Alexandre Rignault (14 February 1901 – 2 April 1985) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films between 1931 and 1985.
Biography He was born on February 14, 1901 in Paris 5th, at his parents' home, rue Guy-de-La-Brosse. His father was a mechanic, and his mother was a housewife. In the mid-1920s, after having worked in various professions, he desired to become an actor. Attracted to the theater, he wrote to Louis Jouvet to offer his services. Jouvet received him and hired him to play the utility in his troupe. For about fifteen years, Rignault was cast in works by Nicolas Gogol, Marcel Achard and Jules Romains, and participated in the creation of three plays by Jean Giraudoux: Amphitryon 38 (1929), Intermezzo (1933), at the Comédie des Champs-Élysées, and Ondine (1939) at the Théâtre de l'Athénée. After World War II, he was still seen in several plays, by Paul Claudel among others, presented at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier.
For his film debut in 1931, he played the art critic Langelard in Jean Renoir's La Chienne, a social drama with Janie Marèse and Michel Simon. Rignault, although he never had leading roles, happily played all sorts of jobs on screen: foreman, innkeeper, postman, policeman, doctor, gamekeeper, priest, notary, sharecropper, barker, peasant, etc.
He became known to the general public in 1937, playing King Henry VIII in Christian-Jaque's François Ier, starring Fernandel. From the end of the 1950s, Alexandre Rignault made frequent appearances on television. He played, among others, Count Robert de Clermont in Les Rois maudits (1972) by Claude Barma and the patriarch Gregor Kovalic in the Châteauvallon saga (1985), a role that closed his prolific career.
He is buried in the Montparnasse cemetery (25th division, large cemetery, 15 west, 6 north).
Selected filmography + Film Year Title Role Notes 1931La Chienne1933 A Man's Neck Joseph HeurtinKnock The Orderly 1934 The Adventurer Liliom1935Justin de Marseille The Crew 1937Courrier sud Francis the First The Forsaken1938Rasputin The Woman from the End of the World The Girls of the Rhône 1939Fort Dolorès Midnight Tradition 1940 Serenade 1941 Volpone 1942 Colonel Pontcarral 1943The Count of Monte CristoL'Éternel retour Strange Inheritance 1945 The Last Metro Bourgeot 1947Fantômas1948 Ruy Blas Memories Are Not for Sale 1949 Emile the African 1950Les joueursBibi Fricotin1951The Lady from Boston The Prettiest Sin in the World Andalusia 1952Dans la vie tout s'arrangeFull House Piédalu Works Miracles 1953 The Return of Don Camillo 1954 Leguignon the Healer 1956 The Adventures of Gil Blas1959Marie of the Isles 1959Quay of Illusions 1960Eyes Without a Face 1962 The Gentleman from Epsom 1964Angélique, Marquise des Anges 1971Le Prussien 1972Figaro-ci, Figaro-là 1972 Not Dumb, The Bird 1975Number Two
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