Léonce Corne

Grumpy with a past

Léonce Corne (1894–1977) was a French character actor known for his extensive career in cinema, particularly in supporting roles. He appeared in over 150 films between the 1930s and 1970s, often portraying stern, bureaucratic, or cantankerous figures. His talent for embodying gruff yet endearing characters made him a recurring actor in French cinema, although almost always in very short roles.

However, he participated in many nazi projects during World War 2. Even in the collaborationist film Occult Forces, Léonce only gets the small role of “Brother Second Assessor”, seen during the protagonist’s induction ceremony into Freemasonry. A final, furtive shot later reveals that he is also the Sub-Governor. Nevertheless, his participation, however modest, in this crudely-crafted propaganda film denouncing the alleged stranglehold of the secret society and the Jews on the world weighed heavily in the balance for the the entertainment purification commission, which could not ignore his role as producer Bleustein in Corrupters, alongside Raymond Rognoni, let alone one of the leading roles in six sketches by Pierre Ramelot: Monsieur Girouette and the Hundred Years’ War. The sentence was light, however: after an initial suspension in the early months of 1945, he received a further two-month suspension from January 15, 1946.

Long after that, one of his most notable contributions was his work in the second French dubbing of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, made in 1962, where he provided the voice of Grumpy (Grincheux). His performance captured the character’s grumbling yet ultimately warm-hearted nature, making him a standout among the dwarfs. Corne’s deep, slightly gruff voice perfectly suited Grumpy’s irritable demeanor, yet he also conveyed the dwarf’s hidden tenderness, particularly in his good-bye to Snow White.

He was also Groucho Marx’s French voice in several films.