Remembering Luis Prendes

Luis Prendes Estrada was born in Melilla, Spain on August 22, 1913. He was the brother of actresses Mercedes Prendergast [1903-1981] and Mari Carmen [1906-2002]. His first vocation was a military career however and he initiated studies as a merchant navy officer.

 
In his early years as an actor he was integrated in the company of his sister Mercedes and the Concha Diaz Carmen Catala. Upon completion of the Spanish Civil War he began a period of great activity in both film and theater.
 
He became the first player in the Teatro María Guerrero and in 1946 is able to form his own company. Among the successes there on stage included the works, La visita de la vieja dama, Todos eran mis hijos  and Los árboles mueren de pie.
 
He was most prolific in film during the the decades of the 1940s and 1950s when he reached heartthrob status in numerous comedies of directors Ignacio Iquino Farrés, Alejandro Ulloa and José María. During his film career Luis appeared in nine Euro-westerns from “Dollars for a Fast Gun” (1965) to “China 9, Liberty 37” in 1978. Prendes excelled at playing figures of authority such as judges, landowners or civic leaders.
 
He was also a regular face in the early years of Spanish TV with frequent appearances on ‘Studio 1’, ‘Novel and Story’ and series like ‘Historias para no dormir’ (1966) and ‘Visto para sentencia’ (1971).
 
Prendes died in Madrid, Spain on October 27, 1998.
 
Today we remember Luis Prendes on what would have been his 100^th birthday.