Alexander D'Arcy (; born Alexandre Sarruf, ; 10 August 1908 – 20 April 1996) was an Egyptian-American actor with an international film repertoire. He often portrayed a suave gentleman or smooth rogue, and at one time was pinned as the natural successor to

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...

Career

Born Alexander Sarruf in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Egypt, D'Arcy, variously credited as Alexandre D'Arcy, Alex D'Arcy, Alexandre Darcy and Alex d'Arcy, appeared in some 45 films, mostly as a suave gentleman or smooth rogue. His first film appearance was in 1927 in ', and he then appeared in

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's . He went to France, acted in a number of films, then departed for America. In 1936, listed as Joseph Alexandre Fabre – artist, aged 27, race French, nationality Egyptian – he sailed to New York as a first class passenger on the . He eventually left New York for Hollywood where he started by playing supporting roles in several films in the late 1930s, including ', '' Stolen Holiday'', and '' The Awful Truth'' (all 1937). In 1953, he was one of the suitors of

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's character in ''

How to Marry a Millionaire ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays ''The Greeks Had a Word for It'' (1930) by Zoe Akins and '' ...

'' and featured in '' Abdulla the Great'' and ' in 1955. His roles diminished in importance, and by the 1960s, he acted mostly on television and resurfaced in horror films, notably '' It's Hot in Paradise'' (1962) and as Dracula in '' Blood of Dracula's Castle'' (1969). Evidently a favorite of such cult directors as

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and Sam Fuller, D'Arcy was seen in Corman's ' (1967), Meyer's ' (1971) and Fuller's '' Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street'' (1972 or 1974 TV movie). Throughout his life, D'Arcy split his time between his homes in the United States and Europe. In addition to acting, he worked as a restaurateur in Berlin. He was naturalized as a United States citizen in Los Angeles in May 1942. In his petition for naturalization, he declared that upon naturalization he wished his name to be legally changed from Joseph Alexandre Fabre to Alexander D'Arcy.

Personal life

D'Arcy was married twice, first to actress

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and then, in 1964, to actress Yutta Darcy. He adopted Yutta's daughter named Susannah D'Arcy and divorced in 1973. Susannah D'Arcy

Death

D'Arcy died on 20 April 1996 at his home in West Hollywood, California at the age of 87.

Filmography

* '' The Garden of Allah'' (1927) - Bit Role (uncredited) * ''

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'' (1928) - (uncredited) * ''

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'' (1928) - Spirdoff * '' Daughter of the Regiment'' (1929) * '' A Romance of Seville'' (1929) - Ramon Dunigo * ''La revanche du maudit'' (1930) - Edmond Saint-Edme * ''

À Nous la Liberté ''À nous la liberté'' (), sometimes written as ''À nous la liberté!'', (English: ''Freedom Forever'' or ''Freedom for Us'') is a 1931 Cinema of France, French Musical film, musical film directed by René Clair. With a score by Georges Auric ...

'' (1931) - Le gigolo (uncredited) * '' King of the Hotel'' (1932) - Alonzo * '' That Scoundrel Morin'' (1932) * ''Je vous aimerai toujours'' (1933) - Jean-Claude * '' Poliche'' (1934) - Saint-Wast * ''La Kermesse héroïque'' ('' Carnival in Flanders'') (1935) - Le capitaine / The Captain * '' Stolen Holiday'' (1937) - Anatole * '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) - De Gautet (uncredited) * '' The Awful Truth ''(1937) - Armand Duvalle * '' She Married an Artist'' (1937) - Phillip Corval * '' Women Are Like That'' (1938) - Paul - a Headwaiter (uncredited) * '' Flight to Fame'' (1938) - Perez * '' Topper Takes a Trip'' (1938) - Baron * '' Good Girls Go to Paris'' (1939) - Paul Kingston * ''Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga'' (1939, Short) - Himself (cameo) * '' Fifth Avenue Girl'' (1939) - Maitre d'Hotel * '' Three Sons'' (1939) - Prince Nicky - Phoebe's Husband * '' Another Thin Man'' (1939) - Gigolo Who Danced with Nora Charles at West Indies Club (scenes deleted) * '' City of Chance'' (1940) - Baron Joseph * '' Irene'' (1940) - Mr. Dumont (uncredited) * '' The Blonde from Singapore'' (1941) - Prince Sali * '' Marriage Is a Private Affair'' (1944) - Mr. Garby (uncredited) * '' The Red Angel'' (1949) - Ocelli * ''Harriet Quimby'' (1952, TV Movie) - Andre Houpert * ''

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'' (1953) - Rudolph * '' Vicki'' (1953) - Robin Ray * ''

'' (1953) - J. Stewart Merrill * ''Les clandestines'' (1954) - Louis d'Osterkoff * '' Abdulla the Great'', aka ''Abdullah's Harem'' (1955) - Marco * '' Soldier of Fortune'' (1955) - Rene Dupont Chevalier * '' Horrors of Spider Island'' (''Ein Toter hing im Netz'') (1960) - Gary Webster * '' The Festival Girls'' (1961) - Larry Worthington * ''Casanova wider Willen'' (1964, TV Movie) - Jack Perri * ''

Fanny Hill ''Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure'' – popularly known as ''Fanny Hill'' – is an erotic novel by the English novelist John Cleland first published in London in 1748 and 1749. Written while the author was in debtors' prison in London,Wagne ...

'' (1964) - Admiral * '' The Incredible Sex Revolution'' (1965) - Pierre * '' Way...Way Out'' (1966) - Deuce Hawkins * '' The St. Valentine's Day Massacre'' (1967) - Joe Aiello * '' Blood of Dracula's Castle'' (1969) - Count Dracula - alias Count Charles Townsend * '' The Seven Minutes'' (1971) - Christian Leroux * '' Tatort'' (1973, TV Series, episode: '' Tote Taube in der Beethovenstraße'') (1973) - Mr. Novak

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:DArcy, Alexander 1908 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Egyptian male actors Egyptian expatriates in the United States Expatriate male actors in the United States Egyptian male film actors Egyptian male stage actors Egyptian male television actors Male actors from Cairo Egyptian male silent film actors Male Western (genre) film actors Male actors from Greater Los Angeles