Charles Mendl

Sir Charles Simon Mendl (14 December 1871 – 15 February 1958) was a British diplomat and actor who has been described as "one of the most colourful figures in the diplomatic and social life of Paris".

Early life Mendl was born in London in 1871, the second son of Jewish Czech-born Ferdinand Mendl and Jeanette Rachel; their firstborn son was Sigismund Mendl. He was educated at Harrow School, after which he started a branch of his father's grain importing business in Buenos Aires.

He served as an intelligence officer in the 25th Infantry Brigade during the First World War and left after he sustained serious injury due to a horse falling on him in 1915.

Diplomatic career He worked in Paris for Admiralty intelligence in 1918, when he was attached to the British embassy during the Paris Peace Conference. The French believed that it was for services relating to spying. President of the Council of Ministers Pierre Laval believed Mendl was working for British intelligence, blaming him for leaking the Hoare–Laval Pact that would have given much of Ethiopia to fascist Italy. Mendl had received part of his 1922 salary from secret service funds. De Wolfe was living in a lesbian relationship with Elisabeth Marbury, and the marriage allowed her to use the title "Lady". De Wolfe paid Mendl a monthly allowance, and the two did not live together.

He returned to France after the end of the Second World War. After de Wolfe's death in 1950, Mendl married Yvonne Steinbach, who died in 1956.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1946 Notorious Commodore 1947 Ivy Sir Charles Gage Uncredited, (final film role)