Daniel Mendaille

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Daniel Mendaille (27 November 1885 – 17 May 1963) was a French stage and film actor whose career lasted about sixty years. He was born in Tours, France, and initially studied architecture in Paris before switching to acting. He trained at the Conservatoire de Paris under Paul Mounet and then worked on major Paris stages, including Théâtre des Variétés, Cirque d'Hiver, Théâtre Antoine, and l’Œuvre et de la Renaissance.

Mendaille began appearing in films in the early 1900s. One of his first roles was in 1909 in The Death of the Duc d’Enghien. He continued acting in both theater and film, moving into leading roles in the 1920s with Le coffret de jade, La proie, and Le crime de Monique, and appearing in Napoléon (1927) and Verdun: Visions of History (1928).

With the arrival of sound, he stayed active and appeared in notable films such as La tragédie de la mine (1931), the French version of The Testament of Dr Mabuse (1933), Moscow Nights (1934), L'Assommoir (1933), and Lucrèce Borgia (1935). In the 1940s and 1950s he often played supporting roles in films like Casque d'Or (1952), The Earrings of Madame de… (1953), Nana (1955), and Lola Montès (1955). Overall, he acted in about 120 films.

He was married to actress Leda Ginelly. After she died in 1959, Mendaille retired and lived quietly at the family home in Couilly-Pont-aux-Dames. He passed away there in 1963 at the age of 77.