Grégoire Aslan


Grégoire Aslan was a Swiss-Armenian actor and musician.

Early life

He was born to an Armenian family in Switzerland or in Constantinople, according to different sources. He made his professional début at 18 as a vocalist, trumpeter and drummer with the Paris dance band of Ray Ventura et ses Collegiens, then launched an acting career under the name of Coco Aslan. He also performed with guitarist Django Reinhardt.

Career

Aslan's first film appearance was uncredited in Marc Didier's 1935 Le Billet de mille. His first credited appearance was in Feux de joie, along with conductor Ventura. During World War II he toured South America with actor Louis Jouvet and eventually started his own theatre troupe. He became an indispensable feature in many British and American films, usually playing foreigners – Russians, Frenchmen, Italians, Germans, Albanians and Middle Easterners – with equal finesse.
Aslan's screen appearances include gangster boss Duca in Joe MacBeth, King of Kings as Herod, and Cleopatra as Pothinus. In 1961, in The Devil at 4 O'Clock, alongside Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy, he portrayed Marcel, a criminal who finds repentance by giving his life to save children from being killed by a volcanic eruption on a South Sea island. He played a police chief in Paris When It Sizzles and The Return of the Pink Panther. He appeared in over 110 film and TV roles. He also appeared on the French stage in productions from 1946 to 1981.

Personal life

From 1948 to 1955, Aslan was married to French theatre actress Denise Noël.

Death

Aslan died of a heart attack in Breage, whilst visiting Cornwall, England.

Selected filmography

  • '
  • Adventure in Paris as Un membre de l'orchestre de Ray Ventura
  • Feux de joie as Coco
  • Whirlwind of Paris as Coco
  • Radio Surprises as Robert
  • La fruta mordida
  • Are You Sure? as Coco
  • Sleeping Car to Trieste as Poirier, the chef
  • Keep an Eye on Amelia as Le prince
  • Wicked City as Le Brésilien
  • A Man Walks in the City as Ambilarès
  • Last Holiday as Gambini
  • Cairo Road as Lombardi
  • Cage of Gold as Duport
  • The Adventurers as Dominic
  • ' as Ernest Duranval
  • The Red Inn as Barboeuf
  • No Vacation for Mr. Mayor as M Beaudubec
  • Jouons le jeu as l'acteur
  • ' as Coudert
  • A Mother's Secret as Georges Lavier
  • Innocents in Paris as Carpet Seller
  • Good Lord Without Confession as Varesco
  • Le Chevalier de la nuit as Le préfet de police
  • This Man Is Dangerous as Siegella
  • Act of Love as Commissaire
  • ' as Mortimer Schoom
  • La soupe à la grimace as Karl Worden
  • Oasis as Pérez
  • Mr. Arkadin as Bracco
  • Joe MacBeth as Duncan
  • Une fille épatante as Atcheminocc
  • ' as Bodoni
  • ' as Zajir
  • He Who Must Die as Agha
  • The Suspects as Inspecteur Ben Hamman
  • ' as Le prince Yucca
  • Casino de Paris as Mario
  • A Bomb for a Dictator as Général Ribera
  • Windom's Way as Mayor Lollivar
  • The Tricyclist as Mouillefarine
  • The Snorkel as The Inspector
  • Sea Fury as Fernando
  • The Roots of Heaven as Habib
  • ' as Stanley père
  • Killers of Kilimanjaro as Ben Ahmed
  • Our Man in Havana as Cifuentes
  • Under Ten Flags as Master of Abdullah
  • The Criminal as Frank Saffron
  • The 3 Worlds of Gulliver as King Brob
  • Bernadette de Lourdes
  • The Rebel as Aristotle Carreras
  • The Invasion Quartet as Debrie
  • King of Kings as Herod the Great
  • The Devil at 4 O'Clock as Marcel
  • The Happy Thieves as Dr. Victor Muñoz
  • Village of Daughters as Gastoni
  • Cleopatra as Pothinus
  • The Main Chance as Potter
  • Une ravissante idiote as Bagda
  • Paris When It Sizzles as Police Insp. Gilet
  • as Inspecteur Rossi
  • Crooks in Cloisters as Lorenzo
  • Amori pericolosi as Il generale
  • The Gorillas as Maître Lebavard
  • The Yellow Rolls-Royce as the Albanian Ambassador
  • The High Bright Sun as Gen. Stavros Skyros
  • Marco the Magnificent as Achmed Abdullah
  • Moment to Moment as Insp. DeFargo
  • A Man Could Get Killed as Florian
  • Our Man in Marrakesh as Achmed
  • Lost Command as Dr. Ali Ben Saad
  • The 25th Hour as Dobresco
  • Tiffany Memorandum as The Shadow
  • Marry Me! Marry Me! as Mr. Schmoll
  • A Flea in Her Ear as Max, Hotel Coq Dor Owner
  • The Thirteen Chairs as Psychiatrist
  • You Can't Win 'Em All as Osman Bey
  • Le Cinéma de papa as Le producteur
  • The Pebbles of Etratat as Timakoff
  • Die rote Kapelle as Baron Maximowitsch
  • Sex-shop as Le père d'Isabelle / Father-in-law
  • The Girl from Hong Kong as Harris
  • The Golden Voyage of Sinbad as Hakim
  • QB VII as Sheik Hassan
  • The Girl from Petrovka as Minister
  • The Return of the Pink Panther as Lugash Police Chief
  • Bloedverwanten as Rudolphe De Guys
  • Gloria as Le patron du cabaret
  • Meetings with Remarkable Men as Armenian Priest / Le prêtre arménien