Daniel Gélin Photo

Daniel Gélin

Acting

0.5 Popularity May 19, 1921 (81 years old) Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France

Daniel Yves Alfred Gélin (19 May 1921 – 29 November 2002) was a French actor.

Gélin was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, the son of Yvonne (née Le Méner) and Alfred Ernest Joseph Gélin.

When he was ten, his family moved to Saint-Malo where Daniel went to college until he was expelled for 'un...

Biography

Daniel Yves Alfred Gélin (19 May 1921 – 29 November 2002) was a French actor.

Gélin was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, the son of Yvonne (née Le Méner) and Alfred Ernest Joseph Gélin.

When he was ten, his family moved to Saint-Malo where Daniel went to college until he was expelled for 'uncouthness'. His father then found him a job in a shop that sold cans of salted cod. It was seeing the shooting of Marc Allégret's film Entrée des artistes that triggered his desire to go to Paris to train to be an actor. He trained at the Cours Simon in Paris before entering the Conservatoire national d'art dramatique. There he met Louis Jouvet and embarked on a theatrical career. He made his first film appearance in 1940 in Miquette and for several years was an extra or played small roles in French films. He appeared with Jean Gabin and Marlene Dietrich in Martin Roumagnac (1946).

He won his first leading role in Rendez-vous de juillet (1949). From that time, he went on to appear in more than 150 films, including Max Ophüls' films La Ronde (1950) and Le Plaisir (1952), Jacques Becker's Édouard et Caroline (1951), Sacha Guitry's films Si Versailles m'était conté (Royal Affairs in Versailles) (1954) and Napoléon (1955), Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Jean Cocteau's Le Testament d'Orphée (1960), Le souffle au cœur (Murmur of the Heart) (1971), and La Nuit de Varennes (That Night in Varennes) (1982). He also wrote and directed one film, The Long Teeth, in 1952.

Gélin was a leading man in French cinema during the 1950s, but his career declined with the coming of the New Wave. He worked in theater for several years, but later found new success on screen as a character actor. He appeared extensively in French films and television productions from the 1970s until his death, often playing cynical characters or grumpy old men.

In 1946, Gélin married actress Danièle Delorme with whom he had a son, actor, director and producer Xavier Gélin. They divorced in 1954. While still married to Delorme, he had an affair with 17 year old model Marie Christine Schneider that produced a daughter, Maria Schneider. Due to his status as a married man, Gélin could not recognize Maria as his daughter. He visited the child several times but eventually severed his relationship with her mother. Maria Schneider and Daniel Gélin reconnected when she was sixteen and came to visit him. They remained in contact, although their relationship was irregular.

Gélin was married to model Sylvie Hirsch from 1954 until their divorce in 1968. This marriage produced three children, Pascal (who died aged one year), Fiona , and Manuel, the latter two also becoming actors. In 1973, he remarried to Lydie Zaks with whom he had a daughter, Laura.

Gélin died in Paris on 29 November 2002 of kidney failure.

Source: Article "Daniel Gélin" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Filmography 40

2017
Legionario Movie

as Cruz

2000
Nine Queens Movie

as Texan

1987
The Enchanted Forest Movie

as Noguerol

1970
La tonta del bote Movie

as Sr. Sarasate

1965
Rustic Chivalry Movie

as Tío Eusebio

1965
Cotolay Movie

as Abuelo

1964
Gunfighters of Casa Grande Movie

as Don Castellar de Verdugo

1964
Muere una mujer Movie

as Padre

1963
The Castilian Movie

as Abad

1963
Plaza de Oriente Movie

as Gallardo

1963
Las hijas de Helena Movie

as Alfonso

1962
The Carpet of Horror Movie

as John Millner

1961
Fray Escoba Movie

as Mateo Pastor

1960
El Litri y su sombra Movie

as Viejo 'Litri'

1960
El cerro de los locos Movie

as Raúl Vidal

1959
1959

Photos 2

Daniel Gélin Photo
Daniel Gélin Photo

Personal Details

Known For Acting
Gender Not specified
Birthday May 19, 1921 (81 years old)
Died November 29, 2002
Place of Birth Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France
Also Known As Daniel Yves Alfred Gélin, Daniel Gelin
Years Active 1925 - 2017
Popularity 0.5
Career Stats
40 Total Credits
39 Movie Roles
1 TV Roles
2 Photos