Gérard Barray (2 November 1931 – 15 February 2024) was a French actor.

Early life and education

Gérard Barray was born in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

on 2 November 1931. His parents split up quickly and his mother, who came from

Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...

, decided to return to her hometown with her little boy. Around the age of 15, he discovered a passion for

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

; he participated in a few shows in nightclubs while pursuing his studies and obtained a bachelor's degree at the Faculty of Toulouse. Camille Ricard, an actress and teacher at the Conservatory of Toulouse, who advised him to go to Paris with a letter of recommendation for a friend,

Noël Roquevert Noël Roquevert (born Noël Louis Raymond Bénévent; 18 December 1892 – 6 November 1973) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1932 and 1972. Roquevert was born in Doué-la-Fontaine and was married ...

. Barray enrolled at the Cours Simon, a drama school in Paris. Four years later, Gérard Barray won the Jury Prize.

Career

It will then excel in the roles of knights with a big heart. He starred as D'Artagnan, Pardaillan, Surcouf and Scaramouche. In total he appeared in a dozen feature films of that genre, most of which were box-office successes, widely known abroad. Besides films swashbuckling as Pardaillan and Scaramouche and adventure films like ''Surcouf'', Barray turned police commissioner in two San Antonio movies. In 1969, he starred beside young actress Claude Jade in '' Le Témoin''. He played Van Britten, a mysterious museum curator who seduces a young English teacher. It was his last major role. For

Claude Berri Claude Berri (; 1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, writer, producer, actor and distributor. Early life Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), ...

he played in ' (1970) as Richard, a super star and rather temperamental actor. His comeback in 1997 was in

Alejandro Amenábar Alejandro Fernando Amenábar Cantos (born 31 March 1972) is a Chilean-Spanish film director, screenwriter and composer. He has won nine Goya Awards—including Best Director for his 2001 film '' The Others''—and two European Film Awards amon ...

's '' Abre los ojos'' as Devernois, a TV man.

Later life and death

Gérard Barray was appointed an Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters in January 2010. He died in

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...

, Spain, on 15 February 2024, at the age of 92.

Selected filmography

References

External links

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mort de Gérard Barray sur allocineNecrology Gérard Barray 1913 - 2024
1931 births 2024 deaths French male film actors French male television actors Male actors from Toulouse Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres French emigrants to Spain {{france-screen-actor-stub