André Valmy

André Dugenet was born in Paris to a police inspector and a building concierge.

Passionate about history, young André initially dreamed of becoming a teacher, then went on to study for two years at the École des Arts Décoratifs. One day, a friend invited him to an acting class, and the subject piqued his interest. But the Second World War broke out, and in 1940, André was drafted into the Chantiers de jeunesse, a youth labor service that replaced military conscription. He was released from duty around six months later, in 1941.

To earn a living, he got hired as an extra at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, where he made his debut in Les Deux Orphelines and Le Crime du Bouif. It was there that he met actress Lorette Galland, who encouraged him to apply to the Conservatoire. He studied alongside future stars Michel Bouquet, Jean Piat, and Dany Robin. He married Lorette in 1942.

He had a small part at the beginning of the film Mademoiselle Béatrice (1943), and was soon approached by Pierre Valde to play Almaviva in a televised version of The Barber of Seville—a rarity at a time when television was a luxury very few could afford, especially during the Occupation.

In 1944, he appeared in Antigone at the Théâtre Charles de Rochefort. The following year, his daughter Jane was born—she would inherit his love of history.

André Valmy performed regularly on stage and in film, at first in leading roles, later more often in supporting parts.

In 1953, François Chatel adapted Le Courrier de Lyon for television, marking Valmy’s true television debut. After that, he averaged around thirty shoots a year. Around the same time, he also began working in dubbing, a field in which he truly excelled thanks to his deep voice and talent.

For Walt Disney, he notably dubbed:
– Robert J. Wilkes in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
– Jeff York in The Great Locomotive Chase
– James Donald in Third Man on the Mountain
– Richard Deacon in That Darn Cat!
– J. Pat O’Malley as the Walrus in the 1974 redub of Alice in Wonderland
– Archibald McLeach in The Rescuers Down Under
– Kekata in Pocahontas
– and, of course, the Huntsman in the second French dub of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs—a brief but haunting performance that scared generations of children.

To learn more, read Rémi Carémel’s tribute on the website Dans l’ombre des studios [In French]:

André Valmy passed away on November 18, 2015, in Nice.