Maurice Vinot (3 November 1888 – 23 June 1916) was a French film actor of the early 20th-century whose career ended in 1916 when he was killed in an airplane accident in Pontlevoy, France after enlisting in the military to fight in

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 ...

Early life and career

Maurice Vinot was born in the

11th arrondissement of Paris The 11th arrondissement of Paris (''XIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''onzième''. The arrondissement, called Popincourt, is situated on ...

in 1888. He began his film career as a protégée of director

Louis Feuillade Louis Feuillade (; 19 February 1873 – 25 February 1925) was a French filmmaker of the silent era. Between 1906 and 1924, he directed over 630 films. He is primarily known for the crime serials ''Fantômas'', ''Les Vampires'' and ''Judex'' ...

in 1908 and would go on to appear in approximately two-hundred motion pictures; the bulk of them being films directed by Feuillade. His first known film role was in the 1908 Feuillade directed short ''Le Récit du colonel'' opposite actresses

Renée Carl Renée Carl (10 June 1875 – 31 July 1954) was a French actress of the silent era. She was born in Fontenay-le-Comte, Vendée, France, and died in Paris, France. Between 1907 and 1937, she appeared in 186 films. A favorite of film director ...

and

Alice Tissot Alice Tissot (1 January 1890 – 5 May 1971) was a French actress. Partial filmography * ''Poum à la chasse'' (1908) * ''Le devoir'' (1908) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * '' The Two Girls'' (1921) * '' A Son from America'' (1924) * '' Captain Rasca ...

. Vinot would follow this with a number of other short films released in 1908 in roles directed by Feuillade and again, sharing billing with Carl and Tissot. Vinot would work steadily in films until 1914 and the outbreak of

when he enlisted in the newly created

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

, obtaining the rank of Private, 2nd Class. His final film appearance was in the Gérard Bourgeois directed ''Protéa IV ou Les mystères du château de Malmort'', filmed in 1914 and released posthumously in 1917.

Death

While undergoing flight training at the

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

aviation school (now, the

Tours Aerodrome Tours Aerodrome was a complex of military airfields in the French department of Indre-et-Loire, 6 km (3.2 NM) north-northeast of the city of Tours. They were used during World War I as part of the Second Air Instructional Center (2d AIC), Am ...

), Vinot became the first casualty of the air base when his

Caudron G.3 The Caudron G.3 was a single-engined French sesquiplane built by Caudron, widely used in World War I as a reconnaissance aircraft and trainer. Development The Caudron G.3 was designed by René and Gaston Caudron as a development of their earli ...

crashed on 23 June 1916 near

Pontlevoy Pontlevoy () is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France. Geography The village of Pontlevoy is 14 miles southwest of Blois, in the eastern part of Touraine. It is a 20-minute drive from the chateaux of Amboise, Cheverny, Cha ...

. A contemporary witness stated the plane was at 30 meters altitude when it suddenly crashed into the ground. Vinot was killed instantly and another airman, Mousson, was severely injured. Vinot was 27 years-old. A "street", the second on the left after passing the portal of the military aviation school in Tours, later bore the name rue Vinot in his honour.

Personal life

Vinot was married to actress

Marthe Vinot Marthe Vinot (née Lagrange; 8 December 1894 – 13 July 1974) was a French actress whose film career began in the early years of silent film and lasted until the early 1920s. Life and career Marthe Vinot was born Marthe Lagrange in Paris. She w ...

(''née'' Lagrange) in 1913. The two had appeared opposite one another in a number of films.cineartistes.com
''Maurice Vinot/'' Retrieved 11 August 2017.

Early life and career

Death

Personal life

Selected filmography

References

External links

Further reading