RIP Fernando Esteso

 

Comedian Fernando Esteso dies at the age of 80

The actor had been admitted a couple of days ago to the La Fe University Hospital in Valencia

el Periodico

By Jaime Roch and Voro Contreras

February 1, 2026

 

The actor and comedian Fernando Esteso died this Sunday in Valencia at the age of 80. As Levante-EMV has been able to confirm, Esteso was admitted to the La Fe University Hospital. Esteso already had respiratory problems five years ago and was already hospitalized in the same center then. The actor was admitted a couple of days ago for one due to respiratory failure.

Sources close to the actor acknowledge that he was very delicate after having received treatment for an illness. In fact, during the last Christmas holidays she missed several commitments with her friends because she did not feel well. One of the appointments he could not attend, for example, was Christmas Day. Every year he went to celebrate it at Vicente Ruiz's house 'El Soro' with the comedian Paco Arévalo. This year he no longer attended the meeting with his friends because he was weak.

Fernando Esteso Allué was born on January 14, 1945 in Zaragoza, into a family of jota artists. His destiny was on stage from the beginning: he debuted at the age of six as "the Boy of the Jota" and cut his teeth in variety theater and revue. This early training gave him a versatility that would allow him to master humour, singing and acting, soon becoming one of the most recognised figures in show business in Spain at the time.

His golden age came between the end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s, when he formed with Andrés Pajares the most profitable comedy duo in Spanish cinema. Under the direction of Mariano Ozores, they starred in massive hits such as "Los bingueros" (1979) or "Yo hice a Roque III" (1980). Their style of mischievous and costumbrist humour captured the idiosyncrasies of a Spain in the midst of the Transition, turning them into mass phenomena that filled cinemas throughout the country.

Despite his Aragonese roots, Esteso maintained an unbreakable bond with Valencia, the city where he has lived for decades.

ESTESO, Fernando (Fernando Julián Esteso Allué)

Born: 1/14/1945, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain

Died: 2/1/2026, Valencia, Valencia, Spain

 

Fernando Esteso’s western – actor:

Al este del Oeste – 1983 (Bill Golden Pistol)