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{{Short description|German actor (1908–1988)}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Marcel Hillaire
| name = Marcel Hillaire
Line 5: Line 6:
| birth_name = Erwin Ottmar Hiller
| birth_name = Erwin Ottmar Hiller
| birth_date = {{birth date|1908|04|23}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1908|04|23}}
| birth_place = [[Cologne]], Germany
| birth_place = [[Cologne]], [[Germany]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1988|01|01|1908|04|23}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1988|01|01|1908|04|23}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], US
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| death_cause = [[Pulmonary embolism]]
| occupation = Actor
| occupation = Actor
| parents = Paul Hiller and Sophie Lion
| relatives = [[Ferdinand Hiller]], grandfather
| relatives = [[Ferdinand Hiller]], grandfather
| yearsactive = 1952-1987
}}
}}


'''Marcel Hillaire''' (born '''Erwin Ottmar Hiller'''; April 23, 1908 – January 1, 1988) was a German-born character actor who had a lengthy career, appearing on stage, in films and on television. Hillaire was recognizable by his gaunt appearance and his accent, which seemed to be a combination of French and German.
'''Marcel Hillaire''' (born '''Erwin Ottmar Hiller'''; April 23, 1908 – January 1, 1988) was a German-born character actor who had a lengthy career, appearing on stage, in films and on television. Hillaire was recognizable by his gaunt appearance and his accent, which seemed to be a combination of French and German.


Of [[Jewish]] descent, Hillaire first evaded the [[Holocaust]] in [[Nazi Germany]] by adopting a stage name and moving around constantly in traveling theater troupes; later he brazenly entered the bureaucracy of the [[Organisation Todt|Todt]] under his birth name, narrowly avoiding execution after capture. After [[World War II]], Hillaire emigrated to America, again changed his name, and adopted a French persona, even touring the [[United States]] in a one-man stage show dedicated to celebrating French culture. In the early days of American television Hillaire guest starred in over a hundred episodes of various series, usually playing a Frenchman. In American films, Hillaire played the French chef training [[Audrey Hepburn]]'s eponymous ''[[Sabrina (1954 film)|Sabrina]]'' and was featured as Fritz the director in [[Woody Allen]]'s [[mockumentary]] ''[[Take the Money and Run]]''.
Of [[Jewish]] descent, Hillaire first evaded the [[Holocaust]] in [[Nazi Germany]] by adopting a stage name and moving around constantly in traveling theater troupes; later he brazenly entered the bureaucracy of the [[Organisation Todt|Todt]] under his birth name, narrowly avoiding execution after capture. After [[World War II]], Hillaire emigrated to America, again changed his name, and adopted a French persona, even touring the [[United States]] in a one-man stage show dedicated to celebrating French culture. In the early days of American television Hillaire guest starred in over a hundred episodes of various series, usually playing a Frenchman. In American films, Hillaire played the French chef training [[Audrey Hepburn]]'s eponymous ''[[Sabrina (1954 film)|Sabrina]]'' and was featured as Fritz the director in [[Woody Allen]]'s [[mockumentary]] ''[[Take the Money and Run (film)|Take the Money and Run]]''.


== Heritage and early life ==
== Heritage and early life ==
Hillaire's grandfather was [[Ferdinand Hiller]],<ref name="2009Martin23-28">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Russell|title=Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved|date=October 9, 2009|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=978-0-7679-0351-6|pages=23–28}}</ref> a [[Frankfurt]]-born pianist and music educator, a student of the Austro-Hungarian composer virtuoso [[Johann Nepomuk Hummel]], himself a student of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]. Under Hummel's tutelage, Hiller met many members of Germany's creative community including [[Felix Mendelssohn]] and [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]].<ref name="2009Martin23-28" />
Hillaire's grandfather was [[Ferdinand Hiller]],<ref name="2009Martin23-28">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Russell|title=Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved|url=https://archive.org/details/beethovenshair00mart|url-access=registration|date=October 9, 2009|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=978-0-7679-0351-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beethovenshair00mart/page/n36 23]–28}}</ref> a [[Frankfurt]]-born pianist and music educator, a student of the Austro-Hungarian composer virtuoso [[Johann Nepomuk Hummel]], himself a student of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]. Under Hummel's tutelage, Hiller met many members of Germany's creative community including [[Felix Mendelssohn]] and [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]].<ref name="2009Martin23-28" />


Through Hummel, Hiller met [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] just days before the legendary composer's death and, with the permission of Hummel, who was playing at Beethoven's funeral, clipped a lock of hair from Beethoven's corpse.<ref name="2009Martin23-28" /> Before the elder Hiller died, he gave the Beethoven keepsake as a birthday present to his son, [[Cologne]] opera singer and music critic Paul Hiller.<ref name="2009Martin9">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Russell|title=Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved|date=October 9, 2009|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=978-0-7679-0351-6|pages=9}}</ref>
Through Hummel, Hiller met [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] just days before the legendary composer's death and, with the permission of Hummel, who was playing at Beethoven's funeral, clipped a lock of hair from Beethoven's corpse.<ref name="2009Martin23-28" /> Before the elder Hiller died, he gave the Beethoven keepsake as a birthday present to his son, [[Cologne]] opera singer and music critic Paul Hiller.<ref name="2009Martin9">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Russell|title=Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved|url=https://archive.org/details/beethovenshair00mart|url-access=registration|date=October 9, 2009|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=978-0-7679-0351-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beethovenshair00mart/page/n22 9]}}</ref>


Erwin Hiller was born to Paul Hiller and his wife Sophie Lion in Cologne in 1908; the son was partly Jewish on both father's and mother's sides.<ref name="2009Martin67">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Russell|title=Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved|date=October 9, 2009|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=978-0-7679-0351-6|pages=67}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-133752426.html |title=Beethoven's Hair.(Movie Review) |author=Ken Eisner |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |quote= Because the Hillers were partially Jewish, Paul's family had to flee the Nazis. (One of the singer's sons became the successful French actor Marcel Hillaire.) |date=June 8, 2005}}</ref> Paul Hiller wrote for 24 years as the music critic of Cologne's ''[[Rheinische Zeitung]]'', "reviewing over the course of a quarter century virtually every operatic and orchestral performance scheduled throughout the lower Rheinland."<ref name="2009Martin67" /> Erwin and his brother were exposed to music and the arts from their earliest days, and by the father's death in 1934, Erwin was well-established as an actor and a [[Lothario]].
Erwin Hiller was born to Paul Hiller and his wife Sophie Lion in Cologne in 1908; the son was partly Jewish on both father's and mother's sides.<ref name="2009Martin67">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Russell|title=Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved|url=https://archive.org/details/beethovenshair00mart|url-access=registration|date=October 9, 2009|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=978-0-7679-0351-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beethovenshair00mart/page/n80 67]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-133752426.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921192729/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-133752426.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 21, 2014 |title=Beethoven's Hair.(Movie Review) |author=Ken Eisner |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |quote= Because the Hillers were partially Jewish, Paul's family had to flee the Nazis. (One of the singer's sons became the successful French actor Marcel Hillaire.) |date=June 8, 2005}}</ref> Paul Hiller wrote for 24 years as the music critic of Cologne's ''[[Rheinische Zeitung]]'', "reviewing over the course of a quarter century virtually every operatic and orchestral performance scheduled throughout the lower Rheinland."<ref name="2009Martin67" /> Erwin and his brother were exposed to music and the arts from their earliest days, and by the father's death in 1934, Erwin was well-established as an actor and a [[Lothario]].


== Hiding in Nazi Germany ==
== Hiding in Nazi Germany ==
While his brother Edgar fled to [[neutral Switzerland]], Erwin took up the stage name Harry Fuerster<ref name=SunTimes>{{cite news |title=This Beethoven saga missing many notes |author=Martin Walker |newspaper=[[The Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=December 31, 2000 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4564800.html |quote=the last of the Hillers had been living in Los Angeles and working as a character actor in Hollywood (with parts in "Mission: Impossible" and Woody Allen's "Take the Money and Run") under the new name of Marcel Hillaire. His life is another missed epic: Marcel survived the Hitler years by working as an itinerant actor under the name Harry Fuerster, but was sacked and denounced after sleeping with the manager's wife, and finally spared because, when the Red Army captured Berlin, he was in prison on a charge of statutory rape.}} (HighBeam subscription required)</ref> or Fürster<ref name="2009Martin261-264">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Russell|title=Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved|date=October 9, 2009|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=978-0-7679-0351-6|pages=261–264}}</ref> and began to tour Germany in a traveling theater company. Then, using romantic associations made during his touring, Erwin Hiller, under his own name, became a clerk in [[Organization Todt]], Nazi Germany's civil and military engineering corps. Stationed in [[Brittany]], Hiller rose to a position directly under the supervision of [[Albert Speer]] and in 1942 used his connections to attempt to bring his dying mother, still living in [[Cologne]], to the comparative safety of France.<ref name="2009Martin261-264" />
While his brother Edgar fled to [[neutral Switzerland]], Erwin took up the stage name Harry Fuerster<ref name=SunTimes>{{cite news |title=This Beethoven saga missing many notes |author=Martin Walker |newspaper=[[The Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=December 31, 2000 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4564800.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921192656/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4564800.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 21, 2014 |quote=the last of the Hillers had been living in Los Angeles and working as a character actor in Hollywood (with parts in "Mission: Impossible" and Woody Allen's "Take the Money and Run") under the new name of Marcel Hillaire. His life is another missed epic: Marcel survived the Hitler years by working as an itinerant actor under the name Harry Fuerster, but was sacked and denounced after sleeping with the manager's wife, and finally spared because, when the Red Army captured Berlin, he was in prison on a charge of statutory rape.}}</ref> or Fürster<ref name="2009Martin261-264">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Russell|title=Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved|date=October 9, 2009|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=978-0-7679-0351-6|pages=261–264}}</ref> and began to tour Germany in a traveling theater company. Then, using romantic associations made during his touring, Erwin Hiller, under his own name, became a clerk in [[Organization Todt]], Nazi Germany's civil and military engineering corps. Stationed in [[Brittany]], Hiller rose to a position directly under the supervision of [[Albert Speer]] and in 1942 used his connections to attempt to bring his dying mother, still living in [[Cologne]], to the comparative safety of France.<ref name="2009Martin261-264" />


Three years later, while he was still working for the Todt in Germany, Hiller's Jewish heritage was revealed. Sentenced to death for "his insidious deceit as much as his Semitic ancestry",<ref name="2009Martin261-264" /> Hiller awaited execution in a [[Weimar]] jail, but was transferred to a Berlin prison to face six-year-old [[statutory rape]] charges made before the war by the mother of a teenaged admirer. In April 1945, the Russian army liberated Berlin and Hiller was released from custody.<ref name="2009Martin261-264" />
Three years later, while he was still working for the Todt in Germany, Hiller's Jewish heritage was revealed. Sentenced to death for "his insidious deceit as much as his Semitic ancestry",<ref name="2009Martin261-264" /> Hiller awaited execution in a [[Weimar]] jail, but was transferred to a Berlin prison to face six-year-old [[statutory rape]] charges made before the war by the mother of a teenaged admirer. In April 1945, the Russian army liberated Berlin and Hiller was released from custody.<ref name="2009Martin261-264" />


== Career in New York ==
== Career in New York ==
Hiller emigrated from Germany to the United States on June 15, 1948, arriving in [[New York City]] and taking jobs in restaurants while he looked for work as an actor. Shortly after coming to America, Hiller decided that his German birth might hinder his prospects in the entertainment industry, so he changed his identity one last time: to Marcel Hilliare, a Frenchman. He never used his birth name again in public.<ref name="2009Martin261-264" />
Hiller emigrated from Germany to the United States on June 15, 1948, arriving in [[New York City]] and taking jobs in restaurants while he looked for work as an actor. Shortly after coming to America, Hiller decided that his German birth might hinder his prospects in the entertainment industry, so he changed his identity one last time: to Marcel Hillaire, a Frenchman. He never used his birth name again in public.<ref name="2009Martin261-264" />


Hillaire found employment portraying European characters in Manhattan theater productions and in the budding television industry's New York studios. He appeared in three 1952 episodes of the ''[[Goodyear Playhouse]]'' and five episodes of the ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'' by 1953.<ref name="02181961Phoenix12">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/921818/french_1man_theater_slated_to/|title=French '1-Man Theater' Slated to Present Variety Act at ASC|date=February 18, 1961|work=Arizona Republic|page=12|accessdate=26 October 2014|location=Phoenix, AZ|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> The same year, Hillaire guested in one of the first [[Sitcom|situation comedies]], ''[[The Goldbergs (broadcast series)|The Goldbergs]]''. When [[Billy Wilder]] cast his 1954 ''[[Sabrina (1954 film)|Sabrina]]'' starring [[Audrey Hepburn]], [[William Holden]] and [[Humphrey Bogart]]; Hillaire, in his first film role, was chosen to portray a French master chef.<ref>{{cite book|last=Horton|first=Robert|title=Billy Wilder: Interviews|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OCAKjmrTZo8C&pg=PR29|year=2001|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|page=xxix}}</ref>
Hillaire found employment portraying European characters in Manhattan theater productions and in the budding television industry's New York studios. He appeared in three 1952 episodes of the ''[[Goodyear Playhouse]]'' and five episodes of the ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'' by 1953.<ref name="02181961Phoenix12">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/921818/french_1man_theater_slated_to/|title=French '1-Man Theater' Slated to Present Variety Act at ASC|date=February 18, 1961|work=Arizona Republic|page=12|accessdate=26 October 2014|location=Phoenix, AZ|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> The same year, Hillaire guested in one of the first [[Sitcom|situation comedies]], ''[[The Goldbergs (broadcast series)|The Goldbergs]]''. When [[Billy Wilder]] cast his 1954 ''[[Sabrina (1954 film)|Sabrina]]'' starring [[Audrey Hepburn]], [[William Holden]] and [[Humphrey Bogart]], Hillaire, in his first film role, was chosen to portray a French master chef.<ref>{{cite book|last=Horton|first=Robert|title=Billy Wilder: Interviews|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OCAKjmrTZo8C&pg=PR29|year=2001|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|page=xxix|isbn=9781578064441}}</ref>


While still in New York, Hillaire appeared in two Broadway productions. He played opposite [[Jean-Pierre Aumont]] in the play ''The Heavenly Twins'', adapted from a French comedy by [[Albert Husson]]. From February 1955 until April 1956 Hillaire had a featured role in the original cast of the [[Cole Porter]] musical ''[[Silk Stockings]]''.<ref name="08061958Terre14">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/921812/marcel_hillaire_french_actor_at/|title=Marcel Hillaire, French Actor, At College Today|date=August 6, 1958|work=The Terre Haute Star|page=14|accessdate=26 October 2014|location=Terre Haute, IN|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref name="04141960Pasco2">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/921799/smile_of_france_scheduled_by_cbc/|title='Smile of France' Scheduled by CBC|date=April 14, 1960|work=[[Tri-City Herald]]|page=2|accessdate=26 October 2014|location=Pasco, Washington |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>
While still in New York, Hillaire appeared in two Broadway productions. He played opposite [[Jean-Pierre Aumont]] in the play ''The Heavenly Twins'', adapted from a French comedy by [[Albert Husson]]. From February 1955 until April 1956 Hillaire had a featured role in the original cast of the [[Cole Porter]] musical ''[[Silk Stockings]]''.<ref name="08061958Terre14">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/921812/marcel_hillaire_french_actor_at/|title=Marcel Hillaire, French Actor, At College Today|date=August 6, 1958|work=The Terre Haute Star|page=14|accessdate=26 October 2014|location=Terre Haute, IN|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref name="04141960Pasco2">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/921799/smile_of_france_scheduled_by_cbc/|title='Smile of France' Scheduled by CBC|date=April 14, 1960|work=[[Tri-City Herald]]|page=2|accessdate=26 October 2014|location=Pasco, Washington |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>


== The "essence of all Frenchmen" ==
== The "essence of all Frenchmen" ==

After moving to [[Los Angeles]], Hillaire continued to portray Europeans, mostly Frenchmen, in television episodes and movies. Beginning in the late fifties, Hillaire took a one-man touring show, entitled ''The Smile of France'', to college campuses across the U.S.<ref name="02181961Phoenix12" /><ref name="08061958Terre14" /><ref name="04141960Pasco2" /><ref name="10191959Gazette11">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/921805/marcel_hillaires_smile_of_france_to/|title=Marcel Hillaire's "Smile of France" to Appear at ISTC|date=October 19, 1959|work=The Indiana Gazette|page=11|accessdate=26 October 2014|location=Indiana, Pennsylvania|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>
After moving to [[Los Angeles]], Hillaire continued to portray Europeans, mostly Frenchmen, in television episodes and movies. Beginning in the late fifties, Hillaire took a one-man touring show, entitled ''The Smile of France'', to college campuses across the U.S.<ref name="02181961Phoenix12" /><ref name="08061958Terre14" /><ref name="04141960Pasco2" /><ref name="10191959Gazette11">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/921805/marcel_hillaires_smile_of_france_to/|title=Marcel Hillaire's "Smile of France" to Appear at ISTC|date=October 19, 1959|work=The Indiana Gazette|page=11|accessdate=26 October 2014|location=Indiana, Pennsylvania|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>


In speaking to town newspapers about upcoming performances, Hillaire told reporters he was born in the [[Ménilmontant]] neighborhood of [[Paris]],<ref name="04141960Pasco2" /> the son of circus performers, who worked at the [[Folies Bergère]],<ref name="04141960Pasco2"/><ref name="02161961Lumberjack01">{{cite news|url=http://cdm16748.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16748coll1/id/265|title=French Actor to Present Series Program Monday|date=February 16, 1961|work=The Lumberjack|publisher=Northern Arizona University, Associated Students|page=1|accessdate=29 October 2014}}</ref> and was trained as an actor by French theater legends [[Louis Jouvet]] and [[Sacha Guitry]].<ref name="08061958Terre14"/><ref name="02161961Lumberjack01"/> Hillaire adopted the sobriquet "the essence of all Frenchmen" and told reporters he had been acclaimed “Le Bien-Aime du Peuple Francais” (The Well-Beloved of the French People).<ref name="10191959Gazette11"/><ref name="02161961Lumberjack01"/>
In speaking to town newspapers about upcoming performances, Hillaire told reporters he was born in the [[Ménilmontant]] neighborhood of [[Paris]],<ref name="04141960Pasco2" /> the son of circus performers, who worked at the [[Folies Bergère]],<ref name="04141960Pasco2"/><ref name="02161961Lumberjack01">{{cite news|url=http://cdm16748.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16748coll1/id/265|title=French Actor to Present Series Program Monday|date=February 16, 1961|work=The Lumberjack|publisher=Northern Arizona University, Associated Students|page=1|accessdate=29 October 2014}}</ref> and was trained as an actor by French theater legends [[Louis Jouvet]] and [[Sacha Guitry]].<ref name="08061958Terre14"/><ref name="02161961Lumberjack01"/> Hillaire adopted the sobriquet "the essence of all Frenchmen" and told reporters he had been acclaimed "Le Bien-Aimé du Peuple Français" (The Well-Beloved of the French People).<ref name="10191959Gazette11"/><ref name="02161961Lumberjack01"/>


While performing at the [[Library of Congress]]'s [[Thomas Jefferson Building#Coolidge Auditorium|Coolidge Auditorium]], one of Hillaire's early shows was recorded for library archives and included works from [[François Villon]], [[Guy de Maupassant]], [[Pierre de Ronsard]], and [[Guillaume Apollinaire]], plus readings from love letters by [[Napoleon|Napoléon Bonaparte]], [[Madame du Barry|Jeanne Bécu du Barry]], and [[Louis XV]].<ref name="2011WorldCat">{{cite web|url=http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/29912902|title=The smile of France [sound recording] : reading in French and English in the Coolidge Auditorium, Feb. 10, 1958.|year=2011|work=ArchiveGrid|publisher=Online Computer Library Center, Inc.|accessdate=29 October 2014|location=Library of Congress}}</ref><ref name="1958WorldCat">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/smile-of-france-reading-in-french-and-english-in-the-coolidge-auditorium-feb-10-1958/oclc/29912902|title=The smile of France : reading in French and English in the Coolidge Auditorium, Feb. 10, 1958.|year=1958|work=OCLC World Cat|accessdate=29 October 2014|location=Library of Congress}}</ref> Later performances added works from authors [[Jean de La Fontaine]], [[Colette]], [[Voltaire]], [[Marcel Pagnol]], and Sacha Guitry.<ref name="04141960Pasco2" /><ref name="10191959Gazette11" />
While performing at the [[Library of Congress]]'s [[Thomas Jefferson Building#Coolidge Auditorium|Coolidge Auditorium]], one of Hillaire's early shows was recorded for library archives and included works from [[François Villon]], [[Guy de Maupassant]], [[Pierre de Ronsard]], and [[Guillaume Apollinaire]], plus readings from love letters by [[Napoleon|Napoléon Bonaparte]], [[Madame du Barry|Jeanne Bécu du Barry]], and [[Louis XV]].<ref name="2011WorldCat">{{cite web|url=http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/29912902|title=The smile of France [sound recording] : reading in French and English in the Coolidge Auditorium, Feb. 10, 1958.|year=2011|work=ArchiveGrid|publisher=Online Computer Library Center, Inc.|accessdate=29 October 2014|location=Library of Congress}}</ref><ref name="1958WorldCat">{{cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29912902|title=The smile of France : reading in French and English in the Coolidge Auditorium, Feb. 10, 1958.|year=1958|via=OCLC World Cat|accessdate=29 October 2014|location=Library of Congress|oclc=29912902}}</ref> Later performances added works from authors [[Jean de La Fontaine]], [[Colette]], [[Voltaire]], [[Marcel Pagnol]], and Sacha Guitry.<ref name="04141960Pasco2" /><ref name="10191959Gazette11" />


== Later career ==
== Later career ==
From the early 1950s to the 1980s, he played character parts in various TV shows, including ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' (episodes "[[A Most Unusual Camera]]" and "[[The New Exhibit]]"), ''[[Lost in Space]]'', ''[[Get Smart]]'', ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'', ''[[McCloud (TV series)|McCloud]]'' and ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]''. He appeared as a director in [[Woody Allen]]'s second film, ''[[Take the Money and Run]]'' (1969).
From the early 1950s to the 1980s, he played character parts in various TV shows, including ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' (episodes "[[A Most Unusual Camera]]" and "[[The New Exhibit]]"), ''[[Lost in Space]]'', ''[[Get Smart]]'', ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'', ''[[McCloud (TV series)|McCloud]]'' and ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]''. He appeared as a director in [[Woody Allen]]'s second film, ''[[Take the Money and Run (film)|Take the Money and Run]]'' (1969).
Marcel Hilaire played a role in Combat. Season 3 Episode 12, "A Rare Vintage", in 1964
Marcel Hillaire played a role in Combat (Season 3 Episode 12, "A Rare Vintage", in 1964).


== Partial filmography ==
== Filmography ==
{| class="wikitable"
*''[[Sabrina (1954 film)|Sabrina]]'' (1954) - The Professor
|-
*''[[It Happened to Jane]]'' (1959) - Chef (uncredited)
! Year
*''[[Seven Thieves]]'' (1960) - Duc di Salins
! Title
*''[[North to Alaska]]'' (1960) - Jenny's Husband - 'Butler' (uncredited)
! Role
*''[[The Honeymoon Machine]]'' (1961) - Inspector of casino games
! Notes
*''[[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]'' (1962) - Armand Dibier
|-
*''[[Bon Voyage! (1962 film)|Bon Voyage!]]'' (1962) - Sewer Guide
|1954|| ''[[Sabrina (1954 film)|Sabrina]]'' || The Professor ||
*''[[Take Her, She's Mine]]'' (1963) - Policeman
|-
*''[[The Wheeler Dealers]]'' (1963) - Giuseppe - Maitre d'
|1959|| ''[[It Happened to Jane]]'' || Chef || Uncredited
*''[[Wild and Wonderful]]'' (1964) - Inspector Duvivier
|-
*''[[What a Way to Go!]]'' (1964) - French Lawyer (uncredited)
|1960|| ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' || Waiter || Episode: [[A Most Unusual Camera]]
*''[[McHale's Navy (1964 film)|McHale's Navy]]'' (1964) - Chief de Gendarmes
|-
*''[[The Art of Love (1965 film)|The Art of Love]]'' (1965) - Executioner
|1960|| ''[[Seven Thieves]]'' || Duc di Salins ||
*''[[A Very Special Love]]'' (1965) - Claude - French Barrister
|-
*''[[Made in Paris]]'' (1966) - Attendant
|1960|| ''[[North to Alaska]]'' || Jenny's Husband - 'Butler' || Uncredited
*''[[Murderers' Row (film)|Murderers' Row]]'' (1966) - Police Capt. Deveraux
|-
*''[[Monkeys, Go Home!]]'' (1967) - Mayor Gaston Lou
|1961|| ''[[The Honeymoon Machine]]'' || Inspector of casino games ||
*''[[Take the Money and Run]]'' (1969) - Fritz - Director
|-
*''[[Evening in Byzantium]]'' (1978) - Inspector Le Dioux
|1962|| ''[[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]'' || Armand Dibier ||
|-
|1962|| ''[[Bon Voyage! (1962 film)|Bon Voyage!]]'' || Sewer Guide ||
|-
|1963|| ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' || Museum Guide || Episode: [[The New Exhibit]]
|-
|1963|| ''[[Take Her, She's Mine]]'' || Policeman ||
|-
|1963|| ''[[The Wheeler Dealers]]'' || Giuseppe - Maitre d' ||
|-
|1963|| ''[[McHale's Navy]]''|| Gerard || Episode: The Big Raffle
|-
|1963|| ''[[McHale's Navy]]''|| Emile Gerard || Episode: One Enchanted Weekend
|-
|1964|| ''[[Wild and Wonderful]]'' || Inspector Duvivier ||
|-
|1964|| ''[[What a Way to Go!]]'' || French Lawyer || Uncredited
|-
|1964|| ''[[McHale's Navy (1964 film)|McHale's Navy]]'' (movie) || Chief de Gendarmes ||
|-
|1964|| ''[[Combat!]]'' || Jean Sebelleau || Episode: A Rare Vintage
|-
|1965|| ''[[The Art of Love (1965 film)|The Art of Love]]'' || Executioner ||
|-
|1965|| ''[[A Very Special Love]]'' || Claude - French Barrister ||
|-
|1966|| ''[[Made in Paris]]'' || Attendant ||
|-
|1966|| ''[[The Time Tunnel]]'' || Prisoner Boudaire, on Devil's Island ||
|-
|1966|| ''[[Murderers' Row (film)|Murderers' Row]]'' || Police Capt. Deveraux ||
|-
|1967|| ''[[Monkeys, Go Home!]]'' || Mayor Gaston Lou ||
|-
|1968|| Lost in Space || Phanzig || Episode: Condemned of Space
|-
|1968|| Lost in Space || the Junkman || Episode: Junkyard in Space
|-
|1969|| ''[[Take the Money and Run (film)|Take the Money and Run]]'' || Fritz - Director ||
|-
|1978|| ''[[Evening in Byzantium]]'' || Inspector Le Dioux ||
|}


== References ==
== References ==
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* {{IMDb name|0384787}}
* {{IMDb name|0384787}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{iobdb name|45630}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:German emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Emigrants from Allied-occupied Germany to the United States]]
[[Category:German male film actors]]
[[Category:German male film actors]]
[[Category:German male stage actors]]
[[Category:German male stage actors]]
[[Category:German male television actors]]
[[Category:German male television actors]]
[[Category:Jewish German male actors]]
[[Category:Jewish German male actors]]
[[Category:People from Cologne]]
[[Category:Male actors from Cologne]]
[[Category:Holocaust survivors]]
[[Category:Holocaust survivors]]
[[Category:20th-century German male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century German male actors]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]

Latest revision as of 14:36, 17 January 2024

Marcel Hillaire
Black and white image of Marcel Hillaire at age 51
Born
Erwin Ottmar Hiller

(1908-04-23)April 23, 1908
DiedJanuary 1, 1988(1988-01-01) (aged 79)
OccupationActor
Years active1952-1987
RelativesFerdinand Hiller, grandfather

Marcel Hillaire (born Erwin Ottmar Hiller; April 23, 1908 – January 1, 1988) was a German-born character actor who had a lengthy career, appearing on stage, in films and on television. Hillaire was recognizable by his gaunt appearance and his accent, which seemed to be a combination of French and German.

Of Jewish descent, Hillaire first evaded the Holocaust in Nazi Germany by adopting a stage name and moving around constantly in traveling theater troupes; later he brazenly entered the bureaucracy of the Todt under his birth name, narrowly avoiding execution after capture. After World War II, Hillaire emigrated to America, again changed his name, and adopted a French persona, even touring the United States in a one-man stage show dedicated to celebrating French culture. In the early days of American television Hillaire guest starred in over a hundred episodes of various series, usually playing a Frenchman. In American films, Hillaire played the French chef training Audrey Hepburn's eponymous Sabrina and was featured as Fritz the director in Woody Allen's mockumentary Take the Money and Run.

Heritage and early life[edit]

Hillaire's grandfather was Ferdinand Hiller,[1] a Frankfurt-born pianist and music educator, a student of the Austro-Hungarian composer virtuoso Johann Nepomuk Hummel, himself a student of Mozart. Under Hummel's tutelage, Hiller met many members of Germany's creative community including Felix Mendelssohn and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.[1]

Through Hummel, Hiller met Ludwig van Beethoven just days before the legendary composer's death and, with the permission of Hummel, who was playing at Beethoven's funeral, clipped a lock of hair from Beethoven's corpse.[1] Before the elder Hiller died, he gave the Beethoven keepsake as a birthday present to his son, Cologne opera singer and music critic Paul Hiller.[2]

Erwin Hiller was born to Paul Hiller and his wife Sophie Lion in Cologne in 1908; the son was partly Jewish on both father's and mother's sides.[3][4] Paul Hiller wrote for 24 years as the music critic of Cologne's Rheinische Zeitung, "reviewing over the course of a quarter century virtually every operatic and orchestral performance scheduled throughout the lower Rheinland."[3] Erwin and his brother were exposed to music and the arts from their earliest days, and by the father's death in 1934, Erwin was well-established as an actor and a Lothario.

Hiding in Nazi Germany[edit]

While his brother Edgar fled to neutral Switzerland, Erwin took up the stage name Harry Fuerster[5] or Fürster[6] and began to tour Germany in a traveling theater company. Then, using romantic associations made during his touring, Erwin Hiller, under his own name, became a clerk in Organization Todt, Nazi Germany's civil and military engineering corps. Stationed in Brittany, Hiller rose to a position directly under the supervision of Albert Speer and in 1942 used his connections to attempt to bring his dying mother, still living in Cologne, to the comparative safety of France.[6]

Three years later, while he was still working for the Todt in Germany, Hiller's Jewish heritage was revealed. Sentenced to death for "his insidious deceit as much as his Semitic ancestry",[6] Hiller awaited execution in a Weimar jail, but was transferred to a Berlin prison to face six-year-old statutory rape charges made before the war by the mother of a teenaged admirer. In April 1945, the Russian army liberated Berlin and Hiller was released from custody.[6]

Career in New York[edit]

Hiller emigrated from Germany to the United States on June 15, 1948, arriving in New York City and taking jobs in restaurants while he looked for work as an actor. Shortly after coming to America, Hiller decided that his German birth might hinder his prospects in the entertainment industry, so he changed his identity one last time: to Marcel Hillaire, a Frenchman. He never used his birth name again in public.[6]

Hillaire found employment portraying European characters in Manhattan theater productions and in the budding television industry's New York studios. He appeared in three 1952 episodes of the Goodyear Playhouse and five episodes of the Lux Video Theatre by 1953.[7] The same year, Hillaire guested in one of the first situation comedies, The Goldbergs. When Billy Wilder cast his 1954 Sabrina starring Audrey Hepburn, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart, Hillaire, in his first film role, was chosen to portray a French master chef.[8]

While still in New York, Hillaire appeared in two Broadway productions. He played opposite Jean-Pierre Aumont in the play The Heavenly Twins, adapted from a French comedy by Albert Husson. From February 1955 until April 1956 Hillaire had a featured role in the original cast of the Cole Porter musical Silk Stockings.[9][10]

The "essence of all Frenchmen"[edit]

After moving to Los Angeles, Hillaire continued to portray Europeans, mostly Frenchmen, in television episodes and movies. Beginning in the late fifties, Hillaire took a one-man touring show, entitled The Smile of France, to college campuses across the U.S.[7][9][10][11]

In speaking to town newspapers about upcoming performances, Hillaire told reporters he was born in the Ménilmontant neighborhood of Paris,[10] the son of circus performers, who worked at the Folies Bergère,[10][12] and was trained as an actor by French theater legends Louis Jouvet and Sacha Guitry.[9][12] Hillaire adopted the sobriquet "the essence of all Frenchmen" and told reporters he had been acclaimed "Le Bien-Aimé du Peuple Français" (The Well-Beloved of the French People).[11][12]

While performing at the Library of Congress's Coolidge Auditorium, one of Hillaire's early shows was recorded for library archives and included works from François Villon, Guy de Maupassant, Pierre de Ronsard, and Guillaume Apollinaire, plus readings from love letters by Napoléon Bonaparte, Jeanne Bécu du Barry, and Louis XV.[13][14] Later performances added works from authors Jean de La Fontaine, Colette, Voltaire, Marcel Pagnol, and Sacha Guitry.[10][11]

Later career[edit]

From the early 1950s to the 1980s, he played character parts in various TV shows, including The Twilight Zone (episodes "A Most Unusual Camera" and "The New Exhibit"), Lost in Space, Get Smart, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., McCloud and I Spy. He appeared as a director in Woody Allen's second film, Take the Money and Run (1969). Marcel Hillaire played a role in Combat (Season 3 Episode 12, "A Rare Vintage", in 1964).

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1954 Sabrina The Professor
1959 It Happened to Jane Chef Uncredited
1960 The Twilight Zone Waiter Episode: A Most Unusual Camera
1960 Seven Thieves Duc di Salins
1960 North to Alaska Jenny's Husband - 'Butler' Uncredited
1961 The Honeymoon Machine Inspector of casino games
1962 Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Armand Dibier
1962 Bon Voyage! Sewer Guide
1963 The Twilight Zone Museum Guide Episode: The New Exhibit
1963 Take Her, She's Mine Policeman
1963 The Wheeler Dealers Giuseppe - Maitre d'
1963 McHale's Navy Gerard Episode: The Big Raffle
1963 McHale's Navy Emile Gerard Episode: One Enchanted Weekend
1964 Wild and Wonderful Inspector Duvivier
1964 What a Way to Go! French Lawyer Uncredited
1964 McHale's Navy (movie) Chief de Gendarmes
1964 Combat! Jean Sebelleau Episode: A Rare Vintage
1965 The Art of Love Executioner
1965 A Very Special Love Claude - French Barrister
1966 Made in Paris Attendant
1966 The Time Tunnel Prisoner Boudaire, on Devil's Island
1966 Murderers' Row Police Capt. Deveraux
1967 Monkeys, Go Home! Mayor Gaston Lou
1968 Lost in Space Phanzig Episode: Condemned of Space
1968 Lost in Space the Junkman Episode: Junkyard in Space
1969 Take the Money and Run Fritz - Director
1978 Evening in Byzantium Inspector Le Dioux

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Martin, Russell (October 9, 2009). Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved. Broadway Books. pp. 23–28. ISBN 978-0-7679-0351-6.
  2. ^ Martin, Russell (October 9, 2009). Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved. Broadway Books. pp. 9. ISBN 978-0-7679-0351-6.
  3. ^ a b Martin, Russell (October 9, 2009). Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved. Broadway Books. pp. 67. ISBN 978-0-7679-0351-6.
  4. ^ Ken Eisner (June 8, 2005). "Beethoven's Hair.(Movie Review)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Because the Hillers were partially Jewish, Paul's family had to flee the Nazis. (One of the singer's sons became the successful French actor Marcel Hillaire.)
  5. ^ Martin Walker (December 31, 2000). "This Beethoven saga missing many notes". The Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. the last of the Hillers had been living in Los Angeles and working as a character actor in Hollywood (with parts in "Mission: Impossible" and Woody Allen's "Take the Money and Run") under the new name of Marcel Hillaire. His life is another missed epic: Marcel survived the Hitler years by working as an itinerant actor under the name Harry Fuerster, but was sacked and denounced after sleeping with the manager's wife, and finally spared because, when the Red Army captured Berlin, he was in prison on a charge of statutory rape.
  6. ^ a b c d e Martin, Russell (October 9, 2009). Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved. Broadway Books. pp. 261–264. ISBN 978-0-7679-0351-6.
  7. ^ a b "French '1-Man Theater' Slated to Present Variety Act at ASC". Arizona Republic. Phoenix, AZ. February 18, 1961. p. 12. Retrieved 26 October 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ Horton, Robert (2001). Billy Wilder: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. xxix. ISBN 9781578064441.
  9. ^ a b c "Marcel Hillaire, French Actor, At College Today". The Terre Haute Star. Terre Haute, IN. August 6, 1958. p. 14. Retrieved 26 October 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ a b c d e "'Smile of France' Scheduled by CBC". Tri-City Herald. Pasco, Washington. April 14, 1960. p. 2. Retrieved 26 October 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ a b c "Marcel Hillaire's "Smile of France" to Appear at ISTC". The Indiana Gazette. Indiana, Pennsylvania. October 19, 1959. p. 11. Retrieved 26 October 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ a b c "French Actor to Present Series Program Monday". The Lumberjack. Northern Arizona University, Associated Students. February 16, 1961. p. 1. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  13. ^ "The smile of France [sound recording] : reading in French and English in the Coolidge Auditorium, Feb. 10, 1958". ArchiveGrid. Library of Congress: Online Computer Library Center, Inc. 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  14. ^ The smile of France : reading in French and English in the Coolidge Auditorium, Feb. 10, 1958. Library of Congress. 1958. OCLC 29912902. Retrieved 29 October 2014 – via OCLC World Cat.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links[edit]