Aimée Campton or Miss Campton (6 April 1882 – 21 November 1930) was a dancer,

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

artist, postcard beauty and a French actress of English origin. A

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

actress, she played the lead role in a series of French-made ''Maud'' films in the 1910s.

Biography

Born in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

in 1882 as Emily Strahan Cager, the illegitimate daughter of domestic servant Emily Cager and raised in London, she arrived as a dancer in one of the first of

Tiller Girls The Tiller Girls were among the most popular dance troupes of the 1890s, first formed by John Tiller in Manchester, England, in 1889. In theatre Tiller had noticed the overall effect of a chorus of dancers was often spoiled by lack of discipline. ...

troupes to visit Paris at the time of the Exposition Universelle of 1900 and would never leave again. Her lively on-stage character and English accent while speaking French greatly amused audiences at the

Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...

. She adopted the stage name Aimée Campton and met the actor

Charles Prince Charles Owen "Chuck" Prince III (born January 13, 1950) is an American corporate executive and lawyer. He is a former chairman and chief executive of Citigroup. He succeeded Sandy Weill as the chief executive of the firm in 2003, and as the chair ...

(real name Charles Ernest René Petitdemange) whom she married in Paris on 20 December 1900. Less than two months later in February 1901 their only daughter Renée Petitdemange (1901-1993) was born. The couple divorced in April 1905. Campton appeared in a number of '

breeches role A breeches role (also pants role or trouser role, or Hosenrolle) is one in which an actress appears in male clothing. Breeches, tight-fitting knee-length pants, were the standard male garment at the time these roles were introduced. The theatric ...

s', including in the revue ''Entente Cordiale'' (1905) by

Robert de Flers Robert Pellevé de La Motte-Ango, marquis de Flers (25 November 1872, Pont-l'Évêque, Calvados – 30 July 1927, Vittel) was a French playwright, opera librettist, and journalist.Pierre Barillet, ''Les Seigneurs du rire: Flers – Caillavet – ...

, in which she played a British Lord opposite Mlle Marie Marville as Madame de France at the

Théâtre des Capucines The Théâtre des Capucines was a former theatre on the boulevard des Capucines in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. Built in 1889 by architect Édouard-Jean Niermans, it was taken over by two brothers, Émile Isola and Vincent Isola, in 1892 ...

. During 1904 to 1907 she was at the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (P ...

, in 1904 in the revue ''La Revue du Moulin'' with music by Gustave Goublier, and in 1907 in the operetta '' Le toreador''. In 1906 she was in ''Une Revue au Palais-Royal'', while in 1907 she acted in the comedy ''Souper d’Adieu'' at the Théâtre des Capucines. From 1907 to 1910 she was in the annual

revue by Flers. With Louis Maurel she sang 'Entrevue de Marienbad' at the Folies Bergère, which was recorded and which betrays her English accent while singing in French. In about 1908 Campton appeared in the revue ''Pomme d’amour'' while in 1911 she was at the Théâtre des Ambassadeurs. Between October 1911 and February 1912 she played alongside

René Hervil René Hervil (1881–1960) was a French actor, screenwriter and film director.Goble p.322 Most of his films were made during the silent era. He directed the ''Maud'' series of films between 1912 and 1915 starring the Anglo-French actress Aimé ...

the

in ''Et voilà!'' by Robert Dieudonné and ''Gently!'' by Hugues Delorme. In the following year he would cast her as the lead in his ''Maud'' series of films. During 1911 to 1913 Campton was at

La Cigale La Cigale (; English: ''The Cicada'') is a theatre located at 120, boulevard de Rochechouart near Place Pigalle, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The theatre is part of a complex connected to the Le Trabendo concert venue and the Boule Noir ...

in ''La revue sans culotte'' (1911); the comedy ''Miss Alice des P.T.T.'' by

Tristan Bernard Tristan Bernard (7 September 1866 – 7 December 1947) was a French playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer. Life He studied law, and after his military service, he started his career as the manager of an aluminium smelter. In the 1890s, ...

(1912-1913) and in ''En scene… mon president'' (1913), both with Maurice Claudius as her on-stage partner. In 1913 she performed in revues at the

Théâtre Marigny The Théâtre Marigny is a theatre in Paris, situated near the junction of the Champs-Élysées and the Avenue Marigny in the 8th arrondissement. It was originally built to designs of the architect Charles Garnier for the display of a panoram ...

, including in ''La revue de Marigny'' by

André Barde André Barde was the pseudonym of André Bourdonneau (July 1874, Meudon – October 1945, Paris), a French writer best known for his libretti for operettas. He was active from 1899-1936. He frequently collaborated with Charles Cuvillier Char ...

and

Michel-Antoine Carré Michel-Antoine Carré or Michel Carré (fils) (7 February 1865, Paris – 11 August 1945, Paris) was a French actor, stage and film director, and writer of opera librettos, stage plays and film scripts. Career He was the son of the librettist Mic ...

. From 1912 to 1915 she was on film sets for the studio Urban-Eclipse in Paris where she created the title role in the ''Maud'' series under the direction of

. ''Maud'' was one of the few comic series of the time in France to stage a female main character.The ''Maud'' series - History of Cinema in France from 1908 to 1919
/ref> In 1917 Campton appeared in ''Ou Campe-t-on?'' at the

in a revue the title of which was pun on her name, demonstrating her fame at this time. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Campton's career began to fail. In 1921 she had a supporting role in the revue ''Ça va?'' at the

Théâtre de Paris The Théâtre de Paris is a theatre located at 15, rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It includes a second smaller venue, the Petit Théâtre de Paris. History The first theatre on the site was built by the Duke of Richelieu in 1730. ...

, while in 1922 she failed in the lead role in the revue ''Va l’dire à… Gênes!'' at

, with some critics believing her poor grasp of the French language had been an obstacle which audiences earlier in her career had found delightful. In 1923 she appeared in ''Blanc et Noir'' at the

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...

and in the same year at the same theatre she had a supporting part in ''Un Jour de Folie'' by

André Birabeau André Birabeau (6 December 1890 – 1 October 1974) was a French novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Novels and short stories * ''La débauche'' (1924), English trans. ''Revelation'' (1930). Cited as the first novel about a homosexual man f ...

. After these appearances she retired from the stage. Sometime after her divorce from

she married Paul Derval,Obituary of Aimée Campton - ''The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser'', November 1930
/ref> director and owner of the

and appeared here regularly before gradually stopping performing on stage. It was at their home on rue Alphonse-de-Neuville in the

17th arrondissement of Paris The 17th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le dix-septième'' (; "the seventeenth"). The arrondissement, known as Batignoll ...

that she died in 1930 at the age of 48 following a long illness with cancer. Aimée Campton was buried on November 25, 1930 in the Derval family vault at

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre (french: link=no, Cimetière de Montmartre) is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis ...

, after a religious ceremony at the Church of St. Francis de Sales in Paris. In 1931 her jewels, furs, rings and string of 95 pearls were auctioned.

Filmography

*1912 : ''Le Charme de Maud'', by

- Maud *1913 : ''Maud amoureuse'', by René Hervil - Maud *1914 : ''Maud en culottes'', with René Hervil - Maud *1914 : ''Maud en chiffons'', with René Hervil - Maud *1914 : ''Maud clubman'', with René Hervil - Maud *1914 : ''Le Gant de Maud'', by René Hervil - Maud *1915 : ''Maud cambrioleur'', by René Hervil - Maud *1915 : ''Maud professeur d’anglais'', by René Hervil - Maud *1915 : ''Maud et Tante Zélie'', with René Hervil - Maud *1916 : ''Maud amoureuse'', with René Hervil - Maud *1916 : ''Anana secrétaire intime'', by Maurice Poggi - HenrietteThe Anana series, whose starring role was performed by Pierre Etchepare, consisted of 9 short films made between 1916 and 1918 by various directors, but all produced by Les Grands Films Populaire Georges Lordier. Due to lack of documentation, it is not possible to determine if Aimée Campton was able to obtain other roles in this series

Bibliography

*Raymond Chirat and Eric Le Roy, ''Catalogue des films français de fiction de 1908 à 1918'', Paris, Cinémathèque française, 1995.

References

External links

Aimée Campton
on

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campton, Aimee 1882 births 1930 deaths People from Brighton Dancers from Paris Music hall performers French silent film actresses Burials at Montmartre Cemetery Actresses from Paris 20th-century French actresses British emigrants to France