Born in
Langreo,
Asturias, Spain, Ibáñez Menta made his first stage appearance at the age of seven at the Teatro La Comedia of
Buenos Aires. He worked in both theatre and film in
Argentina until 1964, when he returned to Spain and developed a successful television career. In both Argentina and Spain, he was particularly prominent in suspense and horror subjects. In 1934, he married the Argentine actress
Pepita Serrador, a member of a theatre family. In 1935 they had a son,
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, who became a director, writer and actor, and directed the Spanish television series
Historias para no dormir (1973),
El Televisor (1974) and
El fin empezó ayer (1982) in which his father starred. Films featuring Ibáñez Menta included
Historia de crímenes (1942),
La Bestia debe morir (1952),
Tres citas con el destino (1953),
Obras maestras del terror (1960),
Shoot Twice (1969),
La saga de los Drácula (1972),
Los muchachos de antes no usaban arsénico (1976),
Viaje al más allá (1980),
Sal gorda (1983), and
Más allá de la muerte (1984). His last film role was in
¡Qué vecinos tan animales! (1998). His health gradually deteriorated, to the point that in 1996 he was implanted with a pacemaker and spent the last few years prostrate in bed. He died on 15 May 2004 at the Hospital de Madrid, at the age of 91. His body was cremated in the
Cemetery of La Almudena in Madrid on 16 May 2004. In 2008, Argentine cinema director Gustavo Leonel Mendoza exhibited a documentary about Ibañez Menta's life, titled
Nadie inquietó más ('Nobody disturbed more'). In 2010, Argentine writers Leandro D'Ambrosio and Marcelo Rodríguez aka "Gillespi" published a biography of the actor,
El artesano del miedo ['The Craftsman of Fear']. ==Filmography==