Dranem (23 May 1869 – 13 October 1935) was a French comic singer,

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

, stage and film actor. Dranem comique comique 1895 BNF Gallica

History

Born Armand Ménard, in Paris, he began working as an apprentice

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

in a local shop before embarking on a career in entertainment. Adopting the singular stage name of Dranem, a

palindromic A palindrome ( /ˈpæl.ɪn.droʊm/) is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as ''madam'' or '' racecar'', the date " 02/02/2020" and the sentence: "A man, a plan, a canal – Pana ...

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which ...

of "Menard," he made his debut performance in 1894. In 1895, he performed with fellow newcomers

Félix Mayol Félix Mayol (18 November 1872 – 26 October 1941) was a French singer and entertainer. Career Mayol was born in Toulon, France. His parents, amateur singers and actors, arranged for Felix to make his debut stage at six years of age. In 1895, ...

and

Max Dearly Max Dearly (22 November 1874 – 2 June 1943) was a French stage and film actor. Dearly was born Lucien Paul Marie-Joseph Rolland in Paris, and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine on the 2 June 1943. Partial filmography * ''Le bonheur sous la main'' (19 ...

in the "Concert Parisien" from where he went on to become a leading music hall entertainer in his own comic absurdist genre. In 1899, he was signed to perform at the famous Eldorado Club, where he appeared regularly for the next twenty years. Dranem's comedic singing routine brought a loyal following, and his work made him a very wealthy man. In 1910, he purchased the Château de Ris in the town of

Ris-Orangis Ris-Orangis () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Inhabitants of Ris-Orangis are known as ''Rissois''. History The commune of Ris-Orangis was creat ...

south of Paris and established a charitable foundation to operate the large building as a senior citizens home for retired performers. On the grounds, a bandstand and an open-air theatre provided entertainment. His "Dranem Foundation" continued to operate until the year 2000, and the property remains a government operated retirement home open to all members of the public. During World War I, Dranem continued his benevolence by performing for the

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a Squadron (cavalry), squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section (military unit), section or platoon. Exception ...

at music halls and for wounded soldiers at military hospitals. Active in variety shows, café-concerts, and as a performer in

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s, Dranem also acted and sang in live theatre and in film. He made his screen debut in the 1902 Gaumont

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 ...

"''Bonsoir m'sieurs dames''" directed by

Alice Guy Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

. Although he appeared in two more silent films, as well as two 1905

Phonoscène The Phonoscène was an antecedent of music videoKeazor, Henry and Wübbena, Thorsten (eds). "Introduction" to ''Rewind, Play, Fast Forward: The Past, Present and Future of the Music Video'', transcript Verlag (2010) and was regarded by Michel C ...

s (an early

Sound-on-disc Sound-on-disc is a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or play back sound in sync with a motion picture. Early sound-on-disc systems used a mechanical interlock with the movie projector, while more recent sys ...

system) the advent of synchronized sound film in the late 1920s made him much in demand for screen roles featuring his singing routines. In 1932 alone, he appeared in six films and another six over the next three years. He appeared at the Paris

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

as Buteux in ''

La fille de Madame Angot ''La fille de Madame Angot'' (, ''Madame Angot's Daughter'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq with words by Clairville (Louis-François Nicolaïe), Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning. It was premiered in Brussels in ...

'' in 1918 and as the caissier in '' Les brigands'' in 1931.Wolff S. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique.'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953. Dranem died in Paris in 1935 at the age of sixty-six and was buried at the Château de Ris.

Selected filmography

* ''

King of the Hotel ''King of the Hotel'' (French:''Le roi des palaces'') is a 1932 British-French comedy film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Jules Berry, Betty Stockfeld and Armand Dranem.Crisp p.309 It was based on a play by Henry Kistemaeckers. The fi ...

'' (1932) * ''

Monsieur Albert ''Monsieur Albert'' is a 1932 French comedy film directed by Karl Anton and starring Noël-Noël, Betty Stockfeld and Marcel Barencey.Oscherwitz, Dayna & Higgins, MaryEllen. ''The A to Z of French Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009. p. 167. It was ...

'' (1932) * '' Miche'' (1932) * ''

He Is Charming ''He Is Charming'' (French: ''Il est charmant'') is a 1932 French musical comedy film directed by Louis Mercanton and starring Meg Lemonnier, Henri Garat and Louis Baron fils.Waldman p.43 It was one of a large number of operetta films made durin ...

'' (1932) * ''

Ciboulette ''Ciboulette'' () is a French opérette in three acts, music by Reynaldo Hahn, libretto by Robert de Flers and Francis de Croisset, first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés, in Paris, on 7 April 1923. One of the most elegant and refined c ...

'' (1933) * ''

Court Waltzes ''Court Waltzes'' () is a 1933 musical film directed by Ludwig Berger and Raoul Ploquin and starring Fernand Gravey, Armand Dranem and Madeleine Ozeray. It was the French-language version of '' Waltz War'', made by the German studio UFA and al ...

'' (1933) * ''

The Imaginary Invalid ''The Imaginary Invalid'', ''The Hypochondriac'', or ''The Would-Be Invalid'' ( French title ''Le Malade imaginaire'', ) is a three- act ''comédie-ballet'' by the French playwright Molière with dance sequences and musical interludes ( H.495, H ...

'' (1934) * '' The Mascot'' (1935)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dranem 1869 births 1935 deaths French male singers French male stage actors French male silent film actors French male film actors French music hall performers French comedy musicians Male actors from Paris 20th-century French male actors