Argentine actor Héctor Alterio dead at 96

Argentine actor Héctor Alterio died Saturday at the age of 96 in Madrid, his family announced in a statement released by the producer of his last show, "Una Pequeña Historia."

"It is with deep sorrow that we want to inform you that today, Dec. 13, in the morning, Héctor Alterio has left us," his family said in the text published by Pentación Espectáculo on Facebook.

"He left peacefully after a long and full life"

"He left peacefully after a long and full life dedicated to his family and art, being professionally active to this day. Rest in peace," the statement added.

The actor, who also held Spanish nationality, "was one of the most outstanding performers of his generation," said the Film Academy’s website, of which he was a member and which in 2004 awarded him the Goya of Honor for his career.

A life between the stage and the cinema

Alterio, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1929, made his stage debut in 1948, and although he went on to achieve fame in film, he continued to appear on stage until shortly before his death.

In 1975, just before the beginning of the dictatorship in Argentina, he went into exile in Spain after being threatened with death by the Triple A (Argentine Anticommunist Alliance).

It was then that he began his strong link with Spanish cinema, starring in films such as “El Crimen de Cuenca” and “A un Dios Desconocido,” with which he won the best actor award at San Sebastián, and obtained Spanish nationality.

However, he never stopped participating in numerous films in his native country, among them “La Historia Oficial” (Luis Puenzo, 1985), which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.