Raymond Rognoni

A round happy voice

Born into modest circumstances, Raymond Rognoni completed his military service during the First World War and married in 1921. He entered the Conservatoire in 1922 and soon joined the Comédie-Française, where he remained a company member until 1929. After that, he continued to work regularly on stage, took on small roles in films, and built an extensive career in voice dubbing.

In 1924, he founded the École des Enfants du Spectacle (School for Young Performers). One of his students paid tribute to him in his autobiography: “My benefactor, the actor from the Comédie-Française, Raymond Rognoni. […] Director of the École du Spectacle at 24 rue du Cardinal-Lemoine in Paris, he opened the doors of his ark to young singers, dancers, musicians, and aspiring actors. Nothing seemed to compare to this school, so different from all the others.” The author of those lines was famous French singer Charles Aznavour, who was welcomed into Rognoni’s household along with his wife and two sons, Louis and Jean.

Aznavour recalls that during the Occupation, the school moved to rue Eugène-Flachat and became known as the Centre du Spectacle. Later, actor Michel Serrault recalls it relocating again to rue Blanche, with Pierre Sabbagh eventually taking over as director.

On May 20, 1942, Rognoni submitted a proposal to the French Ministry of Fine Arts to reorganize the Comédie-Française. His idea was to strengthen ties between the Conservatoire, which would serve as a talent pool for the Odéon theater, which in turn would feed into the Comédie-Française. At the time, the best actors often left for film or boulevard theater after a year or two, forcing the Comédie-Française to recruit from outside companies—often actors without formal classical training. While his proposal was not accepted at the time, some of his ideas were incorporated into a new structure implemented in 1946.

At the end of 1944, Rognoni was replaced by Jean Meyer as head of the school, according to Serrault. The school’s archives were later looted in 1968. His dismissal was due to his sympathies for the occupying forces during the war. Rognoni had supported Nazi-backed productions, including voicing the Duke of Württemberg in the French-dubbed version of the propaganda film Jud Süß, alongside Richard Francoeur, who dubbed the title role.

Following the war, Rognoni spent three years in South America before returning to Paris in 1948. He resumed his career, especially in dubbing, where he was often cast as the voice of portly characters—matching his own build. For Disney, he voiced Peter Lorre in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, King Hubert in Sleeping Beauty, Donald Crisp in Pollyanna, Tommy Tweed in The Incredible Journey and most notably, Happy the dwarf in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the 1962 dubbing.

Raymond Rognoni worked until his death on September 26, 1965, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris.