Claude Dauphin

Biography: life and films

Claude Dauphin, whose real name is Claude Marie Eugène Legrand, was born in Corbeil-Essonnes, in the southern suburbs of Paris, on 19th August 1903. The son of the poet Franc-Nohain, he was also the brother of Jean Nohain, a prominent presenter on radio and television in France from the 1950s to the 1970s. In a career that spanned almost half a century, Dauphin appeared in around a hundred films, whilst simultaneously pursuing a very busy career on the French stage.

Originally employed as a set designer in a Paris repertory theatre, Dauphin made his stage debut in 1930 when he took over the part of a stricken actor without rehearsal. This so impressed the playwright-producer Tristan Bernard that he gave Dauphin the lead part in his next play, La Fortune. It was the start of a distiguished and busy career on stage and screen. During the war, Dauphin served in the French resistance whilst touring with his theatre company. Narrowly avoiding capture by the Nazis, he fled to England, where he joined the British secret service and Charles De Gaulle's Free French forces.

With his suave manner, boyish good looks and seductive voice, Dauphin was a natural matinee idol, popular on both sides of the Atlantic. He often lent his voice to Fred Astaire in French dubbed versions of his films. In the course of his career, he worked with some of the most distinguished directors in France, including Sacha Guitry (Faisons un rêve, 1936), Marc Allégret (Félicie Nanteuil, 1945) and Jacques Becker (Casque d'or, 1950). He also appeared in Roger Vadim's Barbarella (1967), Otto Preminger's Rosebud (1975) and Roman Polanski's Le Locataire (1976).

Claude Dauphin was married three times, including to the actress Maria Mauban. His son, Jean-Claude Dauphin, followed his example and has enjoyed an equally prolific career as an actor. Dauphin died in Paris on 16th November 1978 from an intestinal blockage at the age of 75 and is buried in Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris.

Filmography

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