria and

Luis Saslavsky Luis Saslavsky (April 21, 1903 – March 20, 1995) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer, and one of the influential directors in the Cinema of Argentina of the classic era. Personal life Saskavsky was born in Rosar ...

. She would work with Doria one more time in 1982, in ''Los pasajeros del jardín''. Turning to TV, Vehil starred in the hour-long program ''Navidad en el año 2000'' in 1981 and hosted the show ''Las 24 horas'' from 1982 to 1985. Her last acting performance was in ''

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

'' (1989), a controversial film by

Jorge Polaco Jorge Polaco (20 November 1946 – 20 February 2014) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter. His 1987 film '' En el nombre del hijo'' won Best Film at the 1988 Festroia International Film Festival in Setúbal, Portugal. Career After ...

, censored one day short from its release (the first case of censorship in the country following the end of the

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 as ...

six years prior). Luisa Vehil was honored as an "Illustrious Citizen of the City of Buenos Aires" in 1990. In 1981 she received the ''Platinum'' and ''Diamond''

Konex Award Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The pur ...

.Konex Awards
web site for Luisa Vehil. She died from natural causes on October 24, 1991.

Selected filmography

* '' Savage Pampas'' (1945)

References

External links

*
Oficial Argentine Theater Files

Konex Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vehil, Luisa 1912 births 1991 deaths Actresses from Montevideo Uruguayan expatriate actresses in Argentina Uruguayan people of Catalan descent Illustrious Citizens of Buenos Aires Uruguayan film actresses Uruguayan stage actresses 20th-century Uruguayan actresses