Henri Philippe Moïse Monteux (born Paris, 23 February 1874, died Sachsenhausen, 12 April 1943) was a French theatre and film actor, and an elder brother of the conductor

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in 1 ...

. His family was descended from

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

who settled in France.

Life and career

Born at 16 rue de la Grange Batelière, he was the fourth child of Gustave and Clémence Monteux who had moved to Paris from

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

in 1864. It was a modest household, his father being a shoe-maker and his mother a piano teacher. His younger brother Pierre later recalled as children spending afternoons observing the passers-by in the local square laid the foundations of the future actor's characterisations. Monteux made his debut at the Théâtre National de l'Odéon on 30 September 1895 as Georges Bréval in ''La Vie'' by Adolphe Thalasso, having won the prize for tragedy at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

(pupil of

Gustave Worms Gustave-Hippolyte Worms (26 November 1836 – 19 November 1910) was a French actor and teacher of acting. After a successful student career at the Paris Conservatoire, he joined the Comédie-Française in 1858. Although elected to the company's � ...

) with his performance as Othello the previous July.Noel E & Stoullig E. ''Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique, 21eme édition, 1895.'' G Charpentier et E Fasquelle, Paris, 1896, p121-51. He played the same part to considerable praise in a production of de Vigny's ''More de Venise'' at the same theatre in December that year. He played in the revue at the

Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...

in 1903: a most amusing pantomime with dogs "une pantomime extrêmement amusante, jouée par des chiens" ''The Merian Dogs''. He followed these with leading roles such as

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

in ''Le Prêcheur converti'', the title rôle in ''

Britannicus Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman Emperor Claudius and his third wife, Valeria Messalina. For a time, he was considered his father's heir, but t ...

'', Oreste in ''

Andromaque ''Andromaque'' is a tragedy in five acts by the France, French playwright Jean Racine written in French alexandrine, alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre Palace, Louvre in the pr ...

'', and Robert Morel in the premiere of ''Les Irréguliers''. He later became famous at the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt and was considered a specialist in the plays of Rostand, noted in roles associated with

Benoît-Constant Coquelin Benoît-Constant Coquelin (; 23 January 184127 January 1909), known as Coquelin aîné ("Coquelin the Elder"), was a French actor, "one of the greatest theatrical figures of the age." Biography Coquelin was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Cala ...

, and went on to make several films and records. In 1937 Monteux starred in ''Pas de ça chez nous'' at the Théâtre de la Renaissance (Théâtre du Peuple) as the President. A reviewer commented that Henri Monteux reminded everyone what a remarkable actor he was, displaying dramatic intensity coupled with fantasy. At the time of his arrest in Paris he was playing with acclaim the drunken father in Gorky's '' The Mother''.

Films

* ''Un roman parisien'' (1913) as Baron Chevrial - directed by Adrien Caillard * ''Je t'aime'' (1914) * ''La maison du baigneur'' (1914) - Adrien Caillard and Georges Monca * '' L'équipage'' (1928) as Mathieu -

Maurice Tourneur Maurice Félix Thomas (; 2 February 1876 – 4 August 1961), known as Maurice Tourneur (), was a French film director and screenwriter. Life Born Maurice Félix Thomas in the Épinettes district (17th arrondissement of Paris), his father was a w ...

(English : ''The Crew'') * '' My Priest Among the Rich'' (''Mon curé chez les riches'', 1938) as Monseigneur Sibué - Jean Boyer * '' Cavalcade d'amour'' (1939) as Joseph - Raymond Bernard * '' Savage Brigade'' (''La Brigade sauvage'', 1939) -

Jean Dréville Jean Dréville (20 September 1906 – 5 March 1997) was a French film director. He directed more than 40 films between 1928 and 1969. Selected filmography * (1928) * '' A Man of Gold'' (1934) * '' The Chess Player'' (1938) * '' White Nigh ...

Theatrical work

This includes:Les Archives des Spectacles
retrieved 24 June 2013. * 1896 : '' Les Perses'' by Aeschylus at the Théâtre national de l'Odéon * 1902 : ''Nos deux consciences'' by Paul Anthelme (Dubois) * 1905 : ''Les Oberlé'' by Edmond Haraucourt (Jean Oberlé) * 1907 : '' The Affair of the Poisons'' by

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 1831 – 8 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-c ...

at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin (Carloni) * 1907 : ''Le Manteau du Roi'' by Jean Aicard at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin * 1908 : ''La Femme X...'' by Alexandre Bisson (Raymond) * 1909 : ''Nick Carter'' by Alexandre Bisson (title role) * 1909 : ''La Pierre de Lune'' by Louis Péricaud and Henri Desfontaines at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin (Franklin Blake) * 1911 : '' Les Deux Orphelines'' by d'Ennery and Cormon at the

Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique The (, literally, Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), a former Parisian theatre, was founded in 1769 on the boulevard du Temple immediately adjacent to the Théâtre de Nicolet. It was rebuilt in 1770 and 1786, but in 1827 was destroyed by fire. A ...

(Pierre) * 1921 : ''

Monsieur de Pourceaugnac ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' is a three-act ''comédie-ballet''—a ballet interrupted by spoken dialogue—by Molière, first presented on 6 October 1669 before the court of Louis XIV at the Château of Chambord by Molière's troupe of actors. ...

'' by Molière * 1925 : ''Mon curé chez les riches'' by André de Lorde and Pierre Chaine (Mgr Sibué) * 1925 : ''L'Archange'' by Maurice Rostand (Général d'Espernon) * 1926 : ''

Deburau ''Deburau'' is a 1918 French play by Sacha Guitry that also played on Broadway in a translation by Harley Granville-Barker at the Belasco Theatre (Broadway), Belasco Theatre in 1920–21Burns Mantle, Mantle, BurnsThe Best Plays of 1920-21 and the ...

'' by

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre (aesthetic), boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French ac ...

(a doctor) * 1927 : ''Les Amants de Paris'' by Pierre Frondaie (Poirinet) * 1929 : ''Tristan et Iseut'' by

Joseph Bédier Joseph Bédier (28 January 1864 – 29 August 1938) was a French writer and historian of medieval France. Biography Bédier was born in Paris, France, to Adolphe Bédier, a lawyer of Breton origin, and spent his childhood in Réunion. He was a p ...

and Louis Artus (Didas de Lidan) * 1931 : ''

La Dame aux camélias ''The Lady of the Camellias'' (), sometimes called ''Camille'' in English, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas ''fils''. First published in 1848 and subsequently adapted by Dumas for the stage, the play premiered at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in P ...

'' by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

(Georges Duval) * 1931 : '' L'Aiglon'' by Edmond Rostand at the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt * 1932 : ''Une jeune fille espagnole'' by

Maurice Rostand Maurice Rostand (26 May 1891 – 21 February 1968) was a French author, the son of the poet and dramatist Edmond Rostand and the poet Rosemonde Gérard, and brother of the biologist Jean Rostand. Rostand was a writer of poems, novels, and play ...

(the general) * 1938 : ''Là-bas'' by Titaÿna with music by Jacqueline Batell (Fortune) * 1938 : '' Font-aux-Cabres'' by

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist who was a key figure in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque literature. In the literature of ...

, adapted by

Jean Cassou Jean Cassou (; 9 July 1897 – 15 January 1986) was a French writer, art critic, poet, member of the French Resistance during World War II and the first Director of the Musée national d'Art moderne in Paris. Biography Jean Cassou was born at ...

and Jean Camp (the Alcade)

Notes and references

;Notes ;References {{DEFAULTSORT:Monteux, Henri 1874 births 1943 deaths Male actors from Paris French male film actors French male silent film actors 20th-century French male actors Conservatoire de Paris alumni People who died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sephardi Jews who died in the Holocaust 20th-century French Sephardi Jews Jewish French male actors French Jews who died in the Holocaust