Jules Dassin (real name Julius Moses Dassin) is an American and French director, screenwriter, producer, theater and film actor, classic of the noir genre. Winner of awards at the Cannes Film Festival, Oscar nominee and British Academy Award. Father of French pop star Joe Dassin.
Jules's creative biography began on the theater stage. He became a member of the Jewish workers' theater association ARTEF (Arbeter Teater Farband), headed by Benno Schneider. The troupe performed mainly in New York, and all performances were in Yiddish. After the collapse of the collective in 1940, Dassin began working as a director and staged his first production on Broadway.
During his cinematic career, Jules directed 25 films, wrote scripts for 11 films and became a producer of 7 projects. He also starred in 5 films, took part in Oscars and appeared on the screen in popular entertainment programs, documentaries.
Biography facts
Julius Moses was born in the United States in the winter of 1911 in a large Jewish family. His parents emigrated to America from Russia. My father was from Odessa, where he worked as a barber, and my mother was a housewife.
Jules spent his childhood in Harlem. He received his primary education in 1929 at Morris High School. After that, the young man went to Europe, where he studied acting.
Returning to New York in 1934, he joined the ARTEF theater troupe and performed on stage for several years. He played character roles mainly in the plays of Sholem Aleichem.
After the collapse of the troupe, Dassin decided to take up directing, believing that he was not a very good actor. During his years at the theater, he joined the Communist Party, but left in 1939.
Cinematic career
In 1940, Jules went to Los Angeles to start working in Hollywood. He studied with the famous directors A. Hitchcock and G. Kanin. Soon Dassin signed a contract with MGM studio (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). And in 1941 his first film, based on the stories of Edgar Poe, was released.
Then the director made 3 more films for Hollywood, but in 1950 he was accused of belonging in the past to the Communist Party, and some famous directors testified against him in the HCUA (Commission on Un-American Activities). As a result, the director was blacklisted and his career in Hollywood came to an end.
Jules decided to leave America and went to France to continue his creative work. The first years in Paris were very difficult for him. He practically did not speak French and had no connections.
It was only in 1955 that he managed to shoot his first film in France called "Men's Showdown". The film was dismantled at the Cannes Film Festival and earned him the Best Director award.
In the late 1950s, when the witch-hunt in America began to decline, Dassin managed to return to the United States. He was able to work in Hollywood again. And in 1960 he presented his new film "Never on Sunday". The film was nominated 5 times for an Oscar, twice for an award from the British Academy, Golden Globe and Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Leading actress Melina Mercury won the main prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Actress category.
In the further career of Dassin there were such famous films as: "Phaedra", "Summer, half past ten", "Topkapi", "Late Love".
The director has been a member of the jury at the Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals on several occasions.
Personal life
Jules was married twice. The first wife was the violinist Beatrice Lohner. The couple had three children. Son Joseph Ira, better known as Joe Dassin, became a French pop star, whose songs are still loved by millions of listeners all over the world. The second son, Richel, became the author of poems for many songs by Demis Roussos, Vangelis and Joe Dassin. Julie's daughter chose the profession of an actress. She starred in many films of her father and other famous directors.
The second darling of Dassin was the Greek actress and ardent anti-fascist Melina Mercury. They got married in 1966 and lived in the United States for several years. In 1974, they went to Greece, where Melina became a member of the Greek Parliament and Minister of Culture.
Jules Dassin passed away in 2008 at Hygeia Hospital in Athens. The death was caused by complications from the flu. At that time he was 96 years old.
