Gélin, Daniel

(May 19, 1921, Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France - November 29, 2002, Paris, France)

   At age seventeen, he settled in Paris and attended René Simon's acting courses. Then he studied dra­matic art at the Conservatoire with Louis Jouvet. He was one of the most popular French leading men of the 1940s and 1950s, starring or playing supporting roles in more than 150 movies from 1940 (Miquette, Jean Boyer) to 2002 (A l'Abri des Regard indiscrets, short, Ruben Alves, Hugo Gélin). He directed only one feature film. His daughters Maria Schneider (b. 1952) and Fiona Gélin (b. 1962) are actresses, and his sons Xavier Gélin (1946-1999) and Manuel Gélin (b. 1958) are actors. He wrote several books, including two autobiographies (1977 Deux ou trois Vies qui sont les miennes, Julliard; 2000 A Bâtons rompus, co-author with Alain-Gilles Minella, Le Rocher).

 Filmography

1952 ◘ Les Dents longues (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter, dialogist, actor)