André Maranne (14 May 1926 – 12 April 2021) was a French-born British actor best known for playing roles in English-language films beginning in the mid-1950s.
Life and career
Born André Gaston Maillol in
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, Maranne's best known role was probably Sergeant François Chevalier in six ''
Pink Panther'' films alongside
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...
,
Herbert Lom and
Burt Kwouk. Before the Pink Panther, he appeared as a French officer in ''
The War Lover'' (1962) and had a cameo role in the James Bond movie ''
Thunderball'' (1965).
Maranne appeared in such diverse television programmes as Merton Park Studios' ''
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
'' (as a gendarme in 1956 episode "Wall of Death" and credited as André Maillol & the 1957 episode "Night Crossing" as Detective Nouvel credited as Andre Maranne), ''
Jason King'' ("Wanna buy a television series?", 1971), ''
Fawlty Towers
''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...
'' (as André in the 1975 "
Gourmet Night" episode), ''
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A amateur, dilettante who solves myst ...
'' ("Clouds of Witness", 1972), ''
Yes Minister
''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes f ...
'' (as
European Agricultural Commissioner Maurice, proponent of the "euro-
sausage
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders.
...
", in "
Party Games
Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillia ...
", 1984, the episode in which
Jim Hacker becomes UK Prime Minister), ''
All Creatures Great and Small'' and ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' (''
The Moonbase'', 1967).
Maranne was also one of the four co-presenters of the French teaching programme, ''Bonjour Françoise'' on the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in the 1960s; he acted in all eight episodes of ''La Chasse au Trésor'' (1967) as well as all 24 episodes of ''Ensemble-French for Beginners'' in the 1970s, also for the BBC. Maranne provided English audio translation of French-speaking interviewees in the 1988
ITV documentary ''
The Men Who Killed Kennedy''.
Maranne died 12 April 2021 in
Brighton, England at the age of 94. He was survived by his wife, Moira.
Selected filmography
*''
Wicked as They Come'' (1956) as Paris Barman (uncredited)
*''
Port Afrique'' (1956) as Police Officer
*''
Loser Takes All'' (1956) as Bar Waiter (uncredited)
*''
Rogue's Yarn'' (1957) as French Fisherman (uncredited)
*''
The Birthday Present'' (1957) as French Customs Officer (uncredited)
*''
Carve Her Name with Pride
''Carve Her Name with Pride'' is a 1958 British war Drama (film and television), drama film based on the book of the same name by R. J. Minney.
The film, directed by Lewis Gilbert, is based on the true story of Special Operations Executive agen ...
'' (1958) as Garage Man
*''
Law and Disorder'' (1958) as Fisherman (uncredited)
*''
Harry Black'' (1958) as Frenchman
*''
The Whole Truth'' (1958) as Car owner
*''
The Square Peg'' (1958) as Jean-Claude
*''
The Giant Behemoth'' (1959) as French Radio Officer (uncredited)
*''
A French Mistress'' (1960) as Dubbing (voice)
*''
The Greengage Summer'' (1961) as Mounsieur Dufour
*''
Two Wives at One Wedding'' (1961) as Paul
*''
Middle Course'' (1961) as Franz
*''
The Silent Invasion'' (1962) as Argen
*''
H.M.S. Defiant'' (1962) as Colonel Giraud
*''
The War Lover'' (1962) as French Officer (uncredited)
*''
Come Fly with Me'' (1963) as French Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
*''
Maniac'' (1963) as Salon (voice, uncredited)
*''
A Shot in the Dark'' (1964) as Sgt. François Chevalier
*''
The Beauty Jungle'' (1964) as Lift Man (uncredited)
*''
Night Train to Paris'' (1964) as Louis Vernay
*''
Return from the Ashes'' (1965) as 2nd Detective (voice, uncredited)
*''
Thunderball'' (1965) as SPECTRE No. 10 (uncredited)
*''
Doctor in Clover'' (1966) as Pierre in French film
*''
The Terrornauts'' (1967) as Gendarme
*''
The Girl on a Motorcycle'' (1968) as French Superintendent
*''
Duffy'' (1968) as Garain
*''
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
'' (1969) as French Army Signals NCO
*''
Darling Lili'' (1970) as Lt. Liggett
*''
And Soon the Darkness'' (1970) as Radio DJ (voice, uncredited)
*''
The Guardians'' (1971) as Felicien de Bastion
*''
Our Miss Fred'' (1972) as French Resistance Fighter
*''
Bequest to the Nation'' (1973) as Adm. Villenueuve
*''
Paul and Michelle'' (1974) as Bellancourt
*''
Percy's Progress'' (1974) as French Newsreader (uncredited)
*''
Gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
'' (1974) as Syndicate Member
*''
The Return of the Pink Panther'' (1975) as Sgt. François Chevalier
*''
The Pink Panther Strikes Again'' (1976) as Sgt François Chevalier
*''
Revenge of the Pink Panther'' (1978) as Sgt. François Chevalier
*''
The London Connection'' (1979) as Duvalier
*''
S.O.S. Titanic'' (1979) as Michel Navratil
*''
Rise and Fall of Idi Amin'' (1981) as French Ambassador
*''
Trail of the Pink Panther'' (1982) as Sgt. François Chevalier
*''
Curse of the Pink Panther'' (1983) as Sgt. François Chevalier
*''
The Razor's Edge'' (1984) as Joseph, the butler
*''
Morons from Outer Space'' (1985) as Prof. Trousseau
*''
Plenty'' (1985) as Villon
References
External links
*
Broadcasting for Schools UK – La Chasse au Trésor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maranne, Andre
1926 births
2021 deaths
20th-century French male actors
French emigrants to England
French male film actors
French male television actors
Male actors from Toulouse