Eduardo Ladrón de Guevara, co-creator of 'Cuéntame cómo pasó', dies on the same day the series ends

The death this Wednesday of the screenwriter Eduardo Ladrón de Guevara, at the age of 80, has coincided with the farewell of the iconic series of which he was co-creator, Cuéntame cómo pasó.

An ending that seems scripted and that many have wanted to take advantage of to highlight the contribution of Ladrón de Guevara (Madrid 1943-2023) to comedy in cathodic fiction.

"We say goodbye to Eduardo Ladrón de Guevara (Madrid 1943-2023), who died today. He was one of the creators of Cuéntame, a series that ends its broadcast tonight. We appreciate his talent and his work in a long career as a #screenwriter. Rest in peace ", wrote the ALMA screenwriters union, in a comment on X.

The screenwriter Ignacio del Moral, a friend and colleague of his since they met in Eva y Adán, agencia matrimonial, has described him as "a fun, cultured, committed, joking and grumpy guy."

As it could not be less, the official Cuéntame account has joined the tributes: "Our history could not have been written without him."

Ladrón de Guevara was, along with Patrick Buckley and Miguel Bernardeau, one of the creators of Cuéntame cómo pasó, a series in which he developed the format, in addition to writing and coordinating a large part of its scripts for 17 seasons.

From journalism to television

He began his professional career as a journalist in newspapers such as Informaciones y Pueblo – an editorial that would inspire Toni Alcántara's work in the series –, in addition to collaborating with agencies such as Fax-Press and Colpisa.

He abandoned journalism to dedicate himself to writing plays and television fiction. Before Cuéntame, he worked on other legendary series such as Farmacia de Guardia or Los ladrones van a la oficina and others such as Tío Willy, Eva y Adán, agencia matrimonial, Querido maestro, Siete días de amor, Manolito Gafotas or Gente encantadora.

As a screenwriter he was awarded various national and international awards: New York Festival, Ondas, Fotogramas, Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias de Televisión, the Premio Nacional de Televisión in its first edition. He was nominated for an Emmy in 2003 as co-creator of Cuéntame.

Although his best-known work was as a screenwriter, he wrote more than twenty plays and won awards such as the Calderón de la Barca, Borne, Rojas Zorrilla and Ciudad de San Sebastián, and novels, such as El champán frío y la venganza caliente.