Albert Dieudonné (26 November 1889 – 19 March 1976) was a French

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

Biography

Dieudonné was born in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and made his acting debut in

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

in 1908 for ''

The Assassination of the Duke of Guise ''The Assassination of the Duke of Guise'' ( 1908) (original French title: ''La Mort du duc de Guise''; often referred to as ''L'Assassinat du duc de Guise'') is a French ''film d'art'' silent film directed by Charles le Bargy and André Calmet ...

'', with musical score by

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

. In 1924, he directed the film drama ''Catherine'', in which he also appeared as a major character.

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

acted as his assistant director on the film. Between 1915 and 1916, Dieudonné acted in five films for director

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director, producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J'ac ...

, including the 1915 film ''

La Folie du Docteur Tube ''La Folie du docteur Tube'' is a 1915 short film, short silent film, silent experimental film directed by Abel Gance, in which a scientist takes a white, cocaine-like powder which makes him hallucinate. Gance shows the man's hallucinations by u ...

'' and the 1916 film '' Le périscope''. In 1925 he was hired back to star in the title role in Gance's

epic film Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a her ...

, ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

''. In 1929 Dieudonné wrote a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

that was made into a 1930

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

film titled '' The Sweetness of Loving'', and he wrote the script for the 1936 '' La Garçonne''. Albert Dieudonné died in Paris in 1976 at the age of 86. According to his last wishes, he is buried wearing his Napoleon costume.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1915) *'' Le périscope'' (1916) *''

Anguish Anguish (from the Latin ''angustia'' "distress") is "extreme unhappiness caused by physical or mental suffering." The feeling of anguish is typically preceded by a tragedy or event that has a profound meaning to the being in question. Anguish can ...

'' (1917) * '' The Jackals'' (1917) * '' The Crushed Idol'' (1920) * '' Jacques Landauze'' (1920) *''

'' (1927) * '' Madame Sans-Gêne'' (1941)

References

External links

* 1889 births 1976 deaths 20th-century French male actors 20th-century French novelists French film directors French male film actors French male novelists French male silent film actors Male actors from Paris 20th-century French male writers {{france-film-actor-1880s-stub