Dary, René

(1905-1974)

   Actor. Born Anatole Mary Dary, René Dary was probably the first child star of the cinema. He made his film debut in 1908 at the age of three as Bébé Abelard in Gaumont's Bébé silent films series. Directed in many of the films by the legendary Louis Feuillade and starring with Renée Carl, herself a veritable star at the time, Dary's early beginnings were illustrious. Dary would appear in more than fifty films from 1910 to 1914, including Bébé fume (1910), Bébé marie son oncle (1910), Bébé Hercule (1911), Bébé et son âne (1911), Bébé est socialiste (1911), Bébé devient féministe (1911), C'est Bébé qui boit le muscat (1912), Napoléon, Bébé et les cosaques (1912), Bébé se venge (1912), Bébé et la lettre anonyme (1912), Bébé en vacances (1913), and Bébé à la ferme (1914).

   Dary abandoned the cinema in 1914. He did not leave the public eye, however, turning to boxing, and then to singing and performing in musicals. Gradually, cinema lured him back, and he attempted to resume his film career as an adult. He started appearing in films again in 1934, and made appearances in such films as Yves Mirande's A Nous deux, madame la vie (1936), Jacques de Baroncelli's SOS Sahara (1938), and Robert Bibal's Le Révolté (1938). Perhaps because of his days as a boxer, Dary developed a reputation for playing a tough guy, and he would play such characters in Jean Choux's Café du port (1939) and Port d'attache (1943), in Maurice Cloche's Nord Atlantique (1939), in André Hugon's Moulin Rouge (1941), and above all in Jacques Becker's Touchez pas au Grisbi (1953), which is probably Dary's best-known role as an adult actor.

   Dary continued to act until 1968, and although he never became an adult star, he made a career of playing supporting roles. Near the end of his career, he appeared in such films as André Cayatte's Piège pour Cendrillon (1965) and Les Risques du métier (1967) with Jacques Brel.