Christian Casadesus, (26 December 1912 – 6 March 2014), was a French actor and theatre director who worked professionally in both movies and in theater.

Career

Casadesus was born in Paris on 26 December 1912. His father, Henri Casadesus, was a musician and composer, and his mother, Marie-Louise Beetz, a harpist. He made his first film appearance in 1930. He studied acting at the CNSAD with Louis Jouvet and gave his debut at the theater in 1937. In 1939 he was drafted into the army during the

Phoney War The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...

. In 1942, he played

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

at the

Théâtre Hébertot Théâtre Hébertot () is a theatre at 78, boulevard des Batignolles, in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The theatre, completed in 1838 and opening as the Théâtre des Batignolles, was later renamed Théâtre des Arts in 190 ...

. In 1948, he ran a jazz club with Freddy Chauvelot, the Club Saint-Germain, which staged musicians and singers such as

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

Juliette Gréco Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Désh ...

, and

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sull ...

. Casadesus played

Philibert Le Roy Philibert Le Roy (died 1646) was a 17th-century French architect and military engineer who worked in the Baroque and classical styles. Today, he is chiefly remembered for his appointment as "''royal engineer and architect''" to King Louis XIII ...

in the 1953 film Si Versailles m'était conté de Sacha Guitry, his last film role. From 1954 to 1966, he was the Artistic Director of the

Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique The Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (, literally, Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), a former Parisian theatre, was founded in 1769 on the boulevard du Temple immediately adjacent to the Théâtre de Nicolet. It was rebuilt in 1770 and 1786, but in ...

. Afterwards, he undertook several missions for the French Ministry of Culture. He was the brother of the French stage and film actress

Gisèle Casadesus Gisèle Casadesus (14 June 1914 – 24 September 2017) was a French actress, who appeared in numerous theatre and film productions. She was an honorary member of the Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française, Grand Officer of the Legion of Hon ...

(1914-2017), whose eldest son is the conductor

Jean-Claude Casadesus Jean-Claude Probst (born 7 December 1935), known professional as Jean-Claude Casadesus, is a French conductor. Biography Casadesus was born in Paris on 7 December 1935, the son of actress Gisèle Casadesus and her husband Lucien Pascal. He beg ...

. He was briefly married with the singer Micheline Ramette and had a son with her, Frédérick Casadesus, born in 1959.

Death

Casadesus died on 6 March 2014, aged 101. His sister, was theatre and film actress

, who died in 2017, aged 103.

Selected filmography

* '' The Star of Valencia'' (1933) * '' Rothchild'' (1934)

References

External links

* * https://www.lesarchivesduspectacle.net/?IDX_Personne=53281 1912 births 2014 deaths French centenarians Male actors from Paris French male stage actors French male film actors Christian Men centenarians {{France-film-actor-stub