Jean Gabin

Jean Gabin Alexis Moncorgé born JeanAlexis Moncorgé known as Jean Gabin 17 May 1904 15 November 1976 was a French actor and singer Considered a key figure in French cinema he starred in several classic films including Pépé le Moko 1937 La grande illusion 1937 Le Quai des brumes 1938 La bête humaine 1938 Le jour se lève 1939 and Le plaisir 1952 During his career he twice won the Silver Bear for Best Actor from the Berlin International Film Festival and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor from the Venice Film Festival respectively Gabin was made a member of the Légion dhonneur in recognition of the important role he played in French cinema Gabin was born JeanAlexis Moncorgé in Paris the son of Madeleine Petit and Ferdinand Moncorgé a cafe owner and cabaret entertainer whose stage name was Gabin which is a first name in French He grew up in the village of Mériel in the SeineetOise now ValdOise département about 22 mi 35 km north of Paris He attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly Gabin left school early and worked as a laborer until the age of 19 when he entered show business with a bit part in a Folies Bergère production He continued performing in a variety of minor roles before going into the military After completing his military service in the Fusiliers marins he returned to the entertainment business working under the stage name of Jean Gabin at whatever was offered in the Parisian music halls and operettas imitating the singing style of Maurice Chevalier which was the rage at the time He was part of a troupe that toured South America and upon returning to France found work at the Moulin Rouge His performances started getting noticed and better stage roles came along that led to parts in two silent films in 1928 Two years later Gabin made the transition to sound films in a 1930 Pathé Frères production Chacun sa chance Playing secondary roles he made more than a dozen films over the next four years including films directed by Maurice and Jacques Tourneur But he only gained real recognition for his performance in Maria Chapdelaine a 1934 production directed by Julien Duvivier He was then cast as a romantic hero in the 1936 war drama La Bandera this second Duvivierdirected film established him as a major star The next year he teamed up with Duvivier again in the highly successful Pépé le Moko Its popularity brought Gabin international recognition That same year he starred in Jean Renoirs La Grande Illusion an antiwar film that ran at a New York City theatre for an unprecedented six months This was followed by another of Renoirs major works La Bête Humaine The Human Beast a film noir tragedy based on the novel by Émile Zola and starring Gabin and Simone Simon as well as Le Quai Des Brumes Port of Shadows one of director Marcel Carnés classics of poetic realism His rugged charisma could be compared with Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney He divorced his second wife in 1939 Source Article Jean Gabin from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA