Henri Philippe Moïse Monteux (born Paris, 23 February 1874, died

Sachsenhausen Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

, 12 April 1943) was a French theatre and film actor, and an elder brother of the conductor

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

. His family was descended from

Sephardic Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

who settled in France.

Life and career

Born at 16 rue de la Grange Batelière, he was the fourth child of Gustave and Clémence Monteux who had moved to Paris from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

in 1864. It was a modest household, his father being a shoe-maker and his mother a piano teacher. His younger brother Pierre later recalled as children spending afternoons observing the passers-by in the local square laid the foundations of the future actor's characterisations. Monteux made his debut at the Théâtre National de l'Odéon on 30 September 1895 as Georges Bréval in ''La Vie'' by Adolphe Thalasso, having won the prize for tragedy at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

(pupil of

Gustave Worms Gustave-Hippolyte Worms (26 November 1836 – 19 November 1910) was a French actor and teacher of acting. After a successful student career at the Paris Conservatoire, he joined the Comédie-Française in 1858. Although elected to the company's é ...

) with his performance as Othello the previous July.Noel E & Stoullig E. ''Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique, 21eme édition, 1895.'' G Charpentier et E Fasquelle, Paris, 1896, p121-51. He played the same part to considerable praise in a production of de Vigny's ''More de Venise'' at the same theatre in December that year. He played in the revue 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 ...

in 1903: a most amusing pantomime with dogs "une pantomime extrêmement amusante, jouée par des chiens" ''The Merian Dogs''. He followed these with leading roles such as

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

in ''Le Prêcheur converti'', the title rôle in ''

Britannicus Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Valeria Messalina. For a time he was considered his father's heir, but that ...

'', Oreste in ''

Andromaque ''Andromaque'' is a tragedy in five acts by the French playwright Jean Racine written in alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre in the private chambers of the Queen, Marie Thér� ...

'', and Robert Morel in the premiere of ''Les Irréguliers''. He later became famous at the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt and was considered a specialist in the plays of Rostand, noted in roles associated with

Benoît-Constant Coquelin Benoît-Constant Coquelin (; 23 January 184127 January 1909), known as Coquelin aîné ("Coquelin the Elder"), was a French actor, "one of the greatest theatrical figures of the age." Biography Coquelin was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais ...

, and went on to make several films and records. In 1937 Monteux starred in ''Pas de ça chez nous'' at the

Théâtre de la Renaissance The name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on th ...

(Théâtre du Peuple) as the President. A reviewer commented that Henri Monteux reminded everyone what a remarkable actor he was, displaying dramatic intensity coupled with fantasy. At the time of his arrest in Paris he was playing with acclaim the drunken father in Gorky's '' The Mother''.

Films

* ''Un roman parisien'' (1913) - directed by Adrien Caillard * ''Je t'aime'' (1914) * ''La maison du baigneur'' (1914) - Adrien Caillard and Georges Monca * '' L'équipage'' (1928) -

Maurice Tourneur Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

(English : ''The Crew'') * ''Mon curé chez les riches'' (1938) - Jean Boyer * '' Cavalcade d'amour'' (1939) -

Raymond Bernard Raymond Bernard (10 October 1891 – 12 December 1977) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career spanned more than 40 years. He is best remembered for several large-scale historical productions, including the silent films '' Le Mi ...

* ''

Savage Brigade ''Savage Brigade'' (French: ''La Brigade sauvage'') is a 1939 French drama film directed by Marcel L'Herbier and starring Véra Korène, Charles Vanel and Florence Marly. The film was completed by Jean Dréville.Jean Dréville Jean Dréville (20 September 1906 – 5 March 1997) was a French film director. He directed more than 40 films between 1928 and 1969. Selected filmography * '' Autour de L'Argent'' (1928) * ''A Man of Gold'' (1934) * ''The Chess Player'' ( ...

Theatrical work

This includes:Les Archives des Spectacles
retrieved 24 June 2013. * 1896 : '' Les Perses'' by Aeschylus at the Théâtre national de l'Odéon * 1902 : ''Nos deux consciences'' by Paul Anthelme (Dubois) * 1905 : ''Les Oberlé'' by Edmond Haraucourt (Jean Oberlé) * 1907 : '' The Affair of the Poisons'' by

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...

at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin (Carloni) * 1907 : ''Le Manteau du Roi'' by

Jean Aicard Jean François Victor Aicard (4 February 1848 – 13 May 1921) was a French poet, dramatist, and novelist. Biography He was born in Toulon. His father, Jean Aicard, was a journalist of some distinction, and the son began his career in 1867 wit ...

at the

Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. History It was first built very rapidly in 1781 under the direction of (1726–1810) to house t ...

* 1908 : ''La Femme X...'' by Alexandre Bisson (Raymond) * 1909 : ''Nick Carter'' by Alexandre Bisson (title role) * 1909 : ''La Pierre de Lune'' by

Louis Péricaud Louis Jean Péricaud (10 June 1835, La Rochelle – 12 November 1909, Paris) was a 19th-century French stage actor, chansonnier, playwright, theatre historian and theatre director. He was the father of actress Berthe Jalabert (1858–c.1935) and ...

and Henri Desfontaines at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin (Franklin Blake) * 1911 : ''

Les Deux Orphelines ''The Two Orphans'' (French:''Les Deux orphelines'') is a 1965 historical drama film directed by Riccardo Freda and starring Sophie Darès, Valeria Ciangottini, Mike Marshall. It is based on the novel ''Les deux ophelines'' by Adolphe d'Ennery ...

'' by d'Ennery and Cormon at 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 ...

(Pierre) * 1921 : ''

Monsieur de Pourceaugnac ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' is a three-act ''comédie-ballet''—a ballet interrupted by spoken dialogue—by Molière, first presented on 6 October 1669 before the court of Louis XIV at the Château of Chambord by Molière's troupe of actors. ...

'' by Molière * 1925 : ''Mon curé chez les riches'' by

André de Lorde André de Latour, comte de Lorde (1869–1942) was a French playwright, the main author of the Grand Guignol plays from 1901 to 1926. His evening career was as a dramatist of terror; during daytimes he worked as a librarian in the Bibliothèque d ...

and Pierre Chaine (Mgr Sibué) * 1925 : ''L'Archange'' by Maurice Rostand (Général d'Espernon) * 1926 : ''

Deburau ''Deburau'' is a 1918 French play by Sacha Guitry that also played on Broadway in a translation by Harley Granville-Barker at the Belasco Theatre in 1920–21 Mantle, BurnsThe Best Plays of 1920-21 and the Year Book of the Drama in America pp. 1 ...

'' by

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and follow ...

(a doctor) * 1927 : ''Les Amants de Paris'' by Pierre Frondaie (Poirinet) * 1929 : ''Tristan et Iseut'' by

Joseph Bédier Joseph Bédier (28 January 1864 – 29 August 1938) was a French writer and scholar and historian of medieval France. Biography Bédier was born in Paris, France, to Adolphe Bédier, a lawyer of Breton origin, and spent his childhood in Réunion. ...

and Louis Artus (Didas de Lidan) * 1931 : ''

La Dame aux camélias LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

(Georges Duval) * 1931 : ''

L'Aiglon ''L'Aiglon'' is a play in six acts by Edmond Rostand based on the life of Napoleon II, who was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and his second wife, Empress Marie Louise. The title of the play comes from a nickname for Napoleon II, the French wor ...

'' by Edmond Rostand at the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt * 1932 : ''Une jeune fille espagnole'' by

Maurice Rostand Maurice Rostand (26 May 1891 – 21 February 1968) was a French author, the son of the poet and dramatist Edmond Rostand and the poet Rosemonde Gérard, and brother of the biologist Jean Rostand. Rostand was a writer of poems, novels, and plays. ...

(the general) * 1938 : ''Là-bas'' by Titaÿna with music by Jacqueline Batell (Fortune) * 1938 : '' Font-aux-Cabres'' by

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio ( , ; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Age of Baroque literature. His reputation in the world of Spanish literature ...

, adapted by

Jean Cassou Jean Cassou (9 July 1897 – 15 January 1986) was a French writer, art critic, poet, member of the French Resistance during World War II and the first Director of the Musée national d'Art moderne in Paris. Biography Jean Cassou was born at Bi ...

and Jean Camp (the Alcade)

Notes and references

;Notes ;References {{DEFAULTSORT:Monteux, Henri 1874 births 1943 deaths Male actors from Paris French male film actors French male silent film actors 20th-century French male actors Conservatoire de Paris alumni People who died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sephardi Jews who died in the Holocaust Jewish French male actors French Jews who died in the Holocaust