French actor Claude Dauphin began his career as a theater artist in 1930, and a year later he made his debut on the big screen. During his life, he managed to star in many films of French and American production, and also performed with success on the Broadway stage for some time.
During his acting career, which lasted from 1930 to 1978, Claude Dauphin managed to appear in more than 130 films. Among them were both documentaries (chronicles) and various full-length films, television series, short projects.
In 1937, Dauphin first tried himself as a voice actor, working on the French project "Novel about the Fox". Later, in the same role, he performed in 1952 and in 1953, taking part in the work on the tapes "Beautiful Creatures", "Three Musketeers" and "Le duel à travers les âges".
Biography facts
Claude was born in the small French town of Corbeil-Essonne. This town is located in the department of Essonne, which is located in the southern suburbs of Paris. The full and real name that was given to the boy at birth sounds like Claude Marie Eugene Legrand. The future famous actor was born in 1903. His birthday: August 19.
Claude became the second child in the family. In 1900, his older brother, Jean Noen, was born. In the future, he became a television and radio host.
Who exactly was Dofen's mother is unknown. Claude's father is Maurice Etienne Legrand. His life was closely connected with creativity - he was a famous poet in France. The father of the future actor released his works under the pseudonym Frank Noen.
To receive his primary education, the boy went to the Ecole Fenelon school in Paris. Then in middle school he studied at the Lyceum Condorcet, which is also located in the French capital. Already at that time, Claude Dauphin was interested in art, he was attracted by both cinema and theater. The boy willingly took part in various school performances and creative competitions. Influenced by his father, he was also fond of literature.
Having received his basic education, Claude, contrary to the expectations of his acquaintances and friends, decided to continue his studies not at the acting department. He chose for himself the Department of Literature and Philosophy. Dauphin received his higher education at the Louis de Grand Lyceum.
When his studies were over, the future artist got a job at the Théâtre de France (Theater "Odeon"). This theater is one of the largest and most famous national theaters in France, located in Paris. Initially, Claude was a stage worker, and then retrained as a decorator. In this capacity, he worked until 1930.
Dauphen's acting career began quite by accident and even unexpectedly for himself. Once he urgently had to replace a sick actor who did not have an understudy. The play could not be canceled, so Claude was asked to go on stage. Despite all the fears, the actor's debut turned out to be excellent. Dauphen managed to learn and rehearse his role literally in a couple of hours, he was confident and relaxed on stage. After such a successful performance, theater directors drew attention to Claude.
One of the first to offer the young artist a job was playwright and producer Tristan Bernard. He invited Dauphin to play the lead role in the play "La fortune". The artist happily agreed. The premiere of the play took place in the same 1930, and a year later this play was filmed. At the same time, Claude retained the main role. The film of the same name became for him one of the first works in cinema.
Before the outbreak of World War II, the artist managed to take part in several successful performances, and also starred in a number of films that brought him well-deserved fame.
In 1940, Claude Dauphin went to the front. He was a lieutenant, served in the tank forces. Then he became one of the representatives of the "underground" French movement. In 1942, the actor fled from France to England. While in London, he quickly learned English and began working with the British Secret Service as a liaison officer. And later he joined the members of Charles de Gaulle's Liberation Army. Dauphin was one of the first to be in Paris on Liberation Day.
After the end of the war, Claude Dauphin lived for some time in New York. He worked on Broadway and was also signed to Warner Bros. Among the Broadway musicals with his participation, "No Exit" and "Happy Time" became especially popular and famous.
Returning to France and settling in Paris, the artist continued to work in cinema, television, and theater. He also wrote the book "Les Derniers Trombones".
Claude Dauphin's acting career ended in 1978.
Filmography: the best works
Claude Dauphin played his first film roles in 1931. Then on the screens came out at once 3 films with his participation: "Tout s'arrange", "Figuration", "La fortune". Then, during the 1930s, the artist appeared in a large number of films, among which one can single out: "Moonlight", "We Are No More Children", "Thousand Bill", "Return to Paradise", "Entrance for Artists", "Conflict "," The world will shudder."
Despite the hostilities, Dauphen continued to develop his acting career in the 1940s. His filmography was replenished with such quite successful films as: "Strange Suzy", "Men without fear", "Woman at night", "English without tears", "Fireworks, France", "Meeting in Paris", "Fan", "Endless road". In the late 1940s, the artist first appeared on television. He starred in the series "Filko Television Theater", "First Studio", "Suspense".
The best works of Claude Dauphin in the 1950s were: "Delight", "Golden Helmet", "April in Paris", "Steel Hour of the United States", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "The Naked City".
In the subsequent career of the actor, there were many more successful projects that glorified him even more. Claude Dauphin can be seen in such television series and feature films as "The Devil and the Ten Commandments", "Soup", "Visit", "Lady L", "Is Paris Burning?", "Grand Prix", "Two on the Way", "Barbarella", "Tight frames", "Towards a joyful death", "The main thing is to love", "Rosebud", "Do not lose sight of", "Tenant", "Mado", "All life is ahead."
In 1978, the last projects with the star of European cinema were released. The artist appeared in the mini-series "The Devil in the Flesh" and in the full-length film "Pawn", and also starred in 2 television films: "Les Miserables" and "Lord Officials".
Personal life and death
During his life, Claude married three times. In 1937 he married Rosine Deréan. However, after a short family life, this union fell apart.
In the summer of 1953, Dauphin became the husband of Maria Moban, who was an actress. They lived together for only 2 years, after which they divorced. They had a son who was born even before the artists legalized their relationship. The boy was born on March 16, 1948, he was named Jean-Claude. In the future, he also chose the acting path in life.
Claude's third wife was Norma Eberhard, an actress from America. Together they lived until the artist's death.
It is also known that Dauphena had a romantic relationship with actress Rude Michel for some time. They had a common child - a girl named Antonia. Following the example of her parents, when she grew up, she also became an artist.
Claude Dauphin died when he was 75 years old. Cause of death: intestinal obstruction. Died: November 16, 1978 He was buried in Paris on the territory of the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery.
