Ambroise Girier

Ambroise Girier - also known as Girier - was born in Lyon, France, in 1867. He made his film debut at Pathé Frères in the title role in the short comedy La petite fonctionnaire/The Little Civil Servant (Georges Denola, 1912), based on a play by Alfred Capus. In 1915 and 1916, a series of 15 more silent shorts for Pathé followed in which he co-starred with Paulette Lorsy. These included Pour ses fleurs/For Her Flowers (Henri Gambart, 1915), Le double divorce/The Double Divorce (Henri Gambart, 1915), and Une réception charmante/A Charming Reception (Henri Gambart, 1916). The last one of the series was Les caprices de Madame (Henri Gambart, 1916), again with Lorsy. In between, Girier also wrote scripts for Pathé such as Avocat d'office/Public Defender (Henri Gambart, 1914).

Ambroise Girier was best-known as a comic, and a singer who performed on stage as a duo with the comedian Chavat, real name Louis Cloud. Their song 'Les Réservistes Rigolos' (The Laughing Reservists) was one of their big hits. Girier also acted on stage, as in the play 'La cabotine' (1907) by Tristan Bernard and Alfred Athys. Although Girier never acted in a sound film, his songs 'Le P'tit Objet, as sung by Maurice Chevalier, could be heard in several TV films, including Trente-Six Chandelles/Thirty-Six Candles (Marcel Cravenne, 1956) and Je connais une blonde/I Know a Blonde (Georges Folgoas, 1963). Ambroise Girier passed away in 1935.