Grégoire Aslan

Grégoire Aslan (born Krikor Kaloust Aslanian; 28 March 1908 – 8 January 1982) was a Swiss-Armenian actor and musician.^[1]

Early life

Krikor Kaloust Aslanian (Armenian: Գրիգոր Գալուստ Ասլանեան) was born in Switzerland or in Constantinople,^[2] according to different sources. He made his professional début at 18 as a vocalist, trumpeter and drummer^[3] with the Paris dance band of Ray Ventura et ses Collegiens, then launched an acting career under the name of Coco Aslan. He also performed with guitarist Django Reinhardt.^[4]

Career

Aslan's first film appearance was uncredited in Marc Didier's 1935 Le Billet de mille.^[5] His first credited appearance was in Feux de joie (1939), along with conductor Ventura.^[6] During World War II he toured South America with actor Louis Jouvet and eventually started his own theatre troupe.^[7] He became an indispensable feature in many British and American films, usually playing foreigners – Russians, Frenchmen, Italians, Germans, Albanians and Middle Easterners – with equal finesse.

Aslan's screen appearances include gangster boss Duca in Joe MacBeth (1955), King of Kings (1961) as Herod, and Cleopatra (1963) as Pothinus. In 1961, in The Devil at 4 O'Clock, alongside Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy, he portrayed Marcel, a criminal who finds repentance by giving his life to save children from being killed by a volcanic eruption on a South Sea island. He played a police chief in Paris When It Sizzles (1964) and The Return of the Pink Panther (1975). He appeared in over 110 film and TV roles.^[8] He also appeared on the French stage in productions from 1946 to 1981.^[9]

Personal life

From 1948 to 1955, Aslan was married to French theatre actress Denise Noël.

Death

Aslan died of a heart attack in Breage, whilst visiting Cornwall, England.^[11]

Selected filmography

References