Henri André Chapais, known as André Deed, was a French actor and director, best known for his Foolshead comedies, produced in the 1900s and 1910s. André Deed was one of the first named actors in cinema, and his film series based around Foolshead were a global success.
Life and career
Born Henri André Augustin Chapais in Le Havre on February 22, 1879, Chapais was the son of a customs official. The family moved to Nice when Henri André was young. Unusually for an actor, he attended lycée in Nice, while acting with a small theatre company.
Start of film and stage career
André Deed moved to Paris and began to appear in vaudeville theatre and cabaret, including at the Folies Bergère. In 1901, cinema pioneer Georges Méliès directed André Deed in several films. Deed would later incorporate many of Méliès' trick-shots into his comedies.
In 1908, Deed negotiated a lucrative move to the Itala studios in Turin, and he began starring and directing in the Cretinetti comedy series. Alberto Collo and Emilio Ghione, who would become two of the most famousItalian actors of the 1910s, and Deed's future wife, Valentina Frascaroli, were amongst the supporting cast in these films. In 1913, Deed embarked on a world theatrical tour with Frascaroli, taking in Europe and Latin America.
Despite being thirty-five years of age, André was conscripted into the reserves. In 1915, Giovanni Pastrone asked him to return to Turin to continue the Cretinetti series for Itala films. Deed made the feature film, Cretinetti e gli stivali del brasilero, which featuredBartolomeo Pagano, the star of Cabiria and the Maciste series, in a cameo role. By 191X, Deed returned to France and served in various logistics and infantry regiments. It is likely that he served in the trenches at some point, but nothing is known about his war service, beyond the dates of his transfers between regiments. In 1918, Deed married Valentina Frascaroli. Deed was demobilised in 1919.
Deed planned a trilogy of fantasy-adventure films: Il documento umano, L'Uomo Meccanico and Lo strano amore di Mado, which was never made.
End of career
Deed finished his career working as a warehouseman at the Pathe film studios located in the Parisian suburb of Joinville-le-Pont.
Death
André Deed died on October 4, 1940, and is buried at the Cimetière de Thiais, near Paris. He was survived by his wife, Valentina Frascaroli, who died in 1955.
