Claude Cerval

Claude Cerval — Biography

Born André Marcel Gabriel Leloup, Claude Cerval came into the world on 21 February 1921 in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. After finishing his secondary studies he took drama lessons from teachers including Louis Jouvet, then began his career performing in cabarets and on stage, appearing at the Odéon before joining the Théâtre National Populaire. He entered cinema in 1956 with Bob le Flambeur, followed by French classics such as Le Beau Serge, Kuzenler, Classe Tous Risques and Germinal. Active in more than forty films between 1955 and 1971, he also worked in television and is particularly remembered for playing the detestable Count of Nansac in the ORTF series Jacquou le Croquant. In the later part of his career he appeared in Any Number Can Win, Crime on a Summer Morning, The Woman is a Stranger and Samanyolu, closing out his filmography with the 1971 films Angel's Leap and To Die of Love. Cerval died of heart failure in Paris on 25 July 1972, at the age of 51.