born May 17, 1904, Paris, France died Nov. 15, 1976, Paris
![Jean Gabin (left) and Simone Simon in a scene from the film La Bête …[Credits : Hulton Archive/Getty Images]](http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/19/115019-003-19D32467.gif)
one of the most popular film actors in France from the 1930s to the ’60s.
Gabin was the son of a music-hall comedian (stage name Jean Gabin). In 1923 he began a theatrical career in the Folies-Bergère but left the stage after his film debut in Chacun sa chance (1931). He achieved fame in Maria Chapdelaine (1934) and later in Pépé le Moko (1937), directed by Julien Duvivier. One of his most memorable roles was in director Jean Renoir’s Grande Illusion (1937; Grand Illusion), a classic antiwar film. In Quai des brumes (1938; U.S. title, Port of Shadows) and Le Jour se lève (1939; Daybreak), both directed by Marcel Carné, Gabin was cast as a tough-willed son of misfortune surviving in a marginal world of social outcasts. In his later films, he often portrayed detective or gangland figures—e.g., Inspector Maigret and competent professional criminals in Touchez pas au Grisbi (1953), Speaking of Murder (1959), Money, Money, Money (1962), and The Upper Hand (1967).
Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.
If you think a reference to this article on "Jean Gabin" will enhance your Web site,
blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article,
and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.
You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.