Max Linder
| Max Linder | |
|---|---|
Linder circa 1917
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| Born |
Gabriel-Maximilien Leuvielle 16 December 1883 Cavernes, Saint-Loubès, Gironde, France |
| Died | 31 October 1925 (aged 41) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer, comedian |
| Years active | 1899–1925 |
| Spouse(s) | Hélène "Jean" Peters (1905-1925) |
| Children | 1 |
Gabriel-Maximilien Leuvielle (16 December 1883 – 31 October 1925), better known by the stage name Max Linder (French: [lɛ̃.dɛʁ]), was a French actor, director, screenwriter, producer and comedian of the silent film era. His onscreen persona "Max" was one of the first recognizable recurring characters in film. He has also been cited as the "first international movie star."
Born in Cavernes, France to Catholic parents, Linder grew up with a passion for the theatre and enrolled in the Bordeaux Conservatoire in 1899. He soon received awards for his performances and continued to pursue a career in the legitimate theatre. He became a contract player with the Bordeaux Théâtre des Arts from 1901 to 1904, performing in plays by Molière, Pierre Corneille and Alfred de Musset.
From the summer of 1905, Linder appeared in short comedy films for Pathé, at first usually in supporting roles. His first major film role was in the Georges Méliès-like fantasy film The Legend of Punching. During the following years, Linder made several hundred short films portraying "Max", a wealthy and dapper man-about-town frequently in hot water because of his penchant for beautiful women and the good life. Starting with The Skater's Debut in 1907, the character became one of the first identifiable motion-picture characters who appeared in successive situation comedies. By 1911, Linder was co-directing his own films (with René LePrince) as well as writing the scripts.
Linder enlisted at the outbreak of the First World War, and worked at first as a dispatch driver and entertainer. During his service, he was injured several times, and the experiences reportedly had a devastating effect on him both physically and mentally. It was during this time he suffered his first outbreak of chronic depression.
Linder was born Gabriel-Maximilien Leuvielle near Saint-Loubès, Gironde. His parents were wealthy vineyard owners and expected Linder to take over the family business; his older brother Maurice (born 28 June 1881) had become a celebrated national rugby player. But Linder grew up with a passion for the theatre and was enthralled by the traveling theater and circus performances that occasionally visited his town. He later wrote that "nothing was more distasteful to me than the thought of a life among the grapes."
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