Narciso Ibáñez Menta(1912-2004)

Narciso Ibáñez Menta was born in Sama de Langreo, Asturias, Spain. A member of an important family of theatrical artists, the young Narciso toured with them through Spain and America. He arrived in Argentina aged 7 where he debuted in the suspense film A Light In The Window (Una luz en la ventana), directed by Manuel Romero in 1941. Tied to the cinema of fantasy and horror throughout his career, Ibañez Menta went on to star in Crime Stories (1942, by Manuel Romero) and Three Appointments With Fate (Tres citas con el destino, 1953), appearing in the episode directed by León Klimovsky. In the early 60's, he starred in the landmark Argentine horror film Masterworks Of Terror (1959) directed by Enrique Carreras (and Ibañez Menta, according Narciso himself). The film and the smash television series that followed were created by Narciso and his son Narcisco "Chicho" Ibañez Serrador for Argentine TV. In the ensuing years, Ibañez Menta and "Chicho" conceived, produced, directed and starred in several successful horror and suspense series both in Argentina and Spain. The Man Who Returned From Death (El hombre que volvió de la muerte), a 1969 TV miniseries taped in Argentina, was among his most popular and remembered works. Sadly, very little of his television work in Argentina is currently available as the material on which it was recorded was either lost or taped over with new material. Narciso returned to horror films with The Saga Of Dracula (1972) and was the protagonist of the Sebastián D'Arbo trilogy: Journey to the Beyond (Viaje al más allá, 1980), The Entity (El ser, 1982) and Beyond Death (Más allá de la muerte, 1986). A documentary about this great Spanish artist entitled Nadie inquietó más (No One Was More Unsettling), directed by Gustavo Mendoza, premiered at the Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre Film Festival in 2008. The original title initials were those of the artist it honored.