Alexander D'Arcy
Alexander D'Arcy was an Egyptian-American actor with an international film repertoire. He often portrayed a suave gentleman or smooth rogue, and at one time was pinned as the natural successor to Rudolph Valentino.
Career
Born Alexandre Sarruf in Cairo, Egypt, D'Arcy, variously credited as Alexandre D'Arcy, Alex D'Arcy, Alexandre Darcy and Alex d'Arcy, appeared in some 45 films, mostly as a suave gentleman or smooth rogue. His first film appearance was in 1927 in The Garden of Allah, and he then appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's. He went to France, acted in a number of films, then departed for America. In 1936, listed as Joseph Alexandre Fabre – artist, aged 27, race French, nationality Egyptian – he sailed to New York as a first class passenger on the. He eventually left New York for Hollywood where he started by playing supporting roles in several films in the late 1930s, including The Prisoner of Zenda, Stolen Holiday, and The Awful Truth. In 1953, he was one of the suitors of Marilyn Monroe's character in How to Marry a Millionaire and featured in Abdulla the Great and Soldier of Fortune in 1955.His roles diminished in importance, and by the 1960s, he acted mostly on television and resurfaced in horror films, notably It's Hot in Paradise and as Dracula in Blood of Dracula's Castle. Evidently a favorite of such cult directors as Roger Corman, Russ Meyer and Sam Fuller, D'Arcy was seen in Corman's The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Meyer's The Seven Minutes and Fuller's Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street.
Throughout his life, D'Arcy split his time between his homes in the United States and Europe. In addition to acting, he worked as a restaurateur in Berlin. He was naturalized as a United States citizen in Los Angeles in May 1942. In his petition for naturalization, he declared that upon naturalization he wished his name to be legally changed from Joseph Alexandre Fabre to Alexander D'Arcy.