Michel Auclair

Michel Auclair, born Vladimir Vujović on 14 September 1922 in Koblenz, was an actor of Serbian and French ancestry who built his reputation primarily in French cinema before making his Broadway debut. He died on 7 January 1988.

Auclair's background was shaped by two distinct cultural inheritances. His father, Vojislav Vujović, was born in Požarevac, Serbia, and became a prominent Yugoslav Communist who served as secretary of the Communist Youth International. His mother was French. The family relocated to Paris when Auclair was three years old, and it was there that he would spend much of his life and career. He initially pursued medicine before changing course and training as an actor at the CNSAD in Paris.

Although Auclair became a major star in French-language film and theater, his English-language work was limited to two screen roles. In 1957 he appeared as Professor Flostre in the musical film Funny Face, alongside Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. In 1973 he took on the role of a French police investigator in The Day of the Jackal, starring Edward Fox.

His stage work extended to Broadway, where he appeared in 1968 in a production of Tartuffe, bringing his experience in French performance traditions to the American stage.