Jacques Marin

Short, stocky Jacques Marin was a wonderfully droll character actor, who tended to pop up in international films of the 60's and 70's, whenever a typically French-looking gendarme, police inspector, concierge or shopkeeper was needed. His trademark was a toothbrush moustache and a deadpan expression -- except for a perpetually reproving frown -- which suggested deeper thought processes were going on. Despite all his overt seriousness, his characters were usually amusing, or, at least, likeable. A fluent English-speaker, he effortlessly alternated between French and English-language productions, beginning with The Vintage (1957). He is also fondly remembered as the ineffectual Inspector Grandpierre in Charade (1963), as Major Duvalle in Darling Lili (1970), and as Massenet, one of the potential culinary victims in Ted Kotcheff's black comedy Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978). While the majority of Marin's prolific career consisted of little more than small supporting roles and cameos, his was one of the faces you'd remember at the end of the film. Marin had studied acting at the Conservatoire national superieur d'art dramatique de Paris and made his feature debut in the war drama Jeux interdits (1952). He often appeared alongside Jean Gabin and was a frequent performer on stage at the Theatre Marigny and the Celestins Theatre in Lyon. Over the decades, he provided many a memorable moment in French film, including in Les tricheurs (1958), En cas de malheur (1958), Fantômas se déchaîne (1965) and in Trois hommes sur un cheval (1969).