Grégoire Aslan

Grégoire Aslan (28 March 1908 – 8 January 1982) was an ethnic Armenian actor.

Early life

Born Krikor Aslanian in Switzerland or in Constantinople, according to different sources, Aslan made his professional debut at 18 as a vocalist and drummer with a Paris dance band, then launched an acting career under the name of Koko Aslan.

Career

His first film appearance was in Feux de joie (1938). 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 more prominent screen appearances include gangster boss Duca in Joe MacBeth (1955), King of Kings (1961) (Herod), and Cleopatra (1963) (Porthinos). 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 inhabitants from being killed by a volcanic eruption. In Paris, When It Sizzles (1964), he played a police chief. He played another police chief in The Return of the Pink Panther (1975). He appeared in over 110 film and TV roles.

Death

Aslan died of a heart attack in Cornwall, England.

Selected filmography

• Last Holiday (1950)
• Cairo Road (1950)
• Cage of Gold (1950)
• No Vacation for Mr. Mayor (1951)
• Le Chevalier de la nuit (1953)
• Cet homme est dangereux (1953)
• He Who Must Die (1957)
• Our Man in Havana (1959)
• The Criminal (1960)
• King of Kings (1961)
• The Invasion Quartet (1961)
• Cleopatra (1963)
• The High Bright Sun (1964)
• Moment to Moment (1965)
• A Flea in Her Ear (1968)
• Marry Me! Marry Me! (1969)
• You Can't Win 'Em All (1970)
• The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
• The Girl from Petrovka (1974)
• Blood Relations (1977)
• Gloria (1977)
• Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979)

References

External links

• Gregoire Aslan at the Internet Movie Database
• Grégoire Aslan at Find a Grave