Robert Le Vigan
Robert Le Vigan | |
|---|---|
Le Vigan in 1942 | |
| Born | Robert Charles Alexandre Coquillaud 7 January 1900 |
| Died | 12 October 1972 (aged 72) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1919–1952 |
Robert Le Vigan (born Robert Coquillaud, 7 January 1900 – 12 October 1972) was a French actor.
He appeared in more than 60 films between 1931 and 1943 almost exclusively in small or supporting roles. He was, according to film academic Ginette Vincendeau, a "brilliant, extravagant actor" who "specialised in louche, menacing or diabolical characters".
A collaborator with the Nazis during the occupation, who openly expressed fascist attitudes, he vanished while playing Jéricho in Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis), a film deliberately released in May 1945 shortly after the liberation of Europe; Le Vigan was replaced by Pierre Renoir. He was sentenced to forced labour for 10 years in 1946. Released on parole after three years working in a camp, Le Vigan absconded to Spain, and then Argentina, dying there in poverty on 12 October 1972 in the city of Tandil.