Jean Gabin
Biography
Jean Gabin Alexis Moncorgé (born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé), known as Jean Gabin (17 May 1904 – 15 November 1976), was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films, including Pépé le Moko (1937), La grande illusion (1937), Le Quai des brumes (1938), La bête humaine (1938), Le jour se lève (1939), and Le plaisir (1952). During his career, he twice won the Silver Bear for Best Actor from the Berlin International Film Festival and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor from the Venice Film Festival, respectively. Gabin was made a member of the Légion d'honneur in recognition of the important role he played in French cinema. Gabin was born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, the son of Madeleine Petit and Ferdinand Moncorgé, a cafe owner and cabaret entertainer whose stage name was Gabin, which is a first name in French. He grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise (now Val-d'Oise) département, about 22 mi (35 km) north of Paris. He attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly. Gabin left school early, and worked as a laborer until the age of 19 when he entered show business with a bit part in a Folies Bergère production. He continued performing in a variety of minor roles before going into the military. After completing his military service in the Fusiliers marins, he returned to the entertainment business, working under the stage name of Jean Gabin at whatever was offered in the Parisian music halls and operettas, imitating the singing style of Maurice Chevalier, which was the rage at the time. He was part of a troupe that toured South America, and upon returning to France found work at the Moulin Rouge. His performances started getting noticed, and better stage roles came along that led to parts in two silent films in 1928. Two years later Gabin made the transition to sound films in a 1930 Pathé Frères production, Chacun sa chance. Playing secondary roles, he made more than a dozen films over the next four years, including films directed by Maurice and Jacques Tourneur. But he only gained real recognition for his performance in Maria Chapdelaine, a 1934 production directed by Julien Duvivier. He was then cast as a romantic hero in the 1936 war drama La Bandera; this second Duvivier-directed film established him as a major star. The next year he teamed up with Duvivier again in the highly successful Pépé le Moko. Its popularity brought Gabin international recognition. That same year he starred in Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion, an antiwar film that ran at a New York City theatre for an unprecedented six months. This was followed by another of Renoir's major works, La Bête Humaine (The Human Beast), a film noir tragedy based on the novel by Émile Zola and starring Gabin and Simone Simon, as well as Le Quai Des Brumes (Port of Shadows), one of director Marcel Carné's classics of poetic realism. His rugged charisma could be compared with Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney. He divorced his second wife in 1939. ... Source: Article "Jean Gabin" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Known For
Le lieutenant Maréchal
La Grande Illusion
Vittorio Manalese
Le Clan des Siciliens
Germain Cazeneuve
Deux hommes dans la ville
Leguen
Verdict
Jean Valjean / Champmathieu
Les Misérables
M. Martin dit « Le père Tulipe »
Le Jardinier d'Argenteuil
Commissioner Le Guen
Le tueur
Count Enguerand de Montignac,aka 'Legrain'
Le Tatoué
Charles
Mélodie en sous-sol
Julien Bouin
Le Chat
Joseph, Hugues Guillaume Boutier-Blainville dit : Archimède
Archimède le clochard
Pépé le Moko
Pépé le Moko
François
Le jour se lève
Monsieur
Monsieur
Jean-Marie Pejat, bicycle repairer
Les Vieux de la vieille
Albert Quentin
Un singe en hiver
Max dit Max le Menteur
Touchez pas au grisbi
Lantier
La Bête humaine
Bobo
Moontide
Noël Schoudler, le patriarche financier
Les Grandes Familles
Marshal Jean Lannes
Napoléon
Commissaire Gallet
Crime et châtiment
Joseph Rivet
Le Plaisir
Victor Le Garrec
L'Air de Paris
Commissaire Maigret
Maigret tend un piège
Richard Briand-Charmery
Le Gentleman d'Epsom
François Donge
La Vérité sur Bébé Donge
Henri Ferré dit 'Le Nantais'
Razzia sur la Chnouf
Henri Danglard
French Cancan
Self (archive footage)
Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde
Charles Boulla
Du haut en bas
Pepel Wasska
Les Bas-fonds
Martousse
Cœur de Lilas
Jean
Le quai des brumes
Le capitaine André Laurent
Remorques
Bob
Paris-béguin
Maître André Gobillot
En cas de malheur
Self (archive footage)
Jean Moncorgé, la face cachée de Jean Gabin
Pierre Arrignon
Au-delà des grilles
Auguste Maroilleur
La Horse
Marcel Grivot
Chacun sa chance
Jean Chape
Gas-oil
Jean dit Jeannot
La Belle Équipe
Henri Chatelard
La Marie du port
Ponce Pilate
Golgotha
Self (archive footage)
Jean Gabin, le dernier des géants
Grandgil, artist painter
La Traversée de Paris
Dr Pierre Richard
La Minute de vérité
Pierre Gilieth
La Bandera
Comissaire Joss, le Pacha
Le pacha
Emile Beaufort
Le Président
Clément / Maurice Lafarge
The Impostor
Pierre Ruffin
Leur dernière nuit
François Cardinaud
Le Sang à la tête
Henri Neveu
Rue des Prairies
Gaston Dominici
L'Affaire Dominici
(archive footage)
Le Livre d'image
Martin Schmidt, alias Jacques Ledru
La Vierge du Rhin
Émile Malhouin
L'Âge ingrat
Inspecteur Georges Vallois
Le Désordre et la Nuit
Commissaire Jules Maigret
Maigret voit rouge
Léandre Brassac
Le Tonnerre de Dieu
Paul Berger dit Paulo les Diam's
Du rififi à Paname
André Chatelin
Voici le temps des assassins...
Albert Raynal
Sous le signe du taureau
Ferdinand Maréchal, aka 'le Dabe'
Le cave se rebiffe
Julien Lamy
Chiens perdus sans collier
Denis Ferrand
Le Soleil des voyous
le docteur Laurent
Le Cas du docteur Laurent
Jean Viard
Des gens sans importance
Raymond Pinsard
La nuit est mon royaume
Louis Bertain/Louis le blond
Le rouge est mis
Baron Jérôme Napoléon Antoine
Le Baron de l'écluse
Lucien Bourrache, dit 'Gueule d'Amour'
Gueule d'amour
Fricot
Les Gaîtés de l'escadron
Commander Lequévic
Port du désir
Mac Allan
Le Tunnel
Ted "Trott" Lennard
Le Récif de corail
Martin Roumagnac
Martin Roumagnac
François Paradis
Maria Chapdelaine
Victor Ploubaz
Le drapeau noir flotte sur la marmite
il professore Antonio Sanna
Bufere
Victor
Victor
Carlo Bacchi
È più facile che un cammello...
Pierre Lussac
Miroir
Nicolas Dange
Le Messager
Jean
Pour un soir
Jean Cordier
Tout ça ne vaut pas l'amour
Jacques Miral
Méphisto
Joe Greer
La foule hurle
Le capitaine
La Belle Marinière
Robert Nourry
Gloria
Charles
Cœurs joyeux
Pedro Savedra
L'Étoile de Valencia
Pierre Lavernay
Adieu les beaux jours
Ohé! Les valises
Les lions
Max Lambert
L'Année sainte
Self (archive footage)
Alain Delon, l'ombre au tableau
Jean
Zouzou
Commissioner Jules Maigret
Maigret et l'Affaire Saint-Fiacre
Georges
Varieté
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song
Self (archive footage)
Lino Ventura, la part intime
Self (archive footage)
Jean Gabin, une âme française
Monsieur (archive footage)
Mireille Darc, la femme libre
Self (archive footage)
Quand Jean devint Renoir
Self (archive footage)
Michel Audiard et le mystère du triangle des Bermudes
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
108
Gender
Male
Birthday
1904-05-17
Place of Birth
Paris, France
Also Known As
Jean-Alexis Moncorgé