Alexander D'Arcy | |
Native Name: | ألكسندر دارسي |
Birth Name: | Alexander Sarruf |
Birth Date: | 10 August 1908 |
Birth Place: | Cairo, Egypt |
Death Place: | West Hollywood, California, U.S. |
Yearsactive: | 1927–1973 |
Children: | 1 |
Occupation: | Film actor |
Alexander D'Arcy (Arabic: ألكسندر دارسي;10 August 1908 – 20 April 1996) was an Egyptian stage, television and film actor with an international film repertoire.
Born Alexander Sarruf in Cairo, Egypt, D'Arcy, variously credited as Alexandre D'Arcy, Alex D'Arcy, Alexandre Darcy and Alex d'Arcy, appeared in some 45 films, mostly as a suave gentleman or smooth rogue. His first film appearance was in 1927 in , and he then appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's . He went to France, acted in a number of films, then departed for America. In 1936, listed as Joseph Alexandre Fabre – artist, aged 27, race French, nationality Egyptian – he sailed to New York as a first class passenger on the . He eventually left New York for Hollywood where he started by playing supporting roles in several films in the late 1930s, including , Stolen Holiday, and The Awful Truth (all 1937). In 1953, he was one of the suitors of Marilyn Monroe's character in How to Marry a Millionaire and featured in Abdulla the Great and in 1955.
His roles diminished in importance, and by the 1960s, he acted mostly on television and resurfaced in horror films, notably It's Hot in Paradise (1962) and as Dracula in Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969). Evidently a favorite of such cult directors as Roger Corman, Russ Meyer and Sam Fuller, D'Arcy was seen in Corman's (1967), Meyer's (1971) and Fuller's Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street (1972[1] or 1974[2] TV movie).
Throughout his life, D’Arcy split his time between his homes in the United States and Europe. In addition to acting, he worked as a restaurateur in Berlin.[3] He was naturalized as a United States citizen in Los Angeles in May 1942. In his petition for naturalization, he declared that upon naturalization he wished his name to be legally changed from Joseph Alexandre Fabre to Alexander d'Arcy.
D’Arcy was married twice, first to actress Arleen Whelan and then, in 1964, to actress Yutta Darcy. He adopted Yutta's daughter named Susannah d'Arcy and divorced in 1973.[4] [5]
D’Arcy died on 20 April 1996 at his home in West Hollywood, California at the age of 87.