Pierre Brasseur (22 December 1905 – 16 August 1972), born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor.

Pierre Brasseur
Brasseur in 1943
Born	Pierre-Albert Espinasse (1905-12-22)22 December 1905 Paris, France
Died	16 August 1972(1972-08-16) (aged 66) Bruneck, South Tyrol, Italy[1]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1924–1972
Spouse(s)	Odette Joyeux (1935–1945)[2] Lina Magrini (1947–1961)

Biography

The son of actors Georges Espinasse and Germaine Brasseur, the latter a cousin of Albert Brasseur;[3] his grandfather, Jules Brasseur, was an actor as well. The family tradition of using the name Brasseur was continued by his son Claude and his grandson Alexandre.[4]

Renowned for playing outsized characters, Brasseur is best remembered for his (semi-fictionalised) portrayal of the actor Frédérick Lemaître in Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise, 1945) and as Docteur Génessier (more subdued) in the horror film Les Yeux sans visage (Eyes Without a Face, 1960) co-starring Alida Valli. On 30 May 1927, he performed the spoken role of the Narrator in the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky's opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex.[5]

Honours

Brasseur was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 1966.[6] The following year, he was made Commandeur (Commander) of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1967.[6]

Selected filmography

References

• Pierre Brasseur's autobiography: Ma Vie en Vrac, Calmann-Lévy, 1972, ISBN 978-2-7021-0636-5

External links

• Media related to Pierre Brasseur at Wikimedia Commons
• Pierre Brasseur at IMDb
• Pierre Brasseur's biography; accessed 12 December 2014 (in French).

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