Jean-Pierre Aumont

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Jean-Pierre Aumont
from the trailer for the film Lili (1953).
Born	January 5, 1911(1911-01-05) Paris, France
Died	January 30, 2001 (aged 90) Gassin, France

Jean-Pierre Aumont (January 5, 1911 – January 30, 2001) was a French actor.

1 Biography
2 Filmography
3 Footnotes
4 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Aumont was born in Paris as Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons to Alexandre Salomons, owner of La Maison du Blanc (a linen department store) and Suzanne Cahen. His mother's uncle was well-known stage actor Georges Berr.^[1] His father, whose family came from Holland, was Jewish and his mother also came from a Jewish family. Aumont began studying drama at the Paris Conservatory, following his mother, at the age of sixteen. His professional stage debut occurred at the age of 21. His film debut came one year later, when Jean de la Lune (Jean of the Moon) was produced in 1931.

[edit] Career

However, his most important, career-defining role came in 1934, when Jean Cocteau's play La Machine Infernale (The Infernal Machine) was released. When his film and stage career began rising quickly, World War II broke out. Aumont stayed in France until 1942, when he realized that because of his Jewish ancestry,^[2] he would be forced to flee from the Nazi forces. He first fled to an unoccupied portion of Vichy territory, before moving, first to New York City, then to Hollywood to further his film career.

He began working with MGM, however, he was not content while his fellow countrymen were fighting for their lives in Europe. After finishing the film, The Cross of Lorraine, he joined the Free French Forces.

Aumont was sent to North Africa, where he participated in Operation Torch in Tunisia. Then, he moved with the Allied armies through Italy and France. Through the war, he was wounded twice. The first was on a mission with his brother. However, the second was more serious. Aumont's Jeep was blown up near a landmined bridge, and French General Diégo Brosset, commander of the 1st Free French Division, was killed. Because of his bravery during the fighting, Aumont received the Legion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre. Aumont continued working, starring as the magician in Lili with the then-ingenue Leslie Caron.

Aumont continued working with various famous actors and directors. In the 1960s and 70s he appearted in various Broadway productions, including Gigi. One of his last acting performances was in A Tale of Two Cities (1989). Two years later, he was decorated with the cross of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, and in 1992, he received an honorary César Award.

[edit] Personal life

While in Hollywood, Aumont married Maria Montez, a Dominican actress. She was known as the Queen of Technicolor, and their marriage was very happy; however, she tragically drowned on September 7, 1951, in the family's villa at Suresnes, France. They had one daughter, Tina Aumont (1946 - 2006). In 1956, he married Italian actress Marisa Pavan, star of various films including The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit. The couple starred in one film together John Paul Jones, where Pavan played the romantic interest of the lead, while Aumont cameoed as King Louis XVI. They had two children: Jean-Claude and Patrick, and six grandchildren: Adrien, Lola, Misha, Ariane, Arthur, and Anouk.

He died in 2001 of a heart attack at the age of 90, and was cremated.

[edit] Filmography

Échec et mat (1931) - Jacque
Jean de la Lune (1931) - Alexandre
Should We Wed Them? (1932) - Jim
Un jour viendra (1933) - Henri de Langillier
La Merveilleuse tragédie de Lourdes (1933) - Georges
Ève cherche un père (1933) - Jacques de la Motte
Dans les rues (1933) - Jacques
Le Voleur (1934) - Fernand Lagardes
Ladies Lake (1934) - Eric Heller
Maria Chapdelaine (1934) - Lorenzo Surprenant
Les Beaux jours (1935) - Pierre
Yeux noirs, Les (1935) - Karpoff
Flight Into Darkness (1935) - Jean Herbillon
Tarass Boulba (1936) - André Boulba
The Great Temptation (1936) - Pierre Villette
The Messenger (1937) - Gilbert Rollin
Maman Colibri (1937) - Georges de Chambry
La femme du bout du monde (1937) - Lt. Jacquet
Chéri-Bibi (1937) - Raoul Palas
Woman Racket (1937) - Henri Voisin
Bizarre, Bizarre (1937) - Billy, le laitier
Satan's Paradise (1938) - Jean Larcher
Belle étoile (1938) - Jean-Pierre
Hôtel du Nord (1938) - Pierre
S.O.S. Sahara (1939) - Paul Moutier
Three Hours (1939) - Paul Marchand
Assignment in Brittany (1943) - Bertrand Corlay/Capt. Pierre Matard
The Cross of Lorraine (1943) - Paul Dupré
Heartbeat (1946) - Pierre de Roche
Song of Scheherazade (1947) - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Affairs of a Rogue (1948) - Prince Leopold
Siren of Atlantis (1949) - André St. Avit
The Gay Adventure (1949) - Andre Marchand
Wicked City (1949) - Eric Martin, alias Hans Norben, Writer
L' Homme de joie (1950) - Henri Perlis
Revenge of the Pirates (1951) - Enrico di Roccabruna
Last Meeting (1951) - Michele Bonesi
The Straw Lover (1951) - Stanislas Michodier
Moineaux of Paris (1952) - Césarin
Wolves Hunt at Night (1952) - Cyril
Lili (1953) - Marc (as Jean Pierre Aumont)
Koenigsmark (1953) - Raoul Vignerte
Dix-huit heures d'escale (1954) - Robert
Charge of the Lancers (1954) - Capt. Eric Evoir
Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954) - Le cardinal de Rohan
Napoléon (1955) - Régnault de Saint-Jean d'Angély
Mademoiselle from Paris (1955) - Maurice Darnal
Hilda Crane (1956) - Prof. Jacques De Lisle
The Seventh Sin (1957) - Paul Duvelle
John Paul Jones (1959) - King Louis XVI
The Enemy General (1960) - Durand
Le Puits aux trois vérités (1961) - Un invité au vernissage
The Blonde from Buenos Aires (1961) - Actor
The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961) - Jacques (as Jean Pierre Aumont)
Always on Sunday (1962) - Actor
Carnival of Crime (1962) - Mike Voray
The Seven Deadly Sins (1962) - Le mari (segment "L'Orgueuil")
Five Miles to Midnight (1962) - Alan Stewart
Portuguese Vacation (1963) - Jean-Pierre
Castle Keep (1969) - The Count of Maldorais
Blind Man's Bluff (1970) - Claude Marchand
Man with the Transplanted Brain (1971) - Jean Marcilly
Biribi (1971) - General
Day for Night (1973) - Alexandre
Turn the Other Cheek (1974) - Delgado
The Happy Hooker (1975) - Yves St. Jacques
Cat and Mouse (1975) - Monsieur Richard
Mahogany (1975) - Christian Rosetti
Catherine & Co. (1975) - Marquis de Puisargue
Entire Days in the Trees (1976) - Le fils
Blackout (1978) - Henri
Two Solitudes (1978) - Jean-Claude Tallard
Something Short of Paradise (1979) - Jean-Fidel Milieu
Allons z'enfants (1981) - Commandant Félix
Nana (1982) - Count Muffat
Don't Look in the Attic (1982) - Actor
La Java des ombres (1983) - Monsieur Jean
The Blood of Others (1984) - M. Blomart
On a volé Charlie Spencer! (1986) - Le héros, séq. Hôtel du Nord
Sweet Country (1987) - Mr. Araya
À notre regrettable époux (1988) - Alexandre Mouton-Sabrat, dit Moutonni Sabracco
The Free Frenchman (1989) - Edmond de Roujay
A Star for Two (1991) - Actor
Becoming Colette (1991) - Captain
Los Mares del sur (1992) - Marqués de Munt
Giorgino (1994) - Sebastien
Jefferson in Paris (1995) - D'Hancarville
The Proprietor (1996) - Franz Legendre

[edit] Footnotes

^ jeanpierreaumont - Page: 1 of 1
^ "Jean-Pierre Aumont ... returned to fight for his country despite the danger to him as a Jew", The Jewish Chroniclee, 2001-02-16. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.