Marcel Hillaire
| Marcel Hillaire | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Erwin Ottmar Hiller April 23, 1908 Cologne, Germany |
| Died | January 1, 1988 (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Cause of death | Pulmonary embolism |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Parent(s) | Paul Hiller and Sophie Lion |
| Relatives | Ferdinand Hiller, grandfather |
Marcel Hillaire (April 23, 1908 – January 1, 1988), born Erwin Ottmar Hiller, was a German-born character actor who had a lengthy career, appearing on stage, in films and on television. Hillaire was recognizable by his gaunt appearance and his accent, which seemed to be a combination of French and German. Of Jewish descent, Hillaire first evaded the Holocaust in Nazi Germany by adopting a stage name and moving around constantly in traveling theater troupes; later he brazenly entered the bureaucracy of the Todt under his birth name, narrowly avoiding execution after capture. After World War II, Hillaire emigrated to America, again changed his name, and adopted a French persona, even touring the United States in a one-man stage show dedicated to celebrating French culture. In the early days of American television Hillaire guest starred in over a hundred episodes of various series, usually playing a Frenchman. In American films, Hillaire played the French chef training Audrey Hepburn's eponymous Sabrina and was featured as Fritz the director in Woody Allen's mockumentary Take the Money and Run.
Hillaire's grandfather was Ferdinand Hiller, a Frankfurt-born pianist and music educator, a student of the Hungarian composer virtuoso Johann Nepomuk Hummel, himself a student of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Under Hummel's tutelage, Hiller met many members of Germany's creative community including Felix Mendelssohn and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Through Hummel, Hiller met Ludwig van Beethoven just days before the legendary composer's death and, with the permission of Hummel, who was playing at Beethoven's funeral, clipped a lock of hair from Beethoven's corpse. Before the elder Hiller died, he gave the Beethoven keepsake as a birthday present to his son, Cologne opera singer and music critic Paul Hiller.
...
Wikipedia