Roland Armontel

Roland Armontel
Born	(1904-12-07)December 7, 1904 Vimoutiers
Died	March 2, 1983(1983-03-02) (aged 78) Paris
Occupation	Actor
Known for	Acting

Roland Armontel (21 December 1901 – 15 March 1980) was a French actor.^[1]

Born Auguste Louis Magnin in Vimoutiers, Orne, France, he died in Paris.

Biography

He began his career at a very young age thanks to his grandfather, who owned three traveling theaters. Just a few days after his birth, he “played” the role of the Baby Jesus. Later, his uncle cast him in small roles, such as Cosette in Les Misérables. As a child, he also appeared in films directed by Max Linder.^[2]

While performing in the play Arsène Lupin in Brussels, he was advised to move to Paris. He had a difficult start, but he managed to join Louis Verneuil’s Pile ou face troupe alongside Elvire Popesco and was hired by Max Maurey at the Théâtre des Variétés.

On stage, he appeared in numerous plays, including: Le Train pour Venise by Louis Verneuil, Les Jours heureux by Claude-André Puget, Bichon by Jean de Létraz, La Bonne Soupe by Robert Thomas, Messieurs mon mari, Mon bébé, Il faut marier maman, Une femme par jour, and others. As the creator of 129 plays, he played 300 roles on stage during his career .

During the Occupation, he directed the Théâtre de Paris.

In film, he appeared in more than 80 movies between 1932 and 1979. His first major role was in Touchons du bois (1925). In Les Gaîtés de l'escadron, he starred alongside Jean Gabin, Fernandel, and Raimu. Although critics praised him for his role as Célestin in René Clair’s Le silence est d’or (1947), he remained confined to supporting roles.

He is buried in the Arcachon Cemetery (plot 35), a town where he loved to spend his vacations. He was married to Claudette Béroud (1921–2013).

Selected filmography

References

External links

• Roland Armontel at IMDb