Grégoire Aslan

Grégoire Aslan (born Krikor Kaloust Aslanian ; 28 March 1908 – 8 January 1982) was a Swiss-Armenian actor and musician.

Early life He was born to an Armenian family in Switzerland or in Constantinople, according to different sources. He made his professional début at 18 as a vocalist, trumpeter and drummer with the Paris dance band of Ray Ventura et ses Collegiens, then launched an acting career under the name of Coco Aslan. He also performed with guitarist Django Reinhardt.

Career Aslan's first film appearance was uncredited in Marc Didier's 1935 Le Billet de mille. His first credited appearance was in Feux de joie (1939), along with conductor Ventura. During World War II he toured South America with actor Louis Jouvet and eventually started his own theatre troupe. He became an indispensable feature in many British and American films, usually playing foreigners – Russians, Frenchmen, Italians, Germans, Albanians and Middle Easterners – with equal finesse.

Aslan's screen appearances include gangster boss Duca in Joe MacBeth (1955), King of Kings (1961) as Herod, and Cleopatra (1963) as Pothinus. In 1961, in The Devil at 4 O'Clock, alongside Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy, he portrayed Marcel, a criminal who finds repentance by giving his life to save children from being killed by a volcanic eruption on a South Sea island. He played a police chief in Paris When It Sizzles (1964) and The Return of the Pink Panther (1975). He appeared in over 110 film and TV roles. He also appeared on the French stage in productions from 1946 to 1981.

Personal life From 1948 to 1955, Aslan was married to French theatre actress Denise Noël.

Death Aslan died of a heart attack in Breage, whilst visiting Cornwall, England.

Selected filmography

(1935) Adventure in Paris (1936) as Un membre de l'orchestre de Ray Ventura (uncredited) Feux de joie (1939) as Coco Whirlwind of Paris (1939) as Coco Radio Surprises (1940) as Robert La fruta mordida (1945) Are You Sure? (1947) as Coco Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948) as Poirier, the chef Keep an Eye on Amelia (1949) as Le prince Wicked City (aka Hans le marin, 1949) as Le Brésilien A Man Walks in the City (1950) as Ambilarès Last Holiday (1950) as Gambini Cairo Road (1950) as Lombardi (as Coco) Cage of Gold (1950) as Duport The Adventurers (1951) as Dominic (1951) as Ernest Duranval The Red Inn (1951) as Barboeuf No Vacation for Mr. Mayor (1951) as M Beaudubec Jouons le jeu (1952) as l'acteur (segment 'La jalousie') (1952) as Coudert A Mother's Secret (1952) as Georges Lavier Innocents in Paris (1953) as Carpet Seller Good Lord Without Confession (1953) as Varesco Le Chevalier de la nuit (1953) as Le préfet de police This Man Is Dangerous (1953) as Siegella Act of Love (1953) as Commissaire (uncredited) (1954) as Mortimer Schoom La soupe à la grimace (1954) as Karl Worden Oasis (1955) as Pérez Mr. Arkadin (1955) as Bracco Joe MacBeth (1955) as Duncan Une fille épatante (1955) as Atcheminocc (1956) as Bodoni (1956) as Zajir He Who Must Die (1957) as Agha The Suspects (1957) as Inspecteur Ben Hamman (1957) as Le prince Yucca Casino de Paris (1957) as Mario A Bomb for a Dictator (1957) as Général Ribera Windom's Way (1957) as Mayor Lollivar The Tricyclist (1957) as Mouillefarine The Snorkel (1958) as The Inspector Sea Fury (1958) as Fernando The Roots of Heaven (1958) as Habib Checkerboard (1959) as Stanley père Killers of Kilimanjaro (1959) as Ben Ahmed Our Man in Havana (1959) as Cifuentes Under Ten Flags (1960) as Master of Abdullah The Criminal (1960) as Frank Saffron The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960) as King Brob Bernadette de Lourdes (1961) The Rebel (1961) as Aristotle Carreras The Invasion Quartet (1961) as Debrie King of Kings (1961) as Herod the Great The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961) as Marcel The Happy Thieves (1961) as Dr. Victor Muñoz Village of Daughters (1962) as Gastoni (A Father) (Marco Polo, unfinished French film, 1962) Cleopatra (1963) as Pothinus The Main Chance (1964) as Potter Une ravissante idiote (1964) as Bagda Paris When It Sizzles (1964) as Police Insp. Gilet (1964) as Inspecteur Rossi Crooks in Cloisters (1964) as Lorenzo Amori pericolosi (1964) as Il generale (segment "Il generale") The Gorillas (1964) as Maître Lebavard The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) as the Albanian Ambassador The High Bright Sun (1965) as Gen. Stavros Skyros Marco the Magnificent (1965) as Achmed Abdullah Moment to Moment (1965) as Insp. DeFargo A Man Could Get Killed (1966) as Florian Our Man in Marrakesh (1966) as Achmed Lost Command (1966) as Dr. Ali Ben Saad The 25th Hour (1967) as Dobresco Tiffany Memorandum (1967) as The Shadow Marry Me! Marry Me! (1968) as Mr. Schmoll A Flea in Her Ear (1968) as Max, Hotel Coq Dor Owner The Thirteen Chairs (1969) as Psychiatrist You Can't Win 'Em All (1970) as Osman Bey Le Cinéma de papa (1971) as Le producteur The Pebbles of Etratat (1972) as Timakoff Die rote Kapelle (1972, TV miniseries) as Baron Maximowitsch Sex-shop (1972) as Le père d'Isabelle / Father-in-law The Girl from Hong Kong (1973) as Harris The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) as Hakim QB VII (1974, TV miniseries) as Sheik Hassan The Girl from Petrovka (1974) as Minister The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) as Lugash Police Chief Bloedverwanten (1977) as Rudolphe De Guys Gloria (1977) as Le patron du cabaret Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979) as Armenian Priest / Le prêtre arménien