Josep Maria Benet i Jornet

Josep Maria Benet i Jornet (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛb məˈɾi.ə βəˈnɛt]; 20 June 1940 – 6 April 2020), also known as "Papitu",[1][2] was one of the most renowned Catalan[3] playwrights, considered one of the main renewers of Catalan theater.[4][5]

In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Benet and the second or maternal family name is Jornet; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
Josep Maria Benet i Jornet
Josep Maria Benet i Jornet
Born20 June 1940 (1940-06-20)
Barcelona, Spain
Died6 April 2020(2020-04-06) (aged 79)
Lleida, Spain
Occupation
  • Playwright

Biography

He was born in a tiny Barcelona apartment in Ronda de Sant Antoni on June 20, 1940, from parents Concepció Jornet and Pere Benet.

Growing up, his love for playwriting emerged from reading comic book strips, in which he made up his own dialogues; and he also learned from popular readings and the world of radiophonic serials.

He was an active participant in the fight against the Spanish dictatorship, although he never affiliated with any political parties. He took clandestine Catalan literature lessons with Joaquim Molas, through Joan-Lluís Marfany. He majored in Literature at the University of Barcelona, and in 1962, he enrolled in Adrià Gual's School of Dramatic Arts, where he came into contact with the most renowned personalities in theater of that time, such as Ricard Salvat, Maria Aurèlia Capmany, Josep Montanyès, Fabià Puigserver or Francesc Nel·lo.[6] Years later, he became a dramatic literature teacher in Barcelona's Institut del Teatre, where he taught from 1974 to 1981.

In 1963, at the age of 23, he published his first play, Una vella, coneguda olor, a breakthrough piece due to the realism in its tone, which, as it had never done before, gave an in-depth look into the contemporary Barcelona through theater.[7] This debutant piece was awarded the Premi Josep Maria de Sagarra award, and launched his playwriting career. Ever since then, the author wrote over forty theater plays, which were translated into a dozen different languages. Two of his most renowned hits, E.R. and Testament, were adapted into the big screen format by cinematographer Ventura Pons.[8] In 2010, he published his memoirs, which he titled Material d'enderroc (Edicions 62).

He was also the screenwriter for some of Catalan public broadcast channel TV3's most emblematic television soap operas, such as Poble Nou, Nissaga de Poder, or Ventdelplà.

Throughout his life, his professional trajectory was recognized with several awards, such as:

In March 2011, he publicly announced that he was donating his funds to the Library of Catalonia.[11] He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2015, which his daughter Carlota Benet later made public in a tribute held in the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya celebrating his 75th birthday.[12][2] As his illness progressed, he was put under residential care in Llar Sant Josep de Lleida nursing home for the elderly, where he died from COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic in Spain on 6 April 2020 at the age of 79.[13][9][14][15]

In 2017, Carlota Benet published the essay "Papitu. El somriure sota el bigoti", Editorial Columna, about his father's memories.

Theatre
  • Una vella, coneguda olor (1964, Premi Josep Maria de Sagarra 1963)
  • Cançons perdudes (1970)
  • Fantasia per a un auxiliar administratiu: obra en dues parts (1970)
  • Berenàveu a les fosques (1972)
  • Supertot (1973)
  • La desaparició de Wendy (1974)
  • Revolta de bruixes (1976)
  • La nau (1977)
  • Descripció d'un paisatge i altres textos (1979)
  • Quan la ràdio parlava de Franco (1980)
  • Baralla entre olors: peça dramàtica en un acte (1981)
  • Elisabet i Maria (1982)
  • Dins la catedral (Josafat) (1985)
  • El manuscrit d'Alí-Bey (1985)
  • Ai, carai! (1989)
  • Dos camerinos: apunts sobre la bellesa-3 (1990)
  • Desig (1991)
  • A la clínica: apunts sobre la bellesa del temps - 1 (1993)
  • Fugaç (1994)
  • Alopècia (1994)
  • E.R. (1995)
  • Precisament avui / Confessió (1996)
  • Testament (1997)
  • El gos del tinent (1999)
  • Olors (2000)
  • Això, a un fill, no se li fa (2002)
  • L'habitació del nen (2003)
  • Salamandra (2005)
  • Soterrani (2008)
  • Dues dones que ballen (2010)

Television

References
  1. J., Ballabriga (29 January 2018). "Carlota Benet: "El meu pare, Benet i Jornet, ha viscut el que havia desitjat"". Segre. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  2. "S'ha mort el dramaturg Josep Maria Benet i Jornet a 79 anys". Vilaweb (in Catalan). 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  3. "'E. R', de Benet i Jornet, es llevada al cine y al teatro". El País. 15 October 1996. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  4. "El Benet i Jornet urbanista". Directa (in Catalan).
  5. "Josep María Benet i Jornet, Premio Max de Honor 2010". ABC. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  6. Coca, Jordi (14 January 2003). "Benet i Jornet, una excepció" (in Catalan).
  7. Benet i Jornet, Josep M. (1998). "Quién soy y por qué escribo". Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  8. "Ventura Pons rueda en Barcelona "Testament" con guión de Benet i Jornet" (in Spanish). El Pais. 30 July 1998. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  9. "Mor el dramaturg Josep Maria Benet i Jornet per coronavirus". Nació Digital. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  10. "Josep Maria Benet i Jornet, Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes". Diari de Girona. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  11. "Josep Maria Benet i Jornet dóna el seu fons a la Biblioteca de Catalunya". Diari Ara. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  12. "El TNC homenatjarà Benet i Jornet dimarts que ve: el dramaturg català compleix 75 anys en plena lluita contra l'Alzheimer" (in Catalan). El Periódico. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  13. Muere Benet i Jornet, referente de la dramaturgia catalana, a los 79 años a causa del coronavirus(in Spanish)
  14. Periódico (6 April 2020). "Muere Benet i Jornet, referente de la dramaturgia catalana, a los 79 años a causa del coronavirus". elperiodico (in Spanish). No. El. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  15. "El dramaturgo Josep Maria Benet i Jornet fallece a los 79 años por COVID-19". EFE (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 April 2020.


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