Amélie Diéterle
French postcard by S.I.P., no. 1323. Photo: Reutlinger.
Amélie Diéterle (1871-1941) was one the most beloved actresses and singers of the Belle Epoque, who inspired poets and painters such as Mallarmé and Rodin. Between 1909 and 1913 she acted in some 25 short films at Pathé Frères, mostly Rigadin comedies directed by Georges Monca.
Amélie Diéterle was born in Strasbourg as the first child of the maid Dorothée Catherine Dieterle and French officer Louis Alexis Laurent. Her father stayed in a garrison near Munich in 1870 and Strasbourg in 1871, and it was not until 1892 that he recognised her as his child when he officially married his wife, but Amélie kept her mother's name as stage name. The family moved to Dijon, where in 1885 Diéterle entered the local conservatoire. In 1888 tragedy struck, when her brother Ernest drowned in one of the sand pits on the outskirts of town. In 1890, the family moved to Paris, where Amélie received the first prize for singing and solfège at the Dijon Conservatoire. In 1891, she joined the Théatre des Variétés, where she stayed until 1925. In 1898 she went on tour to Moscow and to St Petersburg, where she sang Breton, Provençal and Dutch songs. During her trip, she also visited Brussels and Berlin. Her patron was the theatre owner Paul Gallimard, later she became his mistress too. He left his wife and children, among whom the famous future editor Gaston, and installed Amélie in an apartment at the chic Boulevard des Malesherbes.
In 1901, Diéterle bought land in Croissy-sur-Seine, on which, in keeping with the fashion of the time, she built a beautiful villa with the look of an English cottage, named Villa Omphale, after one of her great roles, Omphale in Les Travaux d'Hercule by de Flers & Cavaillet, performed at the Bouffes-Parisiens. The success of this play and subsequent spectacles earned her laurels too and she became Officier d'académie. Specialised in song and dance, In 1904, Diéterle went to Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil for a successful four-month Latin-American tour.
Diéterle became the toast of the town in Paris, performing in high society, and also became the muse of painters such as Renoir, Vallotton, Toulouse-Lautrec and Roll. She herself had a massive art collection of Realist and Impressionist paintings. She was also one the most photographed artists, recorded by Paul Nadar, Paul Boyer, Leopold Reutlinger, Henri Manuel, and others, resulting in countless postcards with her portrait, often showcasing her taste in elegant costumes too. In 1908 she was again awarded, now as Officier de l'instruction publique, which, though raised critique on Diéterle, Gallimard and the awarding minster Doumergue. Another public success Diéterle had in Le Roi by De Flers & Caillavet, which was performed 530 times in a period of two years (1908-9).
In 1909, Diéterle, who was passionate about cinema, started an additional career in film, acting in many comedies most often in the Rigadin comedies with Charles Prince, produced by Pathé Frères and directed by Georges Monca, such as Rigadin cambrioleur (1911) and Le ménage de Rigadin (1912). Rarely, she also acted in dramas, such as Le Luthier de Cremône (1909) by Albert Capellani, also with Jean Dax, about a hunchback, a highly talented violin player who sacrifices himself for the well-being of the woman (Diéterle) he secretly loves but who loves another man. This may well have been her film debut. Another drama was Le mort vivant (1911) by Michel Carré, also with Paul Numa. In addition to the Rigadin comedies, Diéterle also played e.g. Mimi Pinson in the Alfred de Musset adaptation Miss Pinson (1910) by Monca. All in all, Diéterle acted in 25 shorts between 1909 and 1913.
Meeting aviation pioneers Robert Martinet et Georges Legagneux in 1911, Diéterle made her first trip on a plane, accompanied by Gallimard and actors and actresses of the Théatre des Variétés. This was at a time when flying was a dangerous hazard and indeed Legagneux would crash during a flight show in 1914 while Martinet died with his plane during the First World War in 1917. During the First World War, Diéterle worked as a nurse. In 1917 she retook her work at the Théatre des Variétés. In the same year, she also performed in Spain, at the Teatro Reina Victoria in Madrid.
In 1919 Diéterle was involved in an affair around fake Rodin statues, made by his former assistants soon after his death. Although not proven guilty, Gallimard and Diéterle were accused of involvement. Moreover, the press spelt Gallimard and Diéterle's extramarital affair, so she separated from Gallimard and gradually retreated from the stage. In 1927, after the couple who guarded her villa had bestolen her in her absence, she had a new property built on the Route Nationale at Golf-Juan in the municipality of Vallauris in the Alpes-Maritimes department. The villa, in Greek style, was named "Omphale", just like her previous villa. In 1930, at Vallauris, Diéterle married André Louis Simon, financier and founder of the Monoprix in Nice. In 1933 she sold a large part of the art collection. During the Second World War, Amélie Diéterle retreated to an apartment in Cannes, where she died on 20 January 1941, at the age of 70, after a long illness.
Sources: French and Dutch Wikipedia, IMDb.
Amélie Diéterle
French postcard by S.I.P., no. 1323. Photo: Reutlinger.
Amélie Diéterle (1871-1941) was one the most beloved actresses and singers of the Belle Epoque, who inspired poets and painters such as Mallarmé and Rodin. Between 1909 and 1913 she acted in some 25 short films at Pathé Frères, mostly Rigadin comedies directed by Georges Monca.
Amélie Diéterle was born in Strasbourg as the first child of the maid Dorothée Catherine Dieterle and French officer Louis Alexis Laurent. Her father stayed in a garrison near Munich in 1870 and Strasbourg in 1871, and it was not until 1892 that he recognised her as his child when he officially married his wife, but Amélie kept her mother's name as stage name. The family moved to Dijon, where in 1885 Diéterle entered the local conservatoire. In 1888 tragedy struck, when her brother Ernest drowned in one of the sand pits on the outskirts of town. In 1890, the family moved to Paris, where Amélie received the first prize for singing and solfège at the Dijon Conservatoire. In 1891, she joined the Théatre des Variétés, where she stayed until 1925. In 1898 she went on tour to Moscow and to St Petersburg, where she sang Breton, Provençal and Dutch songs. During her trip, she also visited Brussels and Berlin. Her patron was the theatre owner Paul Gallimard, later she became his mistress too. He left his wife and children, among whom the famous future editor Gaston, and installed Amélie in an apartment at the chic Boulevard des Malesherbes.
In 1901, Diéterle bought land in Croissy-sur-Seine, on which, in keeping with the fashion of the time, she built a beautiful villa with the look of an English cottage, named Villa Omphale, after one of her great roles, Omphale in Les Travaux d'Hercule by de Flers & Cavaillet, performed at the Bouffes-Parisiens. The success of this play and subsequent spectacles earned her laurels too and she became Officier d'académie. Specialised in song and dance, In 1904, Diéterle went to Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil for a successful four-month Latin-American tour.
Diéterle became the toast of the town in Paris, performing in high society, and also became the muse of painters such as Renoir, Vallotton, Toulouse-Lautrec and Roll. She herself had a massive art collection of Realist and Impressionist paintings. She was also one the most photographed artists, recorded by Paul Nadar, Paul Boyer, Leopold Reutlinger, Henri Manuel, and others, resulting in countless postcards with her portrait, often showcasing her taste in elegant costumes too. In 1908 she was again awarded, now as Officier de l'instruction publique, which, though raised critique on Diéterle, Gallimard and the awarding minster Doumergue. Another public success Diéterle had in Le Roi by De Flers & Caillavet, which was performed 530 times in a period of two years (1908-9).
In 1909, Diéterle, who was passionate about cinema, started an additional career in film, acting in many comedies most often in the Rigadin comedies with Charles Prince, produced by Pathé Frères and directed by Georges Monca, such as Rigadin cambrioleur (1911) and Le ménage de Rigadin (1912). Rarely, she also acted in dramas, such as Le Luthier de Cremône (1909) by Albert Capellani, also with Jean Dax, about a hunchback, a highly talented violin player who sacrifices himself for the well-being of the woman (Diéterle) he secretly loves but who loves another man. This may well have been her film debut. Another drama was Le mort vivant (1911) by Michel Carré, also with Paul Numa. In addition to the Rigadin comedies, Diéterle also played e.g. Mimi Pinson in the Alfred de Musset adaptation Miss Pinson (1910) by Monca. All in all, Diéterle acted in 25 shorts between 1909 and 1913.
Meeting aviation pioneers Robert Martinet et Georges Legagneux in 1911, Diéterle made her first trip on a plane, accompanied by Gallimard and actors and actresses of the Théatre des Variétés. This was at a time when flying was a dangerous hazard and indeed Legagneux would crash during a flight show in 1914 while Martinet died with his plane during the First World War in 1917. During the First World War, Diéterle worked as a nurse. In 1917 she retook her work at the Théatre des Variétés. In the same year, she also performed in Spain, at the Teatro Reina Victoria in Madrid.
In 1919 Diéterle was involved in an affair around fake Rodin statues, made by his former assistants soon after his death. Although not proven guilty, Gallimard and Diéterle were accused of involvement. Moreover, the press spelt Gallimard and Diéterle's extramarital affair, so she separated from Gallimard and gradually retreated from the stage. In 1927, after the couple who guarded her villa had bestolen her in her absence, she had a new property built on the Route Nationale at Golf-Juan in the municipality of Vallauris in the Alpes-Maritimes department. The villa, in Greek style, was named "Omphale", just like her previous villa. In 1930, at Vallauris, Diéterle married André Louis Simon, financier and founder of the Monoprix in Nice. In 1933 she sold a large part of the art collection. During the Second World War, Amélie Diéterle retreated to an apartment in Cannes, where she died on 20 January 1941, at the age of 70, after a long illness.
Sources: French and Dutch Wikipedia, IMDb.