Paul Naschy was born Jacinto Alvarez Molina in Madrid, Spain on September 6th, 1934. His father was Enrique Molina, a successful industrialist, and his mother was Pilar Alvarez. Naschy grew up in Spain, during the Fascist regime of Franco. His mother used to take him to the cinema to see movie serials, such as "Drums Of Fu Manchu." By the time young Jacinto turned eleven years old, he'd developed a serious fascination for genre films, and he managed to sneak into a screening of Universal's "Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman." While the film made a profound impact on the child, his first loves were still Westerns, and historical films. Thursday, May 3, 2012
Jacinto Molina Alvarez aka Paul Naschy: 9/6/34 – 11/30/09
Paul Naschy was born Jacinto Alvarez Molina in Madrid, Spain on September 6th, 1934. His father was Enrique Molina, a successful industrialist, and his mother was Pilar Alvarez. Naschy grew up in Spain, during the Fascist regime of Franco. His mother used to take him to the cinema to see movie serials, such as "Drums Of Fu Manchu." By the time young Jacinto turned eleven years old, he'd developed a serious fascination for genre films, and he managed to sneak into a screening of Universal's "Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman." While the film made a profound impact on the child, his first loves were still Westerns, and historical films. As the boy grew into a young man, Jacinto's family pushed for him to pursue a profession more in line with their social standing. He studied architecture at the world renown School Of Architecture in Barcelona, Spain. There, Jacinto drew high marks for his artistic drawing abilities, and he would later go on to design album artwork for record companies Decca, and Columbia. He also created a comic book character "Snake-Black," and had paintings presented in numerous art exhibitions. Soon, he became an accomplished novelist, writing primarily Westerns, using the pseudonym "Jack Mills." Jacinto was also an outstanding athlete, competing in sports such as soccer, javelin throwing, and weight lifting. His athletic abilities were such that he set records in weight lifting, and took 3rd place in a Spanish national javelin competition.
Paul Naschy, a fan of Marlon Brando, finally made his film debut as an uncredited extra in 1960's "King Of Vikings," followed by 1961's "King Of Kings." He'd appear in several more films, most often, again, as an uncredited extra, until 1968's "Las Noches Del Hombre Lobo." "Nights Of The Werewolf," the US title of this movie, marked the debut of "Waldemar Daninsky," a sort of European "Larry Talbot." Naschy served as writer on the picture, and his portrayal of "the Werewolf" became his signature movie role. No one seems to be certain if this movie was ever released, or even fully completed, and serves as a sort of Holy Grail for Naschy/"Daninsky" fans. Paul Naschy would eventually appear as "El Hombre Lobo/Daninsky" another 12 times, with the last appearance being in "Tomb Of The Werewolf" (2004).
Throughout Paul Naschy's film career, aside from "the Wolfman," he portrayed a number of other famous Horror characters, including Frankenstein's Monster, the Hunchback, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, the Phantom Of The Opera, Dr. Moreau, and even the Devil. This earned Naschy the nickname of "the Spanish Lon Chaney." Naschy worked in films, including voice work, until his death on November 30th, 2009. Nocturna and I have had the pleasure of hosting a handful of his films, and will, no doubt, host even more of them. Nocturna's good friend, writer/director/actor/musician Donald F. Glut, worked with Mr. Naschy on "Countess Dracula's Orgy Of Blood." Naschy's work, in my opinion, is unparalleled in the Horror genre, each performance a tour de force, filled with many a subtle nuance only associated with the very best in his chosen field. Like Vincent Price, for example, no can ever "replace" Paul Naschy. 
Chances are, whether you realize it or not, if you're a true fan of Horror films, you've seen at least one of Paul Naschy's films. They are known by many titles, as the English translations, for most all of them are many. Again, Paul Naschy is best known for his portrayal of "the Werewolf," and those films involving the "Waldemar Daninsky" character are amongst his most enjoyable. I strongly recommend viewing "Assignment Terror," "The Werewolf Vs. The Vampire Women," "Doctor Jekyll And The Wolfman," and "Return Of The Werewolf." I have yet to see a Naschy movie that I haven't enjoyed. "Waldemar Daninsky" is at peace. Coincidentally, as my beautiful Enchantress Nocturna pointed out to me, he died on the night of a (mostly) full moon. God bless Jacinto Alvarez Molina, and, thank you Paul Naschy.
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