Georges Aminel(1922-2007)
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Born Jacques Maline (Aminel being an anagram of his second name),
Geroges Aminel was born to a Parisian mother and a father from
Martinique. Being biracial would prove a never-ending problem for
someone who aspired to become a great name of the theatre. Georges
Aminel started his career very early, at the tender age of 19, as a
dumb Polynesian in a 1941 play titled 'Faux Jour'. But all he got for
years were minor ethnic roles such an old Negro, an Arab, a Jew, a
fanatic native ..., which left him dissatisfied. In 1954 at last he was
given the more rewarding part of Bistouri, a Black doctor, in Yves
Jamiaque's 'Bistouri'. Acclaimed by the critic, he was later chosen by
Jean-Louis Barrault who cast him in classics like 'Le soulier de
satin', 'Madame Sans Gêne' and in Shakespeare's 'Henry IV', where he
was an impressive Duke of York. And, to crown it all, he was the first
Creole actor to enter the famous 'Comédie Française' company. But he
resigned in 1972 and as a result, his career declined. Aminel then
decided to concentrate on dubbing, in which he had excelled since the
early fifties. His deep, powerful, noble voice indeed made him an ideal
French substitute for for such giants of the screen as Orson Welles,
Yul Brynner, Vittorio Gassman and many many others. He was also a
natural choice for African American actors like Yaphet Kotto, Harry
Belafonte and mainly James Earl Jones in three 'Star Wars'
installments. As Darth Vader, he matched up with Jones. His voice is as
unforgettable as his model's. As for his film career, it does not do
justice to his talents. His roles are too few and he deserved better.
Nevertheless, Aminel's voice will always remain inseparable from a
great deal of American and Italian classics for the viewers who have
seen them in French version. Georges Aminel died in 2007. He is buried
in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
