René Dary

Actor · born 18 July 1905 · Paris, France

René Dary (19 July 1905 – 6 October 1974) was a French film actor. Dary began his career as a child actor.

Young Clément Mary, as was his original name, was born 18 July 1905 in Paris 6th arrondissement. He got his chance in the Spring of 1910 when he was only five. His father Abélard Mary had put in his head to go and promote himself and his two young kids as extras at the Gaumont studio. Mary, who had been an actor, had become a rundown clown in bars because of his gambling and kept things going with some furniture trade. He had set his hopes for his kids, and gambled well this time, as they were all hired for a peplum, Les Derniers Jours de Babylone. Young Clément's native playfulness, his histrionic acting making him older than he was, his borrowed street talk, and his ease on the set to charm everyone, from actors to technicians, soon began to attract the attention of producer-director Louis Feuillade. Feuillade tested him and designed a whole series around him, the Bébé series. All in all Mary would play in 74 Bébé comedies between 1910 and 1912, according to Braquet (76 between December 1910 and February 1913, according to Lacassin, while IMDb lists 73 titles), such as Bébé apache, Napoléon, Bébé et les cosaques, Bébé en Maroc etc. Feuillade permitted little Mary to do anything forbidden at home. Often his character would be a spoiled brat, have impossible tantrums and pester all adults around him, but he could also help children and old people in distress, showing his good heart after all. Often his mother would be played by Renée Carl, a leading Gaumont actress in her own. And often the child was placed in adult situations, as millionaire, marriage candidate or underworld 'apache'. For over two years Bébé was the best known child actor worldwide.

Where to start: Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1954).