About Maurice Marsac
Maurice Marsac, 92, French actor (King of Kings, The Jerk, Robert Kennedy and His Times), cardiac arrest.
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60 Seconds Life Story
French actor Maurice Marsac built an extraordinary life spanning over 150 American film and television roles.
Maurice Marsac
d. 2007
60 Seconds: Maurice Marsac's Life Story
A documentary look at the life and career of French-American actor and croquet enthusiast Maurice Marsac.
Transcript
French actor Maurice Marsac built an extraordinary life spanning over 150 American film and television roles. Born in 1915, his journey took him from a clerk at the French embassy to a captain in the French Army Reserves. Following the war, he settled permanently in Southern California to pursue a dedicated acting career. Audiences frequently saw him in character roles, notably as comic waiters and maitre d's in films like The Jerk. Beyond the screen, he found success as a nationally ranked croquet player at the Beverly Croquet Club. Alongside his wife Melanie, he remained a passionate competitor for decades. In 2007, Maurice Marsac passed away from cardiac arrest at age 92. He leaves behind a legacy of versatile performances and sporting dedication.
Play the illustrated life story above, or read the full biography on this page.
Visual credits: eBay (Public domain) · Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) · U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (Public domain) · Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) · From geograph.org.uk (CC BY-SA 2.0) · eBay (Public domain)
An illustrated presentation assembled inside the archive from the approved script and the credited images: narration, scene transitions and captions. Caption timing is estimated from the narration.
Narrated illustration. Images are sourced and credited; they are not presented as authenticated photographs.
Full Biography
|Maurice Marsac (born Maurice Louis Clement Ferrat; 23 March 1915 – 6 May 2007) was a French actor who had a long career in the United States, with over 150 appearances in American films and television. He was also a nationally ranked croquet player.
Early life
Marsac was born in La Croix-Valmer, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in 1915. He was a captain in the French Army Reserves and later worked as a clerk at the French embassy in Great Britain, until the outbreak of World War II led him to move to the United States. He made a string of minor acting appearances, then returned to France during the liberation with the Free French Forces. After the war, he permanently settled in Southern California, initially working as a sales representative for a French winemaking firm.
Career
Marsac appeared in over 150 films and television series between 1943 and 1987, typically in small character roles as comic waiters and maitre d's. He played one in the films The Razor's Edge (1946, uncredited), Herbie Rides Again (1974) and The Jerk (1979), as well as episodes of I Love Lucy ("Ricky Asks for a Raise", 1952; "Paris at Last", 1956), Hazel (1966), Columbo ("Publish or Perish", 1975), Wonder Woman ("Death in Disguise", 1978), Soap (1979), The Fall Guy ("The Lady In Green", 1986), and L.A. Law ("The Douglas Fur Ball", 1987), among others. He also played Nicodemus in the 1961 biblical epic King of Kings. In the early 1960s, he also starred in an Italian (Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory, 1961) and Spanish film (Perro golfo [es], 1963).
Croquet
He was a member of the Beverly Croquet Club and a resident pro in Newport Beach. In 1986, he was among the top 25 American players in the "informal rankings". He played in the 1994 US Croquet Open, a qualifier for the 1995 World Championships.
Personal life
Melanie, his wife of 55 years, a Mexican national, was also a skilled croquet player. She was born on 12 May 1916 and died on 16 April 2007, aged 90.[citation needed]
Death
Marsac died of cardiac arrest on 6 May 2007, aged 92, less than three weeks after the passing of his wife.
Partial filmography
- Paris After Dark (1943) - French soldier (uncredited)
- This Is the Life (1944) - Leon
- Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944) - Headwaiter (uncredited)
- To Have and Have Not (1944) - Gaullist (uncredited)
- Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945) - Footman (uncredited)
- The Searching Wind (1946) - French reporter (uncredited)
- The Razor's Edge (1946) - Maitre d'hotel (uncredited)
- The Foxes of Harrow (1947) - Minor role (uncredited)
- The Crime Doctor's Gamble (1947) - Anton Geroux
- The Woman from Tangier (1948) - Martine
- Rogues' Regiment (1948) - Lieutenant (uncredited)
- Take One False Step (1949) - Louis (uncredited)
- The Secret of St. Ives (1949) - Portuguese Joe (uncredited)
- Once More, My Darling (1949) - Henri (uncredited)
- Tyrant of the Sea (1950) - Phillipe Daumer
- The Iroquois Trail (1950) - Garon - French adjutant (uncredited)
- Last of the Buccaneers (1950) - Pirate captain (uncredited)
- Three Husbands (1950) - Frenchman in movie (uncredited)
- L'inconnue de Montréal (1950)
- Lydia Bailey (1952) - Sentry (uncredited)
- Captain Pirate (1952) - Captain Coulevain (uncredited)
- One Minute to Zero (1952) - M.F. Villon (uncredited)
- Assignment – Paris! (1952) - Gendarme (uncredited)
- The Golden Hawk (1952) - Captain at briefing (uncredited)
- The Happy Time (1952) - The Great Gaspari
- Against All Flags (1952) - Captain Moisson
- April in Paris (1952) - M. Dionne (uncredited)
- Tonight We Sing (1953) - Assistant stage manager (uncredited)
- The Desert Song (1953) - Sentry (uncredited)
- The Caddy (1953) - Mr. Gaston Leron
- How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) - Mr. Antoine (uncredited)
- Rhapsody (1954) - French servant (uncredited)
- The Black Shield of Falworth (1954) - Count de Vermois
- Athena (1954) - French butler (uncredited)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) - Hotel clerk (season 1 episode "Into Thin Air", aka "The Vanishing Lady")
- Jump into Hell (1955) - Captain LeRoy
- Ride the High Iron (1956) - Maurice
- Four Girls in Town (1957) - Henri Dauray
- China Gate (1957) - Colonel De Sars
- Band of Angels (1957) - Auction participant (uncredited)
- The Helen Morgan Story (1957) - Dubois (uncredited)
- Les Girls (1957) - French house manager (uncredited)
- Lafayette Escadrille (1958) - Sergeant Parris
- Gigi (1958) - Prince Berensky (uncredited)
- Twilight for the Gods (1958) - Shipping clerk
- Me and the Colonel (1958) - French lieutenant
- It Started with a Kiss (1959) - Don Pablo (uncredited)
- The Black Chapel (1959) - Britischer Botschafter
- Scent of Mystery (1960) - Pepi
- Can-Can (1960) - Bailiff (uncredited)
- Armored Command (1961) - Jean Robert
- King of Kings (1961) - Nicodemus
- Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory (1961) - Sir Alfred Whiteman
- Perro golfo (1963) - Cristino
- Come Fly with Me (1963) - Monsieur Rinard
- Captain Sindbad (1963) - Ahmed
- Take Her, She's Mine (1963) - M. Bonnet
- Natika (1963)
- Wild and Wonderful (1964) - Announcer
- What a Way to Go! (1964) - Rene
- The Pleasure Seekers (1964) - Jose
- The Beverly Hillbillies (1964) - Maurice (season 2 episodes "The Dress Shop"; "The House of Granny"; "The Continental Touch")
- The Art of Love (1965) - Prosecutor
- Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965) - Gregory
- Hogan's Heroes (1965 -1967) - Le Professeur Dubois (season 1 episode "The Scientist"); Jacques Mornay (season 3 episode "An Evening of General")
- Gambit (1966) - Hotel clerk
- Monkeys, Go Home! (1967) - Fontanino
- Double Trouble (1967) - Frenchman
- Caprice (1967) - Auber
- How Do I Love Thee? (1970) - The Bishop
- The Poseidon Adventure (1972) - French naval officer (uncredited)
- Herbie Rides Again (1974) - French Waiter
- Cannon (1974) - Maitre'd (season 4 episode "The Sound of Silence")
- Barnaby Jones (1974–77) - Armand La Valle (season 3 episode "Time to Kill") and Michel (season 6 episode "The Damocles Gun")
- The Rockford Files (1977) - Chief Inspector Giono (season 4 episode "Irving the Explainer")
- The New Avengers (1977) - LeParge (season 2 episode "The Lion and the Unicorn") and General Gaspard (season 2 episodes "K Is For Kill: The Tiger Awakes" and "K Is For Kill: Tiger By the Tail")
- Missile X: The Neutron Bomb Incident (1979) - Russian general
- The Jerk (1979) - French waiter
- The Big Red One (1980) - Vichy colonel
- Hart to Hart (1981-1982, TV series) - Andre / Inspector Novier / Bechet
- Deal of the Century (1983) - Frenchman
- The Fall Guy (1986) - (season 5 episode "The Lady in Green")
- Dragnet (1987) - Maitre d' (final film role)
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Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Marsac
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
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- Sep 26, 2026
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