Renée Dahon

Renée Dahon in 1910

Renée Dahon (1893–1969) was a French actress.

Personal life

Dahon was born on 18 December 1893.[1] She was described as short (around five feet tall) and slim.[2]

Following an eight-year-long affair, Dahon married playwright Maurice Maeterlinck at Chateau Neuf-de-Contes in 1919.[3] In the early 1930s, Dahon gave birth to a stillborn child.[4]

In 1940, Maeterlinck and Dahon were forced to flee their home in Paris with her parents due to the advance of the Germans.[5] They arrived in the United States in July 1940, and resettled in New York City, moving into an apartment in the Hotel Esplanade.[5] After the war, they were able to return to their home "Orlamonde" in Nice in 1947.[6] Despite their age difference, friends reported them to be devoted to each other.[7]

Dahon died on 8 December 1969, aged 75.[1]

Career

Renée Dahon was a popular actress in Paris.[3] She became known at age 18 for her role as Tyltyl in The Blue Bird. Georgette Leblanc, Maeterlinck's then-partner, selected and coached her for the role.[8] She also acted in several films.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Maeterlinck, Renée 1893–1969". VIAF. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  2. ^ Mahony, Patrick (1951). The Magic of Maeterlinck. House-Warven. p. 131.
  3. ^ a b "Maeterlinck Weds Mlle. Renee Dahon; Belgian Dramatist, Just Divorced by Mme. Georgette LeBlanc, Married Near Nice" (PDF). The New York Times. 8 March 1919. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  4. ^ Mahony, Patrick (1951). The Magic of Maeterlinck. House-Warven. p. 147.
  5. ^ a b Goldstein, Richard (2010). Helluva Town: The Story of New York City During World War II. Free Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 9781416589969.
  6. ^ "History". Palais Maeterlinck. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  7. ^ Mahony, Patrick (1951). The Magic of Maeterlinck. House-Warven. pp. 131–132.
  8. ^ "Maeterlinck's Happy "Triangle"". The Tennessean. 7 December 1919. p. 51.
  9. ^ Shannon, Betty (March 1920). "More beautiful than the elephants: an impression of a little visit with Maurice Maeterlinck". Photoplay. Vol. 17, no. 4. pp. 90–93. hdl:2027/umn.31951002808790i. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  • Still shot of Renée Dahon (Countess Maeterlinck) from a 1959 interview (via Europeana)
  • Photograph of group of writers, including Maurice Maeterlinck and Renée Maeterlinck, from 1938 (via University of Florida Digital Collections)