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Gaston Modot (31 December 1887 – 20 February 1970) was a French actor. For more than 50 years he performed for the cinema working with a number of great French directors.


Biography

Modot lived in
Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue C ...
at the beginning of the 20th century where he met
Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is kn ...
and Modigliani. In 1909 he started his career with Gaumont and for the following 20 years he covered all
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...
genres. In 1917 he was the main actor in Abel Gance's ''
Mater dolorosa Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...
''. He played in Germaine Dulac and Louis Delluc's
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
films ''La fête espagnole'' (1919) and ''Fièvre'' (1921). With Max Linder, Modot played in Abel Gance's '' Au secours!'' (1924). Towards the end of the 1920s he performed in German-French co-productions. He is still famous for his role of "Manns" in Luis Buñuel's '' L'Âge d'Or'' (1930). He had his first role in a sound film with
René Clair René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...
's '' Sous les toits de Paris'' (1930). He and Jean Gabin are main characters in Julien Duvivier's ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937). He acted in the Jean Renoir classics '' La grande illusion'' and '' La règle du jeu'' as well as the three-hour poetic film '' Les enfants du paradis'' (1945) for Marcel Carné. In 1962 Modot ended his acting career. He had acted in more than 100 films.


Films

* ''
Mater Dolorosa Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...
'' (1917) * '' La zone de la mort'' (1917) * ''La fête espagnole'' (1919) * ''Fièvre'' (1921) * '' Mathias Sandorf'' (1921) * ''
The Mysteries of Paris ''The Mysteries of Paris'' (french: Les Mystères de Paris) is a novel by the French writer Eugène Sue. It was published serially in 90 parts in '' Journal des débats'' from 19 June 1842 until 15 October 1843, making it one of the first ser ...
'' (1922) * ''Au secours!'' (1924) * '' Heart of an Actress'' (1924) * '' Le Miracle des loups'' (1924) * ''
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...
'' (1926) * ''
The Lady of Lebanon The Lady of Lebanon may refer to: * ''The Lady of Lebanon'' (1934 film), a French thriller film * ''The Lady of Lebanon'' (1926 film), a French silent drama film {{set index, films, Lady of Lebanon, The ...
'' (1926) * ''
The City of a Thousand Delights ''The City of a Thousand Delights'' (German: ''Die Stadt der tausend Freuden'') is a 1927 German silent film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Paul Richter, Adele Sandrock and Langhorn Burton.Giesen, Rolf. ''Special Effects Artists: A ...
'' (1927) * '' Secrets of the Orient'' (1928) * '' Change of Heart'' (1928) * ''Le navire des hommes perdus'' (1929) * '' The Green Monocle'' (1929) * '' Phantoms of Happiness'' (1929) * '' My Daughter's Tutor'' (1929) * ''
The Ship of Lost Souls ''The Ship of Lost Souls'' or ''The Ship of Lost Men'' (German: ''Das Schiff der verlorenen Menschen'') is a 1929 German silent thriller film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Fritz Kortner, Marlene Dietrich and Robin Irvine. It was ...
'' (1929) * '' Saint Joan the Maid'' (1929) * '' L'Âge d'Or'' (1930) * ''
Under the Roofs of Paris ''Under the Roofs of Paris'' (french: Sous les toits de Paris) is a 1930 French film directed by René Clair. The film was probably the earliest French example of a filmed musical-comedy, although its often dark tone differentiates it from othe ...
'' (1930) * ''
About an Inquest ''About an Inquest'' (french: Autour d'une enquête) is a 1931 German crime film directed by Henri Chomette and Robert Siodmak and starring Annabella, Jean Périer and Colette Darfeuil. It was produced by UFA, as the French-language version of ...
'' (1931) * '' Under the Leather Helmet'' (1932) * '' Fantômas'' (1932) * ''
Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...
'' (1933) * ''
Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Gover ...
'' (1935) * '' Pépé le Moko'' (1937) * ''
White Cargo ''White Cargo'' is a 1942 film drama starring Hedy Lamarr and Walter Pidgeon, and directed by Richard Thorpe. Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is based on the 1923 London and Broadway hit play by Leon Gordon, which was in turn adapted from t ...
'' (1937) * '' Grand Illusion'' (1937) * '' Street of Shadows'' (1937) * '' The Chess Player'' (1938) * '' The Time of the Cherries'' (1938) * ''
Coral Reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...
'' (1939) * '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) * '' At Your Command, Madame'' (1942) * ''
The Trump Card ''The Trump Card'' is a game show that was broadcast on RTÉ One during the summer months of 2007 as a seasonal replacement for ''Winning Streak''. Launched as the successor to ''Fame and Fortune'' (1996–2006), ''The Trump Card'' had its prize ...
'' (1942) * ''
Children of Paradise ''Children of Paradise'' (original French title: ''Les Enfants du Paradis'') is a two-part French romantic drama film by Marcel Carné, produced under war conditions in 1943, 1944, and early 1945 in both Vichy France and Occupied France. Set in ...
'' (1945) * '' Lessons in Conduct'' (1946) * '' Antoine et Antoinette'' (1947) * ''
Eternal Conflict ''Eternal Conflict'' (French: ''Éternel conflit'') is a 1948 French drama film directed by Georges Lampin and starring Annabella, Fernand Ledoux and Michel Auclair.Driskell p.62 The film's sets were designed by the art director Léon Barsacq. S ...
'' (1948) * ''La beauté du diable'' (1949) * '' The Perfume of the Lady in Black'' (1949) * '' Monsieur Octave'' (1951) * '' Casque d'or'' (1952) * '' Meeting in Paris'' (1956) * '' Elena and Her Men'' (1956) * '' The Lovers'' (1958) * ''Le testament du Docteur Cordelier'' (1959) * ''
Le Diable et les Dix Commandements ''Le Diable et les Dix Commandements'' ( en, The Devil and the Ten Commandments) is a French film from 1962 directed by Julien Duvivier that consists of seven sketches (eight in the versions shown in Germany and Japan) played by an ensemble cast t ...
'' (1962)


External links

*
Gaston Modot
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Modot, Gaston 1887 births 1970 deaths Male actors from Paris French male film actors French male silent film actors 20th-century French male actors Burials at Batignolles Cemetery