Jean-Pierre Aumont(1911-2001)
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Another in the long line of dramatically handsome foreign imports who
made an immediate impact on WWII Hollywood was debonair French actor
Jean-Pierre Aumont. The epitome of grace and sophistication, the
stylish leading man went on to have a long and respected career on
stage, film and TV, both here and abroad.
Aumont was born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons on January 5, 1911 (some
sources list 1909) in Paris, France, to Suzanne (Cahen), an actress,
and Alexandre Abraham Salomons, a well-to-do department store
executive. His brother, François Villiers (né Francois
Salomons), went on to become a film writer/director. His father was a
Dutch Jew and his mother was from a French Jewish family; he was of
both Ashkenazi and Sephardi ancestry. Jean-Pierre was transferred from
various prep schools before enrolling at the Paris Conservatory of
Dramatic Art at the age of 16. Run by the renowned
Louis Jouvet, young Aumont's first two film
roles were prime roles in
Jean de la Lune (1931) and
Échec et mat (1931). He then went on
to appear strongly in a number of Gallic films. He also made an
impressive theater debut playing the role of Oedipus in
Jean Cocteau's "La Machine Infernale" at
the Comedie Champs-Elysees in 1934, which set up a long and lucrative
tenure on the stage. Splitting his time between live performances and
film-making opposite such lovelies as
Simone Simon,
Danielle Darrieux and
Annabella), Aumont served with the
French Third Mechanized Division for nearly a year (1939-1940) and
earned a medal of distinction for his valour (Croix de Guerre). Two of
his finest screen roles came just prior to this: 'Marcel Carne''s
farcical comedy
Bizarre, Bizarre (1937)
starring mentor Louis Jouvet, and the
romantic drama Hotel du Nord (1938)
opposite the lovely Annabella and
co-starring Jouvet again.
Aumont arrived in America barely speaking English in 1942 and only a
few days later was "discovered" by stage legend
Katharine Cornell, making his American
debut in her production of "Rose Burke". During the play's Los Angeles
engagement, he was signed by MGM for films and made a noticeable debut
as Captain Pierre Matard in the espionage war picture
Assignment in Brittany (1943)
co-starring the tragic
Susan Peters. Classily promoted as
an up-and-coming Jean Gabin, the lithe,
handsome, blue-eyed blond captured the admiration of the American
public with his Charles Boyer-like
charm and charisma. His second American film was the equally successful
The Cross of Lorraine (1943),
a dramatic Stalag 17-like story of French POW's held in a German war
camp.
The lovely Technicolor siren
Maria Montez, known for her popular
(and campy) WWII escapism films at Universal, quickly caught his eye
and the couple married in 1943 after only a three-month courtship. An
earlier marriage to French's
Blanche Montel had ended in divorce in
1940, well before his arrival in America. Aumont again interrupted his
burgeoning acting career by serving with the Free French forces in
North Africa and was again awarded a medal (Legion of Honor) for his
bravery. He was twice wounded during his active years of service.
The French actor returned to Hollywood films after the war co-starring
with Ginger Rogers in the comedy
Heartbeat (1946) and appearing as
composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
in Universal's
Song of Scheherazade (1947).
The reception to both were lukewarm and Aumont decided to return to
France with his wife (whose career was now in decline), and his
daughter (who was born in 1946 and grew up to become the actress
Tina Aumont). Seeking to rediscover his
earlier glory in European films and the theatre, he also began writing
plays. Now and then he would return to the American soil and appeared
on Broadway in 1949 with his work "Figure of a Girl," which was
retitled "My Name Is Aquilon" by the time it arrived on the Great White
Way. While it co-starred the embraceable
Lilli Palmer, who was also making her
Broadway debut, the play itself was not as embraced.
On the international film scene, Aumont appeared with wife Maria in
such uninspired offerings as the United Artist escapist fare
Siren of Atlantis (1949), the
French crime drama
Wicked City (1949) [Wicked City]
and the Italian adventure La vendetta del corsaro (1951)_ [The Revenge
of the Pirates], the last-mentioned proving to be the last for the
fetching Ms. Montez. The 39-year-old star tragically drowned in
September of 1951 after her hot mineral salt bath triggered a heart
seizure.
After a period of grieving, Aumont continued transcontinentally, but
rather unspectacularly, with acting parts that seemed hardly
challenging. He cavorted with
Paulette Goddard in the mediocre action
adventure
Charge of the Lancers (1954);
appeared among an international cast in the spectacle
Napoleon (1955); co-starred rather
stiffly opposite Jean Simmons in
the glossy "sudspenser"
Hilda Crane (1956); was overshadowed
by Eleanor Parker, who paled next
to Garbo in the remake of Garbo's "The Painted Veil" entitled
The Seventh Sin (1957); and,
played a cameo as the doomed Louis XVI in the US-based
John Paul Jones (1959)
co-starring wife Marisa. On a more positive note, he,
Mel Ferrer and the ever-enchanting
Leslie Caron were wonderful in MGM's
touching musical Lili (1953). Aumont also
fared much better in his 1950s televised appearances of classic works,
notably "Arms and the Man" and "Crime and Punishment".
Following a torrid 1955 romance with
Grace Kelly (whom, as we all know,
went on to marry her Prince), the actor met and married lovely Italian
actress Marisa Pavan, the sister of the
late Pier Angeli, in 1956, and had two sons,
Jean-Claude and Patrick, by her. Troubled by his erratic output and the
uneventful film roles offered, which included those in
The Enemy General (1960),
The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961)
and
Five Miles to Midnight (1962)
[Five Miles to Midnight], Aumont wisely refocused on the theatre and
his playwriting skills. Stage performances included "The Heavenly
Twins" and "A Second String" (both on Broadway), the title role in "The
Affairs of Anatol", "Murderous Angels" and appearances in the musicals
"Tovarich" with Vivien Leigh (on Broadway),
"Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris," "South Pacific"
(as the debonair Emile DeBecque), and "Gigi" with wife Marisa. The
couple also went on to form a warmly-received nightclub act in New
York.
For the remainder of his career, Aumont remained the ever-charming and
worldly continental, vacillating between the stage ("Camino Real,"
"Private Lives," "The Sound of Music" and "Tiger at the Gates");
international films
(Castle Keep (1969),
Catherine & Co. (1975),
Mahogany (1975),
Nana (1983),
Sweet Country (1987),
Becoming Colette (1991) and a
pair of Merchant/Ivory films
Jefferson in Paris (1995) and
The Proprietor (1996)): and classy
TV fare
(The Memory of Eva Ryker (1980),
Melba (1988),
A Tale of Two Cities (1989)).
Some of the actor's finest movie roles in years occurred in the 1970s
with the excellent
Day for Night (1973) [Day
for Night] and
Cat and Mouse (1975)
[Cat and Mouse].
The distinguished actor/playwright went awardless throughout his
cinematic career but this glaring oversight was finally rectified in
the form of the cross of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in 1991 and
an honorary César Award in 1992. He died in his native country of a
heart attack a few weeks after his 90th birthday in 2001.
made an immediate impact on WWII Hollywood was debonair French actor
Jean-Pierre Aumont. The epitome of grace and sophistication, the
stylish leading man went on to have a long and respected career on
stage, film and TV, both here and abroad.
Aumont was born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons on January 5, 1911 (some
sources list 1909) in Paris, France, to Suzanne (Cahen), an actress,
and Alexandre Abraham Salomons, a well-to-do department store
executive. His brother, François Villiers (né Francois
Salomons), went on to become a film writer/director. His father was a
Dutch Jew and his mother was from a French Jewish family; he was of
both Ashkenazi and Sephardi ancestry. Jean-Pierre was transferred from
various prep schools before enrolling at the Paris Conservatory of
Dramatic Art at the age of 16. Run by the renowned
Louis Jouvet, young Aumont's first two film
roles were prime roles in
Jean de la Lune (1931) and
Échec et mat (1931). He then went on
to appear strongly in a number of Gallic films. He also made an
impressive theater debut playing the role of Oedipus in
Jean Cocteau's "La Machine Infernale" at
the Comedie Champs-Elysees in 1934, which set up a long and lucrative
tenure on the stage. Splitting his time between live performances and
film-making opposite such lovelies as
Simone Simon,
Danielle Darrieux and
Annabella), Aumont served with the
French Third Mechanized Division for nearly a year (1939-1940) and
earned a medal of distinction for his valour (Croix de Guerre). Two of
his finest screen roles came just prior to this: 'Marcel Carne''s
farcical comedy
Bizarre, Bizarre (1937)
starring mentor Louis Jouvet, and the
romantic drama Hotel du Nord (1938)
opposite the lovely Annabella and
co-starring Jouvet again.
Aumont arrived in America barely speaking English in 1942 and only a
few days later was "discovered" by stage legend
Katharine Cornell, making his American
debut in her production of "Rose Burke". During the play's Los Angeles
engagement, he was signed by MGM for films and made a noticeable debut
as Captain Pierre Matard in the espionage war picture
Assignment in Brittany (1943)
co-starring the tragic
Susan Peters. Classily promoted as
an up-and-coming Jean Gabin, the lithe,
handsome, blue-eyed blond captured the admiration of the American
public with his Charles Boyer-like
charm and charisma. His second American film was the equally successful
The Cross of Lorraine (1943),
a dramatic Stalag 17-like story of French POW's held in a German war
camp.
The lovely Technicolor siren
Maria Montez, known for her popular
(and campy) WWII escapism films at Universal, quickly caught his eye
and the couple married in 1943 after only a three-month courtship. An
earlier marriage to French's
Blanche Montel had ended in divorce in
1940, well before his arrival in America. Aumont again interrupted his
burgeoning acting career by serving with the Free French forces in
North Africa and was again awarded a medal (Legion of Honor) for his
bravery. He was twice wounded during his active years of service.
The French actor returned to Hollywood films after the war co-starring
with Ginger Rogers in the comedy
Heartbeat (1946) and appearing as
composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
in Universal's
Song of Scheherazade (1947).
The reception to both were lukewarm and Aumont decided to return to
France with his wife (whose career was now in decline), and his
daughter (who was born in 1946 and grew up to become the actress
Tina Aumont). Seeking to rediscover his
earlier glory in European films and the theatre, he also began writing
plays. Now and then he would return to the American soil and appeared
on Broadway in 1949 with his work "Figure of a Girl," which was
retitled "My Name Is Aquilon" by the time it arrived on the Great White
Way. While it co-starred the embraceable
Lilli Palmer, who was also making her
Broadway debut, the play itself was not as embraced.
On the international film scene, Aumont appeared with wife Maria in
such uninspired offerings as the United Artist escapist fare
Siren of Atlantis (1949), the
French crime drama
Wicked City (1949) [Wicked City]
and the Italian adventure La vendetta del corsaro (1951)_ [The Revenge
of the Pirates], the last-mentioned proving to be the last for the
fetching Ms. Montez. The 39-year-old star tragically drowned in
September of 1951 after her hot mineral salt bath triggered a heart
seizure.
After a period of grieving, Aumont continued transcontinentally, but
rather unspectacularly, with acting parts that seemed hardly
challenging. He cavorted with
Paulette Goddard in the mediocre action
adventure
Charge of the Lancers (1954);
appeared among an international cast in the spectacle
Napoleon (1955); co-starred rather
stiffly opposite Jean Simmons in
the glossy "sudspenser"
Hilda Crane (1956); was overshadowed
by Eleanor Parker, who paled next
to Garbo in the remake of Garbo's "The Painted Veil" entitled
The Seventh Sin (1957); and,
played a cameo as the doomed Louis XVI in the US-based
John Paul Jones (1959)
co-starring wife Marisa. On a more positive note, he,
Mel Ferrer and the ever-enchanting
Leslie Caron were wonderful in MGM's
touching musical Lili (1953). Aumont also
fared much better in his 1950s televised appearances of classic works,
notably "Arms and the Man" and "Crime and Punishment".
Following a torrid 1955 romance with
Grace Kelly (whom, as we all know,
went on to marry her Prince), the actor met and married lovely Italian
actress Marisa Pavan, the sister of the
late Pier Angeli, in 1956, and had two sons,
Jean-Claude and Patrick, by her. Troubled by his erratic output and the
uneventful film roles offered, which included those in
The Enemy General (1960),
The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961)
and
Five Miles to Midnight (1962)
[Five Miles to Midnight], Aumont wisely refocused on the theatre and
his playwriting skills. Stage performances included "The Heavenly
Twins" and "A Second String" (both on Broadway), the title role in "The
Affairs of Anatol", "Murderous Angels" and appearances in the musicals
"Tovarich" with Vivien Leigh (on Broadway),
"Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris," "South Pacific"
(as the debonair Emile DeBecque), and "Gigi" with wife Marisa. The
couple also went on to form a warmly-received nightclub act in New
York.
For the remainder of his career, Aumont remained the ever-charming and
worldly continental, vacillating between the stage ("Camino Real,"
"Private Lives," "The Sound of Music" and "Tiger at the Gates");
international films
(Castle Keep (1969),
Catherine & Co. (1975),
Mahogany (1975),
Nana (1983),
Sweet Country (1987),
Becoming Colette (1991) and a
pair of Merchant/Ivory films
Jefferson in Paris (1995) and
The Proprietor (1996)): and classy
TV fare
(The Memory of Eva Ryker (1980),
Melba (1988),
A Tale of Two Cities (1989)).
Some of the actor's finest movie roles in years occurred in the 1970s
with the excellent
Day for Night (1973) [Day
for Night] and
Cat and Mouse (1975)
[Cat and Mouse].
The distinguished actor/playwright went awardless throughout his
cinematic career but this glaring oversight was finally rectified in
the form of the cross of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in 1991 and
an honorary César Award in 1992. He died in his native country of a
heart attack a few weeks after his 90th birthday in 2001.