1 | 09/04/2021 – 9:09 am (GMT-4)
The prominent Cuban actor Frank González, The unforgettable voice of Elpidio Valdés, Died this Friday morning at the age of 74, the victim of a stroke, according to the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT).
Much loved by the Cuban public and called “the man of a thousand voices,” for several decades Frank González developed an extensive career in Cuban television, radio and cinema, where he always distinguished himself for his versatility and invaluable talent. to embody the most dissimilar roles.
Gonzalez is especially remembered for posing sees dozens of characters in various animation productions made by the Cuban Institute of Film Art and Industry (ICAIC), Among them Filminutos, Vampires in Havana, Matoll; and of course Elpidio Valdés, who came to mimic his figure with a character adored by several generations of Cubans, which did not bother him at all and he considered “An honor.”
“I’m very proud that when someone sees me on the street they say: Look, this is where Elpidio Valdés is going!”, The actor once told the portal Cubacine.
Frank González was also the voice who dubbed Mazinger Z and Voltus 5, drawings of Asian origin also well remembered on the island.
“It’s not just about having the ability to change the voice but to bring a character to life from a cartoon (…). It’s to start rehearsing into a microphone until you find the voice, the ringing that works sound characteristics that the character must carry based on his physical and psychological qualities; I would say he is almost innate, “he said in an interview.
Born in Havana on October 7, 1946, Frank González began as an amateur in theater groups while serving in the Military Service. In 1967 he began working at the ICRT as a costume designer and decorator, specialties for which he prepared for a year.
In parallel, he studied acting with radio and television professionals such as Roberto Garriga, Marta Jiménez Orpesa, Odilia Romero and Oscar Luis López, among others. In 1969 he began his career as an actor in the dramatic programming of radio, television and film.
It was in 1978 that he began to voice the character of Elpidio Valdés which became the beginning of a fruitful series of collaborations led by the late Joan Padró.
Some of their participations in the cinema were in the other Francisco (1975); Jíbaro (1982); In three-two (1985); Baraguá (1985), Old Place (1987), Plaff (1988), the Century of the Lights (1992), among others.
On television they are especially remembered its personages in the adventures the small fugitive ones (in its version of 2001) and in the soap opera If you could want to me (1997). In the latter he played an unforgettable inspector of a metrobus.
Frank González had been retired from the cameras for several years. One of his last public appearances was on October 24 at the José Martí Memorial in Havana, where he received the 2019 National Television Award alongside other artists.
The condolences for the death of the prominent actor have been added to social media in recent hours.
“I just found out about the death of Frank González. Very sad. He was a great and total actor. Guilty of many of my enthusiasms watching TV, of many laughs and surprises. My condolences to family and friends.”, Wrote on Facebook comedian Ulysses Toirac.
A note of condolence issued by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba requires that his body be cremated at the request of his relatives.