Pierre Richard-Willm was a French actor during the 1930s and 1940s.

Biography

Richard-Willm was born in south-western France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in the city of Bayonne

Bayonne

Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...

. His mother, Elisabeth-Fanny Willm, died at the age of thirty-one, and he was raised by his maternal grandmother. He attended the Beaux-Arts School, in Nantes

Nantes

Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....

 between 1913 and 1914, then in 1916 he joined the army, and fought during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. After the war he became a sculptor, and in 1921 he started playing bit roles on stage.

In 1924 he took part of in the sculpturing art competition

Art competitions at the 1924 Summer Olympics

Art competitions were held as part of the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Medals were awarded in five categories , for works inspired by sport-related themes....

 of the Games of the VIII Olympiad

1924 Summer Olympics

The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...

, making a group of sculptures on rugby and skating.

His film debut came in the 1930s Toute sa vie, under the direction of Alberto Cavalcanti

Alberto Cavalcanti

Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti was a Brazilian-born film director and producer.-Early life:Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a prominent mathematician. He was a precociously intelligent child, and by the age of 15 was studying law at university. Following an argument with a...

, followed by Les Vacances du diable, Daughter of the Regiment, Le Grand Jeu

Le Grand Jeu (1934 film)

Le Grand Jeu is a 1934 French film directed by Jacques Feyder. It is a romantic drama set against the background of the French Foreign Legion, and the film was an example of poetic realism in the French cinema. The title Le Grand Jeu refers to the practice of reading the cards. Blanche asks whether...

, and his most famous role as Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844...

.

After retiring from acting, in the 1950s, he directed Bussang

Bussang

Bussang is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France....

's Théâtre du Peuple

Théâtre du Peuple

The Théâtre du peuple is a theater located in Bussang, France, built in 1895 by Maurice Pottecher.The theatre was added to the list of historical monuments in 1975 and is always in activity, putting on a new performance each year...

. In 1975 he wrote his autobiography named Loin des Étoiles.

Richard-Willm died in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, and is buried at the cemetery in Bussang, Vosges

Vosges

Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...

.

Filmography

Year	Film	Director	Role
1930 1930 in film -Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...	Toute sa vie	Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti was a Brazilian-born film director and producer.-Early life:Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a prominent mathematician. He was a precociously intelligent child, and by the age of 15 was studying law at university. Following an argument with a...	Stanley Vanning
1931 1931 in film -Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...	Les Vacances du diable	Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti was a Brazilian-born film director and producer.-Early life:Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a prominent mathematician. He was a precociously intelligent child, and by the age of 15 was studying law at university. Following an argument with a...	Dr. Reynolds
	Un soir, au front	Alexandre Ryder Alexandre Ryder Alexandre Ryder was a Polish born French film director best known for his crime drama films of the 1920s and 1930s.He directed some 20 films between 1920 and 1950....	Lieutenant Siredon
	Autour d'une enquête	Robert Siodmak Robert Siodmak Robert Siodmak was a German born American film director. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for the series of Hollywood film noirs he made in the 1940s.-Early life:...  & Henri Chomette	Paul Bernt
1932 1932 in film -Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....	Le Petit écart	Reinhold Schünzel & Henri Chomette	Bernard Heller, lawyer
	Kiki	Pierre Billon & Karel Lamač
	Baby	Pierre Billon Pierre Billon Pierre Billon, born in Geneva in 1937, is a québécois writer.-Novels:* L'ogre de Barbarie * La Chausse-Trappe * L'enfant du Cinquième Nord * Le Livre de Seul * L'ultime Alliance...  & Karel Lamač	Lord Cecil
	Les Amours de Pergolèse	Guideau Brignonne	Pergolèse
	Sous le casque de cuir	Albert de Courville Albert de Courville Albert de Courville was a director of theatrical revues who turned to making films in the 1930s. His two most famous films , both featuring Jessie Matthews were There Goes the Bride and The Midshipmaid...
1933 1933 in film -Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....	Pour être aimé	Jacques Tourneur Jacques Tourneur Jacques Tourneur was a French-American film director.-Life:Born in Paris, France, he was the son of film director Maurice Tourneur. At age 10, Jacques moved to the United States with his father. He started a career in cinema while still attending high school as an extra and later as a script clerk...	Gérard d'Ormoise
	La Fille du régiment	Pierre Billon Pierre Billon Pierre Billon, born in Geneva in 1937, is a québécois writer.-Novels:* L'ogre de Barbarie * La Chausse-Trappe * L'enfant du Cinquième Nord * Le Livre de Seul * L'ultime Alliance...  & Karel Lamač
	Les Amoureux	Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier, Légion d'honneur, was a French film-maker, who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued until the 1950s and he made more than 40 feature films in total...	René de Tierrache
1934 1934 in film -Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...	Le Prince Jean	Jean de Marguenat	Prince Jean d'Axel
	La Maison dans la dune	Pierre Billon Pierre Billon Pierre Billon, born in Geneva in 1937, is a québécois writer.-Novels:* L'ogre de Barbarie * La Chausse-Trappe * L'enfant du Cinquième Nord * Le Livre de Seul * L'ultime Alliance...	Sylvain
	Le Grand Jeu Le Grand Jeu (1934 film) Le Grand Jeu is a 1934 French film directed by Jacques Feyder. It is a romantic drama set against the background of the French Foreign Legion, and the film was an example of poetic realism in the French cinema. The title Le Grand Jeu refers to the practice of reading the cards. Blanche asks whether...	Jacques Feyder Jacques Feyder Jacques Feyder was a Belgian actor, screenwriter and film director who worked principally in France, but also in the USA, Britain and Germany. He was a leading director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 1930s he became associated with the style of poetic realism in French cinema...	Pierre Martel
	Fanatisme	Gaston Ravel & Tony Lekain	Marcel Besnard
	Les Nuits moscovites	Alexis Granowsky	Captain Ignatoff
1935 1935 in film -Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...	Stradivarius	Géza von Bolváry Géza von Bolváry Géza von Bolváry was a Hungarian actor, screenwriter and film director, who worked principally in Germany and Austria.- Biography :...  & Albert Valentin	Sándor Teleky
	Barcarolle	Georges Lamprecht & Roger Le Bon
	La Route impériale	Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier, Légion d'honneur, was a French film-maker, who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued until the 1950s and he made more than 40 feature films in total...	Col. Brent
1936 1936 in film The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...	Anne-Marie	Raymond Bernard Raymond Bernard Raymond Bernard was a French filmmaker and related to French playwright father Tristan Bernard and brother to Jean-Jacques Bernard...	L'inventeur
	L'Argent	Pierre Billon Pierre Billon Pierre Billon, born in Geneva in 1937, is a québécois writer.-Novels:* L'ogre de Barbarie * La Chausse-Trappe * L'enfant du Cinquième Nord * Le Livre de Seul * L'ultime Alliance...
1937 1937 in film The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....	Courrier Sud	Pierre Billon Pierre Billon Pierre Billon, born in Geneva in 1937, is a québécois writer.-Novels:* L'ogre de Barbarie * La Chausse-Trappe * L'enfant du Cinquième Nord * Le Livre de Seul * L'ultime Alliance...	Jacques Bernis
	Un carnet de bal	Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier was a French film director. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930-1960...	Eric Irvin
	La Dame de Malacca	Marc Allégret Marc Allégret Marc Allégret was a French screenwriter and film director.Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer. Allégret became André Gide's lover when he was fifteen and Gide was forty-seven...	Prince Selim
	Yoshiwara	Max Ophuls Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer — known as Max Ophüls — was an influential German-born film director who worked in Germany , France , the United States , and France again...	Lieutenant Serge Polenoff
	Au service du tsar	Pierre Billon Pierre Billon Pierre Billon, born in Geneva in 1937, is a québécois writer.-Novels:* L'ogre de Barbarie * La Chausse-Trappe * L'enfant du Cinquième Nord * Le Livre de Seul * L'ultime Alliance...	Count Tomsky
1938 1938 in film The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...	Le Roman de Werther	Max Ophuls Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer — known as Max Ophüls — was an influential German-born film director who worked in Germany , France , the United States , and France again...	Werther
	La Tragédie impériale	Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier, Légion d'honneur, was a French film-maker, who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued until the 1950s and he made more than 40 feature films in total...	Count Igor Kourloff
	La Principessa Tarakanova	Fédor Ozep	Count Orloff
1939 1939 in film The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...	La Loi du nord La Loi du nord La Loi du nord is a 1939 French adventure drama film directed by Jacques Feyder who co-wrote screenplay with Alexandre Arnoux and Charles Spaak, based on novel "Telle qu'elle était de son vivant" by Maurice Constantin-Weyer. The films stars Michèle Morgan, Pierre Richard-Willm and Charles Vanel...	Jacques Feyder Jacques Feyder Jacques Feyder was a Belgian actor, screenwriter and film director who worked principally in France, but also in the USA, Britain and Germany. He was a leading director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 1930s he became associated with the style of poetic realism in French cinema...	Robert Shaw
	Entente cordiale	Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier, Légion d'honneur, was a French film-maker, who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued until the 1950s and he made more than 40 feature films in total...	Captain Charles Roussel
1941 1941 in film The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...	Les Jours heureux	Jean de Marguenat	Michel
1942 1942 in film The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...	La Duchesse de Langeais	Jacques de Baroncelli Jacques de Baroncelli Jacques de Baroncelli was a French film director best known for his silent films from 1915 to the late 1930s....	Armand de Montriveau
	La Croisée des chemins		Pascal Rouvray
1943 1943 in film The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....	The Count of Monte Cristo The Count of Monte Cristo (1943 film) The Count of Monte Cristo is a 1943 French-Italian film directed by Robert Vernay with Ferruccio Cerio as the supervising director. Based on the classic novel Le Comte de Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père, this two-part film stars Pierre Richard-Willm in the title role.-Cast:*Pierre...	Robert Vernay	Edmond Dantès Edmond Dantès Edmond Dantès is the protagonist and title character of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel, The Count of Monte Cristo.Dumas may have gotten the idea for the character of Edmond from a story which he found in a book compiled by Jacques Peuchet, archivist to the French police. Peuchet related the tale of...
1945 1945 in film The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....	La Fiancée des ténèbres	Serge de Poligny	Roland Samblaca
1947 1947 in film The year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...	Rêves d'amour	Christian Stengel	Franz Liszt Franz Liszt Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
	Le Beau Voyage	Louis Cuny	Richard

External links