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Henri Verneuil

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Henri Verneuil
  • Հանրի Վերնէօյ
  • Անրի Վեռնոյ
Verneuil on a 2020 stamp of Armenia
Born
Ashot Malakian

(1920-10-15)15 October 1920
Rodosto, Ottoman Empire
Died11 January 2002(2002-01-11) (aged 81)
Bagnolet, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
EducationÉcole Nationale d'Arts et Metiers
Occupations
Years active1940s – 2000s
Spouses
  • ​
    (divorced)​
  • Veronique Sedro
Children4
AwardsCannes Film Festival, Golden Palm

1964 Cent mille dollars au soleil
Oscar Award (Nominated)

1956 Le Mouton à cinq pattes
César Awards 1996
Golden Globe Award
1961 Mélodie en sous-sol (1961)

Henri Verneuil (French: [ɑ̃ʁi vɛʁnœj]; Western Armenian: Հանրի Վերնէօյ; Armenian: Անրի Վեռնոյ; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002), born Ashot Malakian, was a French-Armenian filmmaker and screenwriter active in French and American cinema.[1] Verneuil was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno International Film Festival, Edgar Allan Poe Awards, French Legion of Honor, Golden Globe Award, French National Academy of Cinema and Honorary Cesar awards.

Life and career

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Early life

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Verneuil was born Ashot Malakian (Western Armenian: Աշոտ Մալաքեան; Armenian: Աշոտ Մալաքյան) on 5 October 1920 in Rodosto, Ottoman Empire to Armenian parents.[2][3] In 1924, Verneuil's family fled to Marseille to escape the persecution of Armenian following the Armenian genocide.[2][3][4] He later recounted his childhood experience in the novel Mayrig, which he dedicated to his mother and made into a 1991 film with the same name, which was followed by a sequel, 588 Rue Paradis, the following year.[5]

Verneuil entered the École Nationale d'Arts et Metiers in Aix-en-Provence in 1942. After graduation, he worked as a journalist, then became editor of Horizon Armenian magazine.

Film career

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In 1947, Verneuil managed to convince the established European film actor Fernandel to appear in his first film.[6]

In 1951 he directed his first feature, the black comedy La Table aux crevés. His second film, Forbidden Fruit (1952), based on a Georges Simenon novel, was even more acclaimed.

Later he also directed other movie stars including Jean Gabin, Alain Delon, Lino Ventura (all together acting for him in "Le clan des siciliens" in 1969[7]), Jean-Paul Belmondo ("Le Corps de mon ennemi" in 1976[8] and other films), Omar Sharif, Claudia Cardinale (Mayrig),[9] Yves Montand and Michèle Morgan. Verneuil has filmed almost all the great figures of French cinema, with the exception of Bourvil, as even Louis de Funès has a small role in one of his films.

After the American experience (he was called the "most American of French directors"), in 1969 Verneuil "found" France. He was awarded a César[10] in 1996 and he was elected a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 2000.

Personal life

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Verneuil was first married to the film editor Françoise Bonnot, before later divorcing. Verneuil and Bonnot had two children[3], including the director Patrick Malakian [fr]. Verneuil later married Véronique Sedro with whom he had two children, including the actress Gaya Verneuil [fr].

On 11 January 2002 died[3] in Bagnolet aged 81. Verneuil is buried at his family burial vault in Marseille.[11]

Legacy

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The opening of the seventh annual Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan paid tribute to Verneuil. His son, television director Patrick Malakian received the posthumous award, the Parajanov's Thaler, for his father's contribution to cinema.

Filmography

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Henri Verneuil". Unifrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 Marchand, Laure; Perrier, Guillaume (2015). Turkey and the Armenian Ghost: On the Trail of the Genocide. McGill-Queen's Press. pp. 13–4. ISBN 978-0773597204.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bergan, Ronald (25 January 2002). "Obituary Henri Verneuil". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "To avoid persecution, his Armenian family fled to France when he was an infant in 1924". January 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "Towards the end of his career Verneuil made two more movies – labors of love – which reflect his own childhood and upbringing, MAYRIG (1991) and 588 RUE PARADIS (1992)". Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  6. ↑ "He made his first film, a documentary on Marseilles, in 1947. He persuaded Fernandel to appear in it and read the commentary". The Independent. London. 15 January 2002. Archived from the original on 14 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  7. ↑ "Le Clan Des Siciliens – 1969 – Henri Verneuil". Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  8. ↑ "Le corps de mon ennemi". Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  9. ↑ "Henri Verneuil very gentle and warm person, Claudia Cardinale says". Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  10. ↑ "In 1996, Verneuil was awarded an honorary Cesar, France's equivalent of the Oscar, for lifetime achievement in film". Los Angeles Times. 12 January 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  11. ↑ "Henri Verneuil inhumé à Marseille". Le Parisien (in French). Paris. 20 January 2002. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
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