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Jean Del Val

 
Actor: Jean del Val
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Nov 17, 1891 in France
  • Died: Mar 13, 1975 in Pacific Palisades, California
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '40s-'60s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
  • Career Highlights: A Sainted Devil
  • First Major Screen Credit: A Sainted Devil (1924)

Biography

French character actor Jean Del Val was a regular in American films from at least 1927. In the early days of the talkies, he offered his services as translator and vocal coach for the French-language versions of American films. Many of his later roles were fleeting but memorable: he's the French aviator in Block-Heads (1938) who rescues over-aged doughboy Stan Laurel from the trenches ("Why, you blockhead. Ze war's been over for twenty years!") and the French radio announcer who opens Casablanca (1942) by spreading the news of the murder of two German couriers carrying letters of transit. He enjoyed a larger role in Columbia's So Dark the Night (1946), a film seemingly conceived as a showcase for the best of Hollywood's foreign-accented bit players. Active in films until the 1960s, Jean del Val played a crucial non-speaking role in Fantastic Voyage (1966): he's the comatose scientist whose arterial system and brain are explored by the miniaturized heroes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Jean Del Val
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Jean Del Val
Born 17 November 1891(1891-11-17)
France
Died 13 March 1975 (aged 83)
Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.
Other name(s) Jean Gauthier
Jean Gautier
Occupation Actor
Years active 1917—1973

Jean Del Val (November 17, 1891 – March 13, 1975) was a French-born actor. He has also been credited as Jean Gauthier and Jean Gautier.

He has played roles during the Hollywood silent era, beginning with The Fortunes of Fifi in 1917. During the early days of talkies he served as a translator and vocal coach for French language versions of American-made films.

The classic 1942 film Casablanca featured Jean in the limited role as an announcer for a French radio station. In 1966 he played a non-speaking role as the comatose scientist in the science fiction film Fantastic Voyage.

He died from a heart attack in Pacific Palisades, California and was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.

Selected filmography

External links

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Copyrights:

Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jean Del Val".  Read more