Naschy, born Jacinto Molina Álvarez, was a pioneering actor in Spanish horror cinema, playing everything from Frankenstein to Dracula and most famously the "Wolf Man".

His imposing figure, which came as a result of his bodybuilding past, made him a favourite among B grade movie lovers — his most famous fan being Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino.

But Naschy's life was cut short by an illness which could have been remedied had it been treated in time.

In 2006, a urologist in Madrid he'd been seeing for three years refused to submit the sick "werewolf" to a routine biopsy check for his prostate problems.

"Your prostate is big, that’s all," the doctor would repeat over and over again according to Naschy's wife Elvira.

By 2009, the then-retired actor had had his prostate removed but the spread of cancer throughout his body killed him within three months.

After four long years of suffering, Naschy's family has won a case against the doctor who overlooked Spain’s biggest horror star's health problems, inevitably contributing to his demise.

A Madrid court sentenced the man to pay €43,682 to Naschy's "wolf pack" for not carrying out "essential check-ups" for his diagnosis.

"My children and I have suffered so much," Elvira told Spanish daily El Mundo.

"Seeing how this giant of a man who could beat everything was then downtrodden and destroyed…all because of a routine check."