Charles Prince
Actor Charles Prince in the early 1910s.
Born
Charles Prince Seigneur

(1872-04-27)27 April 1872
Maisons-Laffitte, Seine-et-Oise, Île-de-France, France
Died18 July 1933(1933-07-18) (aged 61)
Paris, France
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian, screenwriter, Film Director
Years active1906-1933

Charles Prince Seigneur (27 April 1872 – 18 July 1933) was a French-born film actor and comedian, best known for his screen persona "Rigadin" in numerous short slapstick comedies.[1] He was also known as "Moritz" in Germany, "Whiffles" in England and the US, and "Tartufini" in Italy. He was the second biggest film star in the world in the years leading up to World War I, just behind his rival Max Linder. Prince's "Rigadin" character was similar to Linder's "Max" in that they were both upper-class dandies that were constantly getting into trouble with authority figures and love interests. Prince began his acting career on the stage and was hired by Pathé Frères in 1908.[2] He made over 200 films as "Rigadin" from 1909 until 1920. By 1920 his popularity had faded and he played supporting roles in a handful of films in the 1920s and 1930s.[3] Two of his Rigadin shorts, Rigadin Directeur de Cinéma and Rigadin et le Chien de la Baronne, were preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.[4]

Personal life

In 1900 he married Aimée Campton, an English dancer working in Paris[5] Their only daughter was Renée Petitdemange (1901-1993). The couple divorced in April 1905[6] Prince's great-grandson is French film director Cris Ubermann.

Selected filmography

Les Terreurs de Rigadin (1911)

References

  1. ↑ Abel, Richard. Encyclopedia of Early Cinema. Taylor & Francis. 2005. p. 203.
  2. ↑ Wakeman, John. World Film Directors, Volume 1. The H. W. Wilson Company. 1987. p. 676.
  3. ↑ "Slapstick, European-style – part 1". 7 September 2007.
  4. ↑ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
  5. ↑ Worldly Opinions. Notice of marriage. Le Figaro, December 10, 1900, p. 6, available on Gallica
  6. ↑ Le Temps, August 15, 1905, p. 4, available on Gallica. This legal announcement is also published in Gil Blas and Le Journal of the same day and in Le Monde artistique of August 20, 1905
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