Michael_Lonsdale

Michael Lonsdale

French actor (1931–2020)

Michael Edward Lonsdale Crouch^[1] (24 May 1931 – 21 September 2020), commonly known as Michael Lonsdale and sometimes as Michel Lonsdale, was a French actor and author who appeared in over 180 films and television shows.^[4] He is best known in the English-speaking world for his roles as the villain Hugo Drax in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker,^[5] the detective Claude Lebel in The Day of the Jackal, The Abbot in The Name of the Rose and Dupont d'Ivry in The Remains of the Day.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Michael Lonsdale
Lonsdale in 2013
Born	Michael Edward Lonsdale-Crouch^[1]^[2] (1931-05-24)24 May 1931 Paris, France
Died	21 September 2020(2020-09-21) (aged 89) Paris, France
Other names	Michel Lonsdale
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1955–2016^[3]

Early life and education

Lonsdale was born in Paris, the natural son of British Army officer Edward Lonsdale Crouch and Simone Calderon (née Béraud).^[6]^[1] He was brought up initially on the island of Jersey,^[7] then in London from 1935, and later, during the Second World War, in Casablanca, Morocco.^[8]

Career

He returned to Paris to study painting in 1947, but was drawn into the world of acting instead, first appearing on stage at the age of 24.^[8]^[9] Lonsdale was bilingual, and appeared in both English-language and French-language productions. He appeared in a starring role with Roger Moore in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker.^[10] and with Sean Connery, in the 1986 film The Name of the Rose. He would later appear in Munich, a film that also starred another Bond, Daniel Craig.

In February 2011, he won a César Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Of Gods and Men.^[4]

Lonsdale was also the author of ten books.^[4]

Personal life and death

A practising Roman Catholic, he was close to the Emmanuel Community.

In his 2016 memoir Le Dictionnaire de Ma Vie, Lonsdale revealed he had fallen for Delphine Seyrig, having met her as a student in Tania Balachova's acting classes at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in 1947. He wrote that "it was her or nothing", which was why he never married.^[11]

Lonsdale died in Paris on 21 September 2020, aged 89.^[12]^[4]

Filmography

This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2020)

Film

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1956	It Happened in Aden	Sinclair
1960	La main chaude	Nobert		^[13]
1960	Les portes claquent	Georges Hortegrenave
1962	Adorable Liar	Albert		^[13]
	Le Crime ne paie pas	L'employé de la morgue	(segment "L'homme de l'avenue"), Uncredited
	La dénonciation	Mercier		^[13]
	Snobs!	Charles Dufaut		^[13]
	The Trial	Priest		^[14]
1964	Behold a Pale Horse	Reporter		^[13]
1964	Jealous as a Tiger	L'automobiliste qui grimace		^[13]
1965	Les copains	Lamenbin		^[13]
1965	Je vous salue, mafia!	Hyman		^[13]
1966	Your Money or Your Life	Le conférencier au club des timides		^[13]
	Is Paris Burning?	Debu-Bridel	Uncredited	^[15]
	Judoka-Secret Agent	Thomas Perkins
	Le fer à repasser
1967	Les compagnons de la marguerite	Lastac / Lataque, expert en écritures / La voix du juge d'instruction		^[13]
1967	L'authentique procès de Carl-Emmanuel Jung	Un avocat		^[13]
1968	L'homme à la Buick	L'inspecteur / The inspector		^[13]
	The Bride Wore Black	René Morane		^[14]
	Stolen Kisses	Georges Tabard		^[14]
	La grande lessive!	Delaroche		^[13]
1969	Hibernatus	Professor Edouard Lauriebat		^[13]
	Détruire, dit-elle	Stein		^[14]
	L'hiver	Julien & Marc		^[13]
1970	L'étalon	Both		^[13]
1970	Le revolver et la rose	Philippe de la Tour / Dimitri Korkesky
1971	Le printemps	L'homme qui fuit		^[13]
	Le Souffle au cœur	Father Henri		^[14]
	Les assassins de l'ordre	Inspector Bertrand		^[13]
	Out 1	Thomas		^[14]
	Papa les petits bateaux...	Hippolyte		^[13]
	Jaune le soleil	Un juif		^[13]
1972	The Old Maid	Monod		^[13]
	Il était une fois un flic...	Le commissaire Lucas		^[13]
	Chut!	Sergel		^[13]
	L'automne	Julien, le réalisateur		^[13]
	Out 1: Spectre	Thomas		^[13]
1973	The Day of the Jackal	Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel		^[14]
	La fille au violoncelle	Philippe Lariel		^[13]
	Les grands sentiments font les bons gueuletons	Stéphane		^[13]
1974	Successive Slidings of Pleasure	The Judge		^[14]
	La grande Paulette	Paul
	Stavisky	Docteur Mézy	By Alain Resnais	^[14]
	La vérité sur l'imaginaire passion d'un inconnu	Le reporter TV / Ponce Pilate		^[13]
	Une baleine qui avait mal aux dents	Le peintre		^[13]
	Caravan to Vaccares	Duc de Croyter		^[13]
	The Phantom of Liberty	Le chapelier / Hatter		^[14]
	Un linceul n'a pas de poches	Raymond		^[13]
	The Suspects	Le juge Souftries		^[13]
1975	Serious as Pleasure	L'inspecteur Fournier / Inspector Fournier		^[13]
	Galileo	Cardinal Barberini, later Pope Urban VIII		^[14]
	Aloïse	The second doctor		^[13]
	Section spéciale	Le ministre de l'intérieur Pierre Pucheu		^[13]
	La traque	David Sutter		^[13]
	The Romantic Englishwoman	Swan		^[14]
	India Song	Le vice-consul de Lahore		^[14]
	Folle à tuer	Stéphane Mostri		^[13]
	Le téléphone rose	Morrison		^[13]
	Ne
1976	Scrambled Eggs	Le Président de la République		^[13]
	Mr. Klein	Pierre		^[14]
	Son nom de Venise dans Calcutta désert	Récitant	Voice	^[13]
	Bartleby	L'huissier		^[13]
	L'Eden Palace	Raoul
1977	Le diable dans la boîte	Georges Aubert		^[13]
	L'adieu nu	Boris / The visitor
	The Accuser	Abéraud		^[13]
	The Left-Handed Woman	Kellner		^[13]
	Aurais dû faire gaffe... le choc est terrible
	Une sale histoire		Documentray	^[14]
	Jacques Prévert	Himself
1979	The Passage	Alain Renoudot		^[13]
	Moonraker	Hugo Drax		^[14]
	Ève avait l'éclat métallique de l'été
1980	Seuls	Le peintre		^[13]
1980	Ella, une vraie famille	Le comédien studio d'enregistrement
1981	The Bunker	Martin Bormann	TV movie	^[13]
	Chariots of Fire	Garth Jones		^[13]
	Les jeux de la Comtesse Dolingen de Gratz	Bertrand Haines-Pearson		^[13]
	Seuls	Ludovic
1982	Le rose et le blanc	Léon
	Sweet Inquest on Violence	Ash, le financier		^[13]
	Chronopolis	Narrator	Voice
	Mora		As writer
	Enigma	Bodley
1983	Eréndira	Senator Onésimo Sanchez		^[16]
1983	Une jeunesse	Bejardy		^[13]
1984	The Judge	Le Docteur		^[13]
	Le Bon Roi Dagobert	Saint Eloi		^[13]
	Les Boulugres	Le Roi	Voice
1985	The Holcroft Covenant	Ernst Manfredi		^[14]
	L'éveillé du Pont de l'Alma	Antoine		^[13]
	Billy Ze Kick	Commissaire Bellanger		^[13]
1986	Canevas la ville		Voice
1986	The Name of the Rose	The Abbot		^[14]
1987	The Madonna Man [de]	Tanzmann		^[13]
1987	L'enfant et le président	Le président
1988	Niezwykla podróz Baltazara Kobera	Le maître		^[14]
1989	Souvenir	Xavier Lorion
	L'homme de terre	Narrator	Voice
	Cela s'appelle l'amour	Himself
1991	My Life Is Hell	Gabriel	By Josiane Balasko	^[13]
1993	Woyzeck	Le capitaine
	L'ordre du jour	Stark		^[13]
	The Remains of the Day	Dupont D'Ivry		^[14]
1995	Jefferson in Paris	Louis XVI		^[14]
1995	Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud	Dolabella		^[13]
1996	The Human Plant (La Plante humaine)	Michel
1997	Mauvais genre	Honoré de Balzac
1998	Don Juan	Don Luis		^[13]
	Let There Be Light / Que la lumière soit	Monseigneur Loublié	By Arthur Joffé	^[13]
	Ronin	Jean-Pierre		^[17]
1999	A Monkey's Tale	Master Martin	Voice
2000	Les Acteurs	Man in the street	By Bertrand Blier
2000	Ceux d'en face	Mikaël		^[13]
2003	The Mystery of the Yellow Room	Stangerson		^[13]
	Kaena: The Prophecy	Opaz	Voice, French version
	Adieu	Serge		^[13]
	Le Furet	Don Salvadore		^[13]
2004	L'empreinte	Romain Dessouches
	Strange Crime	David		^[13]
	5x2	Bernard	By François Ozon	^[13]
2005	Les invisibles	Le gardien		^[13]
	Bye Bye Blackbird	Robert
	The Perfume of the Lady in Black	Le professeur Stangerson		^[13]
	Good Girl	Jean		^[13]
	Selon Rachel
	Munich	Papa		^[17]
2006	Il sera une fois...	Le vieux monsieur		^[13]
2006	Goya's Ghosts	Father Gregorio		^[14]
2007	Heartbeat Detector (La Question Humaine)	Mathias Jüst		^[14]
	To Each His Own Cinema	The old blind man	(segment "Le Don")	^[13]
	The Last Mistress	Le vicomte de Prony		^[16]
	Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure	Bartleby	Voice
2009	Agora	Theon		^[14]
	Je vais te manquer	Max
	Park Benches	The Client doormat		^[13]
2010	Of Gods and Men	Luc	César Award for Best Supporting Actor Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actor	^[14]
2010	Hitler à Hollywood	Himself		^[13]
2011	Titeuf	Le psy	Voice
	Les hommes libres	Le recteur Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit		^[14]
	The Cardboard Village	Il vecchio prete		^[13]
2012	Gebo et l'Ombre	Gebo	By Manoel de Oliveira	^[14]
2013	Le renard jaune	Jean Virno		^[13]
2014	Rosenn		Voice
2014	Maestro	Cédric Rovère		^[13]
2015	Les filles au Moyen Âge	Daniel		^[13]
2016	The First, the Last	Jean-Berchmans		^[13]
2016	Sculpt		(final film role)	^[18]

Television

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1982	Smiley's People	Anton Grigoriev	TV miniseries	^[15]
1986	Le Tiroir secret		TV miniseries
1991	Maigret et la Grande Perche	Monsieur Serre	TV series
2001	Maigret et la Croqueuse de Diamants	Sir Lampson	TV series
2013	Marguerite Yourcenar, alchimie du paysage	The Narrator	TV documentary
2013	Le tourbillon de Jeanne	L'homme	TV series

Video games

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2008	Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon	Henri Crousteau	Voice-over
2012	007 Legends	Hugo Drax	Voice-over	^[19]

References

[1]
Mes Étoiles: les rencontres qui ont éclairé mon chemin, Michael Lonsdale and Patrick Scheyder, Bayard, 2018
[2]
"Michael Lonsdale et Jeanne-Marie Conquer". Maison internationale des Poètes et des Écrivains de Saint-Malo. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
[3]
Rédaction, La; le 21/09/20 17:00, Mis à jour. "Mort de Michael Lonsdale : retour sur ses plus grands rôles". linternaute.com (in French). Retrieved 21 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
[4]
"Michael Lonsdale, icône du cinéma et du théâtre, est mort". L'Obs (in French). 21 September 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
[5]
Canby, Vincent (29 June 1979). "Moonraker (1979) MOONRAKER". The New York Times.
[6]
Qui est qui en France, Jacques Lafitte, 2008, p. 1433
[7]
"Michael Lonsdale – Bond villain in Moonraker – dies, aged 89". Radio Times. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
[8]
Goodman, Lanie (3 December 2010). "A gentle screen giant subtly shines". The Wall Street Journal.
[9]
"Les Inrocks - Michael Lonsdale" (in French). Retrieved 28 September 2013.
[10]
Allen Kim (21 September 2020). "Michael Lonsdale, actor who played Bond villain in 'Moonraker,' dies at 87". CNN. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
[11]
"Michael Lonsdale obituary". The Guardian. 22 September 2020.
[12]
"Michael Lonsdale, Bond Villain in 'Moonraker,' Dies at 89 | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. 21 September 2020.
[13]
"Michael Lonsdale – Actor". mubi.com. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
[14]
"Michael Lonsdale obituary". the Guardian. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
[15]
Pulver, Andrew (21 September 2020). "Michael Lonsdale, Bond villain Hugo Drax in Moonraker, dies aged 89". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
[16]
"Michael Lonsdale movie reviews & film summaries | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
[17]
"Bond villain actor Michael Lonsdale dies aged 89". BBC News. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
[18]
Allen Kim (21 September 2020). "Michael Lonsdale, actor who played Bond villain in 'Moonraker,' dies at 87". CNN. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
[19]
"Michael Lonsdale obituary: French actor dies at 89". Legacy.com. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.

External links

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Michael Lonsdale at IMDb

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