Nelly Beltrán

In 1952, the actress Beatriz Taibo suggested to Beltrán that she go to a tryout for the play Las lágrimas también se secan.[1] She won a part and had her debut on the stage in the piece, which starred Irma Cordova.[2] In 1953, joining the cast of Señorita maestra, she met Maurice Jouvet, an actor born in France, and within two weeks they were married.[1] She played many theatrical seasons of comedies in Mar del Plata and Villa Carlos Paz. Some of her finest performances were in Dos imbéciles felices, which ran for two seasons 1971 and 1972; El enfermo imaginario (1981), which played in Teatro Cervantes,[5] and Boeing-Boeing, which ran for four seasons[2] and whose cast included Ernesto Bianco, Paulette Christian, Ambar La Fox, Osvaldo Miranda, and Beatriz Taibo.[6]

On television, she participated in comic series, with the first being Risas y sonrisas (1958–1959) and Telecómicos (1960).[4] In 1960 Beltrán won the Martín Fierro Award from the Association of Argentine Television and Radio Journalists (APTRA) for Best Comic Actress for her work in La hermana San Sulpicio.[7] She performed a few dramatic roles, like two from the classic horror master Narciso Ibáñez Menta El vendedor de ilusiones (1971) and Mañana puedo morir (1979), and Coraje, mamá (1985).[5] The highlights of her television career included Telecómicos (1960, 1970–1973), Todo es amor (1964),[1] the Channel 13 hit La Banda del Golden Rocket (1991) in which she played the grandmother, and her final role as Teresa in the telenovela Los ángeles no lloran.[5]

Beltrán debuted on the big screen in 1955 in Para vestir santos, directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson[6] with Tita Merello. She followed with Historia de una carta (1957) and then a role in Rosaura a las diez (1958),[2] directed by Mario Soffici,[6] where she earned critical acclaim for her portrayal of a prostitute.[2][8] She released a flurry of films including Socios para la aventura ( 1958) Dos tipos con suerte (1960) and Libertad bajo palabra (1961), before earning praise again in El Rufián (1961), with Marcos Zucker, directed by Daniel Tinayre.[2]

Nelly Beltrán and Javier Portales in "Canuto Cañete y los 40 ladrones" (1964)

In 1962, Beltrán made El televisor under the direction of Guillermo Fernández Jurado with Ubaldo Martínez and Blanca del Prado[9] and in 1964, she made Canuto Cañete y los 40 ladrones with Carlos Balá and Mariángeles Ibarreta under the direction of Leo Fleider.[10] The following year, she repeated the role of Mrs. Salvador with Carlos Balá playing Canuto Cañete in Canuto Cañete, detective privado[11] and made Pajarito Gómez a satirical film about the promotional machine behind the Argentine pop stars of the 1960s.[12] It was the Argentine entry for 1965 in the Berlin Film Festival and won the Best Youth Film award.[13]

Beltrán earned her only starring role in La Gorda (1966), along with Rodolfo Zapata.[2] The movie was based on a song composed by Zapata which was in the style of Argentine folk dances and earned such acclaim that it became a musical, aired on the radio, was taken to television, and ultimately became the idea behind the movie.[14] In 1967 she was directed by Julio Saraceni in Villa Cariño with Roberto Airaldi and Juan Carlos Altavista[15] and the following year released Villa Cariño está que arde, directed by Emilio Vieyra with Altavista again and Ricardo Bauleo.[16]

Nelly Beltrán in "Autocine Mon Amour" (1972) From left: Rodolfo Crespi, Nelly Beltrán, Claudio Levrino and with her back to the camera Cristina del Valle

In 1972 she played a supporting role to Palito Ortega and Libertad Lamarque in La sonrisa de mamá directed by Enrique Carreras,[17] which was followed that same year by Autocine Mon Amour under the direction of Fernando Siro which she acted in with her husband, Maurice Jouvet.[18] She made a string of films in the 1970s, including En el gran circo (1974),[5] El profesor erótico (1976), El divorcio está de moda (1978),[19] and Yo también tengo fiaca (1978).[20]

1981 was a year of highs and lows. Beltrán made the film Abierto día y noche (1981),[5] was awarded the Konex Foundation Diploma of Merit[19] and lost her only daughter in a car crash.[21] In 1982, she released two films La magia de Los Parchís and Las aventuras de los Parchís with the musical group Parchís.[22][23]

Left to right: Mario Sánchez, Adriana Salgueiro (doing shoulder stand) and Nelly Beltrán, in "Los colimbas al ataque" (1987)

From 1982 to 1987 she worked with Jorge Porcel and Alberto Olmedo in a series of movies,[24] usually directed by Enrique Carreras and scripted by Juan Carlos Mesa. These included: Los fierecillos indomables (1982),[25] Los fierecillos se divierten (1983),[26] Los colimbas se divierten (1986),[27] and Los colimbas al ataque (1987).[28] But the tragic death of Olmedo in 1988,[29] and health problems, put an end to series.[30] She returned to make one final film, No hay hombres de izquierda, directed by Alberto Fischerman, starring Georgina Barbarossa and the Italian actor Giuliano Gemma.[20]

In August 2004[31] the Argentina Actors Association paid tribute for her long career,[6] which included 85 theatrical performances[1] and over 40 movies.[19] It was attended by Pablo Alarcon, Osvaldo Miranda, Rafael Carret and María Concepción César.

Beltrán died on 2 December 2007 in Buenos Aires following complications from diabetes, and was buried on 3 December in the Pantheon of Actors La Chacarita Cemetery.[20]