Claude Dauphin (né Legrand; 19 August 1903 – 16 November 1978) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1930 and 1978, including Barbarella, The Quiet American, and a voice role in The Tale of the Fox, considered to be one of the earliest stop-motion animated films.

Biography

He was born in Corbeil-Essonnes, Essonne. His father was Maurice Étienne Legrand, a poet who wrote as Franc-Nohain, and who was the librettist for Maurice Ravel's opera L'heure espagnole. His elder brother was the writer Jean Nohain. Dauphin's debut on film came in La Vagabonde (1930). He debuted on stage in Chapeau Chinois (1930) in Paris.

Private life

Dauphin married three times: first to Rosine Derean, then to the actress Maria Mauban with whom he had a child, Jean-Claude Dauphin, also an actor. Eventually, in 1955, Dauphin married American actress Norma Eberhardt. The couple divided their time between Paris, Los Angeles, New York City and Ocean Township, New Jersey. They remained together until Dauphin's death in Paris in 1978.

Selected filmography