16 Facts About Paul Meurisse

Paul Meurisse was equally able to play comedic and serious dramatic roles.

Paul Meurisse's most celebrated role was that of the sadistic and vindictive headmaster in the 1955 film Les Diaboliques.

Paul Meurisse was born in Dunkirk, on the north-east coast of France.

Paul Meurisse grew up on the island of Corsica, to where his bank manager father had been transferred when Meurisse was a small child.

In 1936, Paul Meurisse moved to Paris, where he found work in musical theatres and nightclubs, and appeared with performers such as Marie Dubas.

Paul Meurisse specialised in taking cheerful, upbeat songs and singing them in a comically downbeat, lugubrious fashion.

In 1939, Paul Meurisse met singer Edith Piaf, and the two became lovers for two years.

Paul Meurisse first performed in film in Vingt-quatre heures de perm, which was filmed in 1940 but not released until 1945.

Paul Meurisse played a wide range of roles, from gangsters and policemen, to comedy and historical.

The quality of the films was varied, but Paul Meurisse's versatility brought him recognition, with his performance often considered the best part of an otherwise mediocre effort.

Paul Meurisse made three appearances as Commandant Theobald Dromard, aka "The Monocle", in the Eurospy comedies Le monocle noir, L'oeil du monocle, and Le monocle rit jaune.

The 1969 film L'Armee des ombres, in which Paul Meurisse had a leading role, was released in 2006 on DVD, under the title Army of Shadows, in the UK and US, to critical acclaim.

Paul Meurisse appeared in many stage productions, in plays by both contemporary French authors such as Marcel Achard and Jean Anouilh to classical English playwrights Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw.

Paul Meurisse married three times: to Michele Alfa ; Micheline Cheirel ; and Micheline Gary.

Paul Meurisse was taken ill following a performance at the Theatre Hebertot in Paris.

Paul Meurisse died at age 66 on 19 January 1979 of an asthma-related heart attack.