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Popular British novelist, playwright, short-story writer and the highest-paid author in the world in the 1930s, Somerset Maugham graduated in 1897 from St. Thomas' Medical School and qualified as a doctor, but abandoned medicine after the success of his first novels and plays. During World War I he worked as a secret agent and in 1928 settled in Cap Ferrat in France, from where he made journeys all over the world. Maugham's spy novel "Ashenden; or The British Agent" (1928) is partly based on his own experiences in the secret service. In making the transition from secret agent to writer, Maugham carried on in the tradition of such classic writers as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson and Daniel Defoe to such contemporary writers as Graham Greene, John le Carré, John Dickson Carr, Alec Waugh and Ted Allbeury. Maugham's skill in handling plot is compared by critics to that of Guy de Maupassant. In many of Maugham's novels the surroundings are international and the stories are told in a clear, economical style with a cynical or resigned undertone. Although Maugham was successful as an author he was never knighted and his relationship with Gerald Haxton, his secretary, has been subject to speculation.

Isadora Duncan was an American dancer and innovative educator known for interdisciplinary and cross-cultural projects, and a hectic marriage to the famous Russian poet Sergei Esenin.

She was born Isador 'Dora' Angela Duncan on May 26, 1877, in San Francisco, California. Her father, Joseph Duncan, was a cultured man, a poet and an art connoisseur, who worked for the Bank of California. Her mother, an amateur pianist, after divorcing her father, lived a high-principled Victorian lady's life with four children an very little money. Young Isadora was raised in Oakland, California. She was obsessed with dancing from an early age. Although she was not exposed to rigorous classical ballet practice, she achieved recognition in San-Francisco. There, she started teaching a dance class for children when she was just 14 years old.

She began her professional career in Chicago in 1896, under producer and playwright Augustin Daly. He cast Duncan as Titania in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', and she traveled with his company to Europe. Back in the USA, Duncan performed solo dances at the homes of wealthy patrons. She called her program The Dance and Philosophy and performed it to the waltzes of Johann Strauss. In 1899, she left America with her mother and siblings to settle in London. There she met Mrs. Patrick Campbell, the idol of the London stage, who introduced Duncan to London society.

From 1899-1907, Duncan lived in London, Paris and Berlin. She began using the music of Frédéric Chopin and Ludwig van Beethoven for her dance. In 1903 she moved to Berlin. There Duncan was introduced to the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. She formulated her own philosophy of The Dance of the Future modeled after the ancient Greeks: natural and free. Duncan called for abolition of ballet. She accused ballet of "deforming the beautiful woman's body" and depriving it of human naturalness. "The Dance of the Future will have to become again a high religious art as it was with the Greeks. For art which is not religious is not art, it is mere merchandise" - stated Duncan. Her school of dance in a suburb of Berlin was the start of her famous dance group, later known as the Isadorables.

Duncan made several tours of Russia and met with directors Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko at the Moscow Art Theatre. In St. Petersburg, she also attracted the attention of Anna Pavlova and Tamara Karsavina among other leading ballerinas of the Mariinsky Ballet. Having established good connections with Russian intellectuals, she Returning to the US, her performances were poorly received by critics, who bashed Duncan for her "physical interpretation" of music on stage. She left America in 1909, after less than a year, and never lived there again, returning only for tours.

From 1909 to 1913, Duncan lived in Palais Biron in Paris, where her neighbors were artist Henri Matisse, writer Jean Cocteau, and sculptor Auguste Rodin. Eventually she established three schools in France, Germany, and Russia, and gained tremendous popularity across Europe. Her personal life was marked with as much freedom as was her dancing. Duncan had a child by designer Gordon Craig, and another child by Paris Singer, the heir to the sewing machine fortune. Her both children drowned in an accident on the Seine River in 1913. By that time, she was an acclaimed performer in Europe. She danced to the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven. Her face was carved in the bas-relief by sculptor Antoine Bourdelle in the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, and was painted in the murals by artist Maurice Denis.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Duncan moved to Moscow. There she married the popular poet Sergei Esenin who was 17 years her younger. This was her one and only official marriage. She took Esenin on tour to the US in 1922-1923. At that time her appearances were marked by baring her breasts on stage and shouting, "This is red! So am I!" The following year, Esenin left Duncan and returned to Moscow, where he suffered a mental breakdown and sought psychiatric help. Meanwhile, her apprentice, Irma Duncan, remained in the Soviet Union and ran the Duncan Dancing School there. At that time, Duncan evolved as a follower of Friedrich Nietzsche and remained anti-religious for the rest of her life.

Duncan's ex-husband Esenin was found dead in a hotel in St. Petersburg, on December 28, 1925. His mysterious death was never completely explained. Isadora Duncan died on September 14, 1927, in Nice, France. She was killed by her long neck scarf caught in the wheel of an open automobile in which she was a passenger. She was pulled from the car and dragged before the driver could stop. Duncan was cremated and her ashes were laid in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France.

Her highly popular Russian school was closed in 1939, under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin, and many of her Russian partners were repressed and exiled.

Isadora Duncan was portrayed by Vanessa Redgrave in the 1968 film Isadora (1968).

A prolific director--over 700 films, most of them short- or medium-length--Louis Feuillade began his career with Gaumont where, as well as directing his own features, he was appointed artistic director in charge of production in 1907. His work was largely comprised of film series; his first series, begun in 1910 and numbering 15 episodes, was 'Le Film Esthétique', a financially unsuccessful attempt at "high-brow" cinema. More popular was La vie telle qu'elle est (1911), which moved from the costume pageantry of his earlier work to a more realistic--if somewhat melodramatic--depiction of contemporary life. Feuillade also directed scores of short films featuring the characters Bébé and René Poyen. His most successful feature-length serials were Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine (1913), which chronicled the diabolical exploits of the "emperor of crime," and Les Vampires (1915), which trailed a criminal gang led by Irma Vep (Musidora) and was noted for its imaginative use of locations and lyrical, almost surreal style.

Syd Chaplin was born on 16 March 1885 in London, England, UK. He was an actor and director, known for The Better 'Ole (1926), King, Queen and Joker (1921) and A Lover's Lost Control (1915). He was married to Minnie Chaplin and Henriette. He died on 15 April 1965 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Alfred Machin started his film work as camera man for Pathe at the beginning of 20 Century. During 1907 and 1909 he was in Africa, shooting documentary shorts. In 1910 he worked at the Pathe studio in Nizza, in 1911 he was one of the founding directors of the Pathe-filiale in Amsterdam, in 1913 he was the same in Brussel. In 1913/14 he made the pazifistic Maudite Soit la Guerre, which was released two months before the outbreak of WW I. In 1921 he purchased the Pathe studio in Nizza, founded his own production company and made nine pictures, before he died in 1929.

Strikingly beautiful French leading lady (Miss Paris of 1930) who first appeared on stage at the age of 13 at the Theatre Sarah-Bernhardt, then did some modelling work and a year later joined the chorus line of the Moulin Rouge. She also performed the 'can-can' at the legendary Parisian nightclub Bal Tabarin. Her breakthrough came, when she was signed by the director Jean Renoir for a bit part in the film La Chienne (1931). From the mid-1930s she was given leading roles roles, usually as the femme fatale, best exemplified by Jean Gabin's faithless wife in Duvivier's They Were Five (1936). This established her as a bankable star and she was much in demand for other portrayals of courtesans, kind-hearted prostitutes and alluring exotics. One of her best films was the film noir Panique (1946). She also starred in the title role of Carmen (1944).

Eschewing offers from Hollywood, Viviane continued acting in French and Italian films during the 1950s. When her popularity began to wane she went into production with her then-husband Clément Duhour, but without much success. Suffering considerable financial hardship, Viviane had a lengthy absence from the screen but eventually re-appeared on television in the early 1970s and finished her career with a noteworthy role as Madame Gabrielle in Claude Chabrol's Nada (1974).

Gaby Morlay was born on 8 June 1893 in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France. She was an actress and producer, known for Gigi (1949), Les amants du pont Saint-Jean (1947) and Jim la houlette, roi des voleurs (1926). She was married to Max Bonnafous. She died on 4 July 1964 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Loni Nest was born on 4 August 1915 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Ein Erpressertrick (1921), Schwarze Erde (1923) and Die Heilige und ihr Narr (1928). She died on 2 October 1990 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

André Hunebelle (b. 1896) was an odd-job man ,always seeing which way the wind would blow when he made his movies;hence his eclecticism ,so to speak:comedies,swashbucklers (genre in which his gave his most pleasant works ),spy thrillers ,spoofs ....

His comedies (his dominant genre in the fifties) were mostly "Théatre De Boulevard " ,many of them ponderous and heavy-handed,occasionally funny when the original material was not bad ('"Treize A table" " L'Impossible Monsieur Pipelet").

He had begun the swashbuckler in 1953 ("Les Trois Mousquetaires") but he is mostly remembered for the late fifties/ early sixties trilogy ,"Le Bossu " "Le Capitan" and "Le Miracle Des Loups " ,all remakes of silent movies,but the color and the presence of Jean Marais as the sword hero in all of them made these works entertaining even today.On the other hand, his remake of Eugene Sue's "Les Mysteres De Paris" was looked upon as a failure.

In the wake of James Bond, he tackled the spy thriller with his four OSS 117 episodes .Of course they did not compare favorably with the Salzmann/Broccoli productions ;the best of the lot was certainly the third one "Furia A Bahia Pour OSS 117" (1965).

Like Eugène Sue 's "Mysteres De Paris" , Souvestre-Allain 's "Fantomas" saga was given a totally false rendering;the screenwriters turned horror bloody thrillers into farces ;however ,the last one "Fantômas Contre Scotland Yard" was unusually inventive and owed a lot to De Funès's comic skills.

His final works were spoofs on "Les Trois Mousquetaires " featuring the abominable Charlots,but the first part was not bad.His swansong "Ca Fait Tilt" (1977) got unanimous thumbs down and Hunebelle called it a day .He died in 1985.

Fabien Courage was born on 5 March 1972 in Saint-Etienne, Loire, France. He was a production manager, known for Time of the Wolf (2003), Payoff (2003) and Anthony Zimmer (2005). He died on 26 January 2023 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

A native of Paris, France, a poet, journalist and novelist, Gaston Leroux is known for his many creative horror stories, including "Rouilable", "The Haunted Chair" and "The Wax Mask", but is probably best known for his work "The Phantom of the Opera", which became Leroux's prize possession. He wrote the novel in 1908 about a disfigured man who dresses in masks and capes and terrorizes the Paris Opera House while falling in love with the leading lady. "The Phantom of the Opera" was based much upon Leroux's own experiences. During his early years as a journalist in the late 1800s, Leroux spent time going the Paris Opera House and watching performances, and was influenced by Charles Gounod's opera "Faust", about a man who sells his soul to the devil. On one occasion, the chandelier which featured in the opera fell into the audience by accident. Combining the singers, Faust and the chandelier together, Leroux created "The Phantom of the Opera".

In 1923, Carl Laemmle, head of the new Universal Pictures in Hollywood, produced a film of the novel, The Phantom of the Opera (1925), with Lon Chaney in the lead. Leroux was impressed by this, but two years later he died. Since that time, "The Phantom of the Opera" has become so popular it has inspired five feature remakes, one in 1943 Phantom of the Opera (1943)), another in 1962 (The Phantom of the Opera (1962) and again in 1989 (The Phantom of the Opera (1989)). A television version was also made (The Phantom of the Opera (1983)) and then a remake made in 1999 (The Phantom of the Opera (1998)). The most recent remake is Joel Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera (2004), produced and cast by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson, three quite unknown actors, rather than Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, the original actors of the Broadway show. The novel was also made into a major London and Broadway stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Gaston Leroux will forever be remembered for "The Phantom of the Opera".

Severin Wunderman was born on 19 November 1938 in Brussels, Belgium. He was an actor, known for Minority Report (2002). He was married to Jacqueline Ann Pitcher, Gail O'Grady, Lydia Mendoza, Denise Wizman and Gigi Gaston America. He died on 25 June 2008 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Georges Moustaki was born on 3 May 1934 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a composer and actor, known for The Bucket List (2007), La Vie En Rose (2007) and Mendiants et Orgueilleux (1972). He was married to Annick Cozannec. He died on 23 May 2013 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Edmond T. Gréville was born on 20 June 1906 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. He was a director and writer, known for Veertig jaren (1938), Temptation (1959) and The Hands of Orlac (1960). He was married to Vanda Gréville. He died on 26 May 1966 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Thomas Narcejac was born on 3 July 1908 in Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, France. He was a writer, known for Vertigo (1958), Diabolique (1955) and Eyes Without a Face (1960). He died on 9 June 1998 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Magnus Hirschfeld was born on 14 May 1868 in Kolberg, Pomerania, Germany [now Kolobrzeg, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland]. He was a writer and director, known for Different from the Others (1919), Das Recht auf Liebe (1930) and Prostitution (1919). He died on 14 May 1935 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Bruce Chatwin was born on 13 May 1940 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Utz (1992), On the Black Hill (1988) and Cobra Verde (1987). He was married to Elizabeth Chatwin. He died on 18 January 1989 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

In his sketches, popular French comedian'Fernand Raynaud' was often bullied by a self-righteous sharp-tongued spinster called Mademoiselle Lelongbec, the parish organist. Tall, lean and unattractive, Maximilenne (born Henriette Genty in 1884) seemed born to play the part and she WAS the obvious choice for director Robert Darène when, in 1958, he prepared to film a Fernand Raynaud's vehicle entitled "Houla Houla". Donning the attire of Mlle Lelongbec Maximilenne had the distinguished opportunity to nag poor Fernand, on the big screen this time around. A role that epitomizes a long screen career, spanning the three decades between the advent of the sound period and the birth of the French New Wave. During this time, she embodied innumerable female authority figures such as a mother superior ("La route enchantée"), a school mistress ("Simplet"), the headmistress of a reform school("Prison sans barreaux"), a Salvation Army general ("L'armoire volante") or a princess ("Le disque 1413"). She was rarely married in her films, most of the time she was the narrow-minded old maid. She was at her best as such in the role of one of the boarding house guests in Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1942 masterpiece "L'assassin habite au 21". And when she had indeed married in a movie, she was usually a widow: her late husband had chosen to leave life prematurely to escape her! Occasionally one of the old maids and aunts she was given to play were affectionate, notably in Fritz Lang's "Liliom " (1933). But whether her characters were good or bad, Maximilienne had been one of those colorful character actors and actresses the French cinema of the classic era could not do without. And she will be fondly remembered for that.

Gérard Landry was born on 16 October 1912 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Rigoletto e la sua tragedia (1956), Le patriote (1938) and Il ribelle di Castelmonte (1964). He was married to Jacqueline Porel and Janine Darcey. He died on 18 September 1999 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

André Bervil was born on 25 November 1905 in Paris 14, Paris, France. He was an actor, known for The Hole (1960), Loves of Casanova (1947) and La tentation de Barbizon (1946). He died on 20 January 1972 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Paganini's musical talent was recognized at an early age, and his ambitious father drove him hard to succeed, even withholding food if his son did not perform to his satisfaction on the violin. Escaping his father's domineering influence in his late teens by fleeing to Lucca, Paganini came to the attention of Princess Elisa Baciocchi, Napoléon Bonaparte's sister. He was employed as her court solo violinist for several years before deciding to freelance around Europe. He was an immediate sensation, and gained the attention and admiration of both concert goers and other composers. An electrifying performer whose skill with the violin and guitar was almost supernatural, Paganini was rumored to have sold his soul to the Devil in return for his artistic abilities. Plagued by ill health since childhood, he retired to France, where he died in the spring of 1840.

Maeterlinck was a revolutionary symbolist playwright from Belgium. His influence on modern drama is vast and he was one of the best known figures in Europe in the early twentieth century, both for his plays and his philosophical writings. Best known today for his fantasy play "The Blue Bird", which has been adapted into a number of films, but most of his work was darker and even horrifying. Death was a frequent character in his plays, and his use of rythmic repepetive dialogue gave his plays a mesmeric quality. His best plays are probably "The Sightless" and "Pelleas and Melisande".

Armand du Plessy was born on 19 July 1883 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. Armand was a director and writer, known for Les demi-vierges (1924), La garçonne (1923) and Destinée (1922). Armand died on 2 February 1924 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Rita Jolivet was a silent film actress whose career spanned from 1914 when she made FATA MORGANA to 1926 when she filmed PHI-PHI. Afterwards, Rita dropped out of films. She made only 20 films in her brief career.

Philippe Nicaud was born on 27 June 1926 in Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was an actor and writer, known for The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo (1973), Que personne ne sorte (1964) and L'île mystérieuse (1973). He was married to Christine Carère. He died on 19 April 2009 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.