André Charlot
André Charlot | |
---|---|
Born | Eugène André Maurice Charlot 26 July 1882 Paris |
Died | 20 May 1956 Woodland Hills, Los Angeles | (aged 73)
Occupation(s) | Actor and theatre manager |
Spouse | Florence Gladman (m. 1956) |
Children | 2 |
Eugène André Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French-born impresario known primarily for the musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He later worked as a character actor in numerous American films.
Born in Paris, where his father was a theatre manager, Charlot made most of his pre-
Life and career
Early years
Charlot was born in Paris on 26 July 1882, the eldest of three children of Jules Charles Maurice Charlot and his wife, Jeanne Sargine née Battu.[1] Charlot senior was a theatre manager and secretary of the Parisian Association of Theatre Directors; his wife was the daughter of a Swiss goldsmith. It was an affluent household, based in the Rue Boissy d'Anglas near the Place de la Concorde, with staff including an English governess for the children.[1][2]
Charlot studied first at the
Among those for whom Charlot's agency provided performers was the English actor and impresario
Peak years
In 1914 the British impresario Charles B. Cochran had an unexpected box-office success in the West End with what Moore calls a "bare-bones" revue.[1] His Odds and Ends, starring his discovery Alice Delysia, dispensed with spectacular décor and huge casts in favour of a more intimate style with modest staging – one critic commented that Cochran had spared no economy in mounting the revue.[6] The style appealed to the public and the show ran for more than 500 performances.[6] Charlot, familiar with intimate revue from his years in Paris,[4] was quick to follow Cochran's example in London.[7]
The writer Eric Maschwitz says of Charlot:
For his revues Charlot chose theatres of modest size, such as the Vaudeville, which seated 700.[8] A typical Charlot show featured a small orchestra, and onstage up to six stars backed by an ensemble who could all sing, dance and act. Imaginative lighting replaced opulent stage sets, allowing for quick changes of scene between short sketches. Moore writes that to this formula Charlot added an "undefinable style".[1]
Charlot was adept at discovering and encouraging new talent. Among the performers he featured at or near the beginning of their careers were Binnie Hale, Gertrude Lawrence, Beatrice Lillie, Jessie Matthews, Phyllis Monkman, Jack Buchanan and Jack Hulbert. His writers included Ronald Jeans and Dion Titheradge; among the composers were Ivor Novello and Philip Braham; and, as writer, composer and performer, there was Noël Coward, who co-wrote and co-starred in Charlot's London Calling (1923–24), for which Fred Astaire provided choreography.[1][9]
Coward learned from Charlot that it was not enough for a revue to have first-rate songs and sketches: it was vital to present them in the most effective order. Coward recalled:
Charlot kept his revues fresh by renewing the numbers during a run. There were, for instance, three editions of London Calling with new songs and sketches added to the second and third.[11]
Charlot had a major success on Broadway with Charlot's Revue of 1924, a compilation of numbers and sketches, mainly by Coward, from Charlot's West End shows.[12] It took New York by storm – The Daily News reported "The Charlot Revue sets crowd cheering" [13] – established Buchanan, Lawrence, Lillie and Matthews on the New York stage and, in the words of the theatre historians Mander and Mitchenson, "at last established intimate revue on the other side of the Atlantic".[12] The show ran on Broadway for 298 performances and then went on tour in the US and Canada.[14]
According to Maschwitz, Charlot was the first leading London producer to recognise the potentialities of broadcasting, associating himself actively with the production of almost fifty Charlot's Hour programmes for BBC radio.[4]
Later years
With the Great Depression, theatre attendance dropped dramatically, and Charlot was forced into temporary bankruptcy after the failure of his revue Wonder Bar in 1930. That same year he collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock, Hulbert, and Paul Murray on direction of the film Elstree Calling.[15] After producing a series of smaller London revues, he moved to Hollywood, where between 1942 and 1955 he appeared in 50 films, often in small, uncredited roles. According to Moore his most memorable role was the probably "the fearsomely condemning cardinal" in The Song of Bernadette.[1]
Charlot had taken British citizenship in 1922,[4] and American citizenship in 1944.[1] He died in Hollywood on 20 May 1956 and was buried there on 25 May.[1]
Films
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1942 | The Falcon's Brother | Leon Savitski | Uncredited |
Here We Go Again | Indian Chief | Uncredited | |
Arabian Nights | Bidder | Uncredited | |
1943 | The Falcon Strikes Back | Bruno Steffen | |
They Came to Blow Up America | Zugholtz | ||
Above Suspicion | Paris Cafe Manager | Uncredited | |
The Constant Nymph | Dr. Renee | ||
Thumbs Up | E. E. Cartwright | ||
The Man from Down Under | Father Antoine | ||
The Fallen Sparrow | Pete | Uncredited | |
Melody Parade | Carroll White | ||
The Song of Bernadette | Bishop of Nevers | Uncredited | |
1944 | Passage to Marseille | Judge | Uncredited |
Action in Arabia | Andre Leroux | ||
The Heavenly Body | Dr. Burns | Uncredited | |
Summer Storm | Mr Kalenin | ||
1945 | Delightfully Dangerous | Prof. Bremond | Uncredited |
Lady on a Train | Man with Carnation | Uncredited | |
The Dolly Sisters | Monsieur Philippe | Uncredited | |
Paris Underground | Patriot | Uncredited | |
This Love of Ours | M. Flambertin | ||
Yolanda and the Thief | Dilettante | Uncredited | |
What Next, Corporal Hargrove? | Restaurant Proprietor | Uncredited | |
1946 | O.S.S. | French Importer | Uncredited |
Deadline for Murder | Gordon | Uncredited | |
Rolling Home | Dr Clark | ||
The Razor's Edge | Bishop at Elliott's Deathbed | Uncredited | |
Temptation | Prof. Dupont | ||
The Falcon's Adventure | Enrico Braganza | Uncredited | |
1947 | The Foxes of Harrow | Dr. Terrebone | Uncredited |
Song of Love | Pompous Gent | Uncredited | |
Mourning Becomes Electra | Dr. André Hamel - Christine's Father | Uncredited | |
1948 | Saigon | Priest | Uncredited |
Julia Misbehaves | Theater Doorman | Uncredited | |
1949 | The Great Sinner | Distinguished Man | Uncredited |
I Was a Male War Bride | French Minister | Uncredited | |
That Forsyte Woman | Gallery Director in Paris | Uncredited | |
1950 | Under My Skin | Waiter | Uncredited |
Annie Get Your Gun | French President Emile Loubet | Uncredited | |
The Toast of New Orleans | Dignified Man | Uncredited | |
Breakthrough | |||
The Du Pont Story | Peter Bauduy | ||
1951 | Rich, Young and Pretty | Justice of the Peace | Uncredited |
The Law and the Lady | Maire D'Hotel | Uncredited | |
Here Comes the Groom | French Doctor | Uncredited | |
Flame of Araby | Court Physician | Uncredited | |
1952 | Lovely to Look At | Creditor | Uncredited |
The Snows of Kilimanjaro | Guest | Uncredited | |
1953 | The Mississippi Gambler | Keith | Uncredited |
1954 | Rhapsody | Stage Doorman | Uncredited |
1955 | Interrupted Melody | Monsieur Bertrand | Uncredited, (final film role) |
- Source: British Film Institute.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Moore, James Ross. Charlot, (Eugene) André Maurice (1882–1956), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2011. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ a b " Eugène André Maurice Charlot", Paris, France, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1555-1929, via Ancestry Institution. Retrieved 3 February 2024
- ^ "La soirée", Le Figaro, 13 October 1905, pp. 3–4
- ^ a b c d e Maschwitz, Eric. "Charlot, André Eugene Maurice (1882–1956)", Dictionary of National Biography, 1971 (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson (1968), p. 45
- ^ a b Mander and Mitchenson (1971), p. 29
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson (1971), p. 30
- ^ Parker, p. 1164
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson (2000), pp. 74–77
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson (1971), p. vii
- ^ Mander and Mitchenson (2000), p. 77
- ^ a b Mander and Mitchenson (1971), p. 32
- ^ Mantle, Burns. "The Charlot Revue sets crowd cheering", The Daily News, 10 January 1924, p. 26
- ^ "Charlot's Revue of 1924", Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 4 February 2024; "Charlot's Revue", St Louis Globe-Democrat, 21 December 1924; and "His Majesty's", The Montreal Star, 24 November 1924, p. 6
- ^ "Elstree Calling (1930)". Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
- ^ "Andre Charlot". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018.
Sources
- OCLC 41974.
- Mander, Raymond; Joe Mitchenson (1971). Revue: A Story in Pictures. London: Peter Davies. ISBN 978-0-43-209076-3.
- Mander, Raymond; Joe Mitchenson (2000) [1957]. Barry Day; ISBN 978-1-84002-054-0.
- Parker, John, ed. (1922). Who's Who in the Theatre (fourth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons. OCLC 473894893.
Further reading
- Moore, James Ross (2005). André Charlot – The Genius of Intimate Musical Revue (softcover) (1st ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: ISBN 978-0-7864-1774-2.
External links
- André Charlot at IMDb
- André Charlot at the Internet Broadway Database
- André Charlot at the TCM Movie Database