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This stunning, fragile starlet was born Henriette Michèle Leone Girardon in Lyon in August 1938. Having completed her acting studies at the local conservatoire she won a competition as "the most photogenic girl in France" by the age of twenty. Photo shoots followed and a minor career as a model with appearances on the cover of prestige magazines "Vogue" and ""Marie-Claire". She began on screen with prominent supporting roles as a deaf mute in Luis Buñuel's Death in the Garden (1956) and as a secretary in Louis Malle's The Lovers (1958). Her first starring role came courtesy of Éric Rohmer who cast her in the lead of Sign of the Lion (1962) -- one of the first films of the French Nouvelle Vague movement, shot on location in Paris. Though not a commercial success at the time, the acting received general praise throughout and Michèle attracted attention from Hollywood. Paramount approached her with an offer to appear as the owner of a Tanzanian game farm opposite John Wayne in the African adventure Hatari! (1962). According to a Life magazine profile of July 1961 Michèle 'taught herself English' on the set. Her role did not lead to a Hollywood contract. Nevertheless, for a while she remained in demand for European productions, the pick of the bunch being leads in the Spanish-made swashbuckler The Adventures of Scaramouche (1963) and the Italian comedy The Magnificent Cuckold (1964). Less high profile, but decidedly decorative, was her supporting role in the Franco-Italian "Alfie'-lookalike comedy Tender Scoundrel (1966).

By the early 70's, film offers had dried up and Michèle's career was seriously on the skids. She became increasingly despondent, especially after the end of an unhappy dalliance with a married Spanish aristocrat, José Luis de Vilallonga (a writer and occasional actor with a well-earned reputation as a cad and spendthrift). Michèle Girardon decided to end her life by ingesting an overdose of sleeping pills in her home town on March 25, 1975, aged just 36. In a tragic irony, two co-stars in Michèle's penultimate film Good Little Girls (1971), Marie-Georges Pascal and Bella Darvi, also committed suicide at the ages of 39 and 42, respectively.

Al St. John was born on 10 September 1893 in Santa Ana, California, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Prairie Badmen (1946), Billy the Kid Trapped (1942) and A Face in the Fog (1936). He was married to Yvonne June Villon Price Pearce (actress), Lillian Marion Ball and Flo-Bell Moore. He died on 21 January 1963 in Lyons, Georgia, USA.

Jean Bouise was born on 3 June 1929 in Le Havre, Seine-Inférieure [now Seine-Maritime], France. He was an actor, known for The Big Blue (1988), La Femme Nikita (1990) and Z (1969). He was married to Isabelle Sadoyan. He died on 6 July 1989 in Lyon, Rhône, France.

Auguste Lumière was a French engineer, industrialist, biologist, and illusionist, born in Besançon, France. He attended the Martinière Technical School and worked as a manager at the photographic company of his father, Antoine Lumière. Although it is his brother Louis Lumière who is generally acclaimed as the "father of the cinema", Auguste also made a major contribution towards the development of the medium, first by helping with the invention and construction of the cinematographe (the world's first camera and projection mechanism), and second by appearing as a subject in many of the films shot by Louis. Along with his brother, he is also credited with giving the world's first public film screening on December 28, 1895. However, according to Louis, Auguste lost interest in the cinematographe as soon as construction had been completed, and thereafter showed no further interest in the film medium. After his work on the cinematograph he began focusing on the biomedical field, becoming a pioneer in the use of X-rays to examine fractures. He also contributed to innovations in military aircraft, producing a catalytic heater to allow cold-weather engine starts.

Klaus Barbie was born on 25 October 1913 in Bad Godesberg [now Bonn], Germany. He died on 25 September 1991 in Lyon, Rhône, France.

Steve Condos was born on 12 October 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Song of the Open Road (1944), The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946) and Moon Over Miami (1941). He died on 16 September 1990 in Lyon, France.

Marie-Françoise Audollent was born on 22 May 1943 in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France. She was an actress, known for The Da Vinci Code (2006), Molière (1978) and My Woman Is Leaving Me (1996). She died on 30 March 2008 in Lyon, France.

Gerry Raffles was born in 1924. He was an actor, known for Monitor (1958). He died on 11 April 1975 in Lyon, France.

Mrs. Auguste Lumiere was born on 13 September 1874 in Lyon, France. She was married to Auguste Lumière. She died on 25 June 1963 in Lyon, France.

Philippe Marlaud was born on 20 June 1959 in Paris, France. He was an actor, known for Graduate First (1978), The Aviator's Wife (1981) and La maison des autres (1977). He died on 18 August 1981 in Lyon, France.

Madeleine Koehler was born on 1 June 1895 in Lyon, France. She died on 11 October 1970 in Lyon, France.

Abel Tarride was born on 18 April 1865 in Niort, Deux-Sèvres, France. He was an actor and writer, known for Le chien jaune (1932), Jérôme Perreau héros des barricades (1935) and Pour vivre heureux (1932). He died on 3 February 1951 in Lyon, Rhône, France.

Andrée Lumière was born on 22 June 1894 in Lyon, France. She died on 26 November 1918 in Lyon, France.

Nadine Basile was born on 1 April 1931 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France. She was an actress, known for Mademoiselle from Paris (1955), Ce soir les jupons volent... (1956) and The Sinners (1949). She was married to Daniel Dupechez alias Dadzu and Jean Martinelli. She died on 29 June 2017 in Lyon, Rhône, France.

Marcel Journet was born on 8 August 1895 in Lyon, Rhône, France. He was an actor, known for Elevator to the Gallows (1958), Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) and Triple Cross (1966). He died on 5 February 1973 in Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France.

Florence Malone was born on 8 October 1891 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Yellow Menace (1916), The Strongest (1920) and The Suburban (1915). She died on 4 March 1956 in Lyons, New York, USA.

Véronique Nordey was born on 15 June 1939 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for Farewell, My Queen (2012), The Big Scare (1964) and L'espion aux cent visages (1961). She was married to Jean-Pierre Mocky. She died on 29 November 2017 in Lyon, France.

Sylvain Itkine was born on 8 December 1908 in Paris, France. He was an actor and assistant director, known for The Grand Illusion (1937), The Story of the Fox (1937) and Un déjeuner de soleil (1937). He died on 1 August 1944 in Lyon, France.

Albert Husson was born on 3 August 1912 in Lyon, Rhône, France. He was a writer and actor, known for We're No Angels (1955), Where the Truth Lies (1962) and We're No Angels (1989). He died on 16 December 1978 in Lyon, Rhône, France.

Donald Burr was born on 31 July 1907 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Man Against Crime (1949), For the People (1965) and Annie Get Your Gun (1957). He was married to Billie Worth. He died on 27 February 1979 in Lyons, New Jersey, USA.

Edmond Vidal was born in 1946 in Lyon, Rhône, France. He was a writer, known for Les Lyonnais (2011), Il etait une fois les lyonnais (2011) and Vivement dimanche (1998). He died on 9 September 2024 in Lyon, Rhône, France.

Odette Barencey was born on 20 August 1893 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for Casque d'Or (1952), Ouvert contre X... (1952) and Faubourg Montmartre (1931). She was married to Marcel Barencey. She died on 4 March 1981 in Lyon, Rhône, France.

Edmond Audran was born on 2 December 1917 in Paris, France. He was an actor, known for The Fighting Pimpernel (1949), The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) and La belle que voilà (1950). He was married to Ludmilla Tchérina. He died on 19 July 1951 in Lyon, France.

Jean Valmence was born on 25 April 1927 in Lyon, Rhône, France. He was an actor, known for Au théâtre ce soir (1966), C'est arrivé à 36 chandelles (1957) and Jo (1971). He died on 23 September 1976 in Lyon, Rhône, France.

Fernando Bellet was born in 1916 in Santiago, Chile. He was a cinematographer and assistant director, known for Lunes 1, domingo 7 (1968), Jackal of Nahueltoro (1969) and El ABC del amor (1967). He died in 1975 in Lyon, France.