Jokūbas Bernardas Šernas (30 July 1925 – 3 July 2015), commonly known as Jacques Sernas and sometimes credited as Jack Sernas, was a Lithuanian-born French actor with an international film career.[3]

Jacques Sernas
Lithuanian: Jokūbas Bernardas Šernas
Sernas in Terra straniera (Foreign Earth), Italy, 1954[1]
Born(1925-07-30)30 July 1925
Kaunas, Lithuania
Died3 July 2015(2015-07-03) (aged 89)
Rome, Italy
Other namesJack Sernas
OccupationActor
Years active1947–2008
SpouseMaria Stella Signorini (1955-?)[2]
ChildrenFrancesca (b. 1956)
ParentJokūbas Šernas

Biography

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Sernas with daughter Francesca in Rome, 1971.[4]

He was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, the son of Jokūbas Šernas, a signatory of the 1918 Act of Independence of Lithuania, who died when Sernas was one year old. His mother took him to Paris, France, where Sernas received his formal education. During World War II, he joined the French Resistance and was captured and interned at the Nazi Buchenwald concentration camp, near Weimar, Germany. After the war, Sernas was considering a career in medicine and then in journalism before turning to films. His first role was in Miroir (1946).[5]

In June 1955 Sernas married the Roman journalist Maria Stella Signorini. They had a daughter Francesca born in 1956.[6]

Career

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Sernas worked first as a leading man and later as a character actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Paris in the epic film Helen of Troy (1956).

Sernas also appeared on American television, including the lead role in the 1956 Warner Brothers time travel production "Man from 1997" featuring James Garner.

His more recent appearances have included appearing as a Cardinale Feltin in the television biographical film Pope John XXIII [it] (2002) and as Ambasciatore in the television comedy film Regina dei fiori [it] (2005). For the last 30 years Sernas lived and worked in Rome.[5]

Filmography

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Title Year Genre Role Notes
Mirror 1947 Battling-Joe
L'idole 1948
Lost Youth 1948 drama Stefano Manfredi Nastro d'Argento Best Actor
Letter at Dawn 1948 Mario Maggi
La Révoltée 1948 Rudy
Jean de la Lune 1949 Alexandre - le nouvel adorateur de Marceline
The Mill on the Po 1949 drama Orbino Verginesi
Il falco rosso 1949 Raniero d'Atri
The Wolf of the Sila 1949 drama Salvatore Barra
Golden Salamander 1950 adventure Max
The Sky Is Red 1950 Tullio
Pact with the Devil 1950 drama
Hearts at Sea 1950 Paolo Silvestri
Fugitive in Trieste 1951 historical Giulio
Barbe-Bleue 1951 Giglio
Bluebeard 1951 Florian
The Last Sentence 1951 drama Piero
Red Shirts 1952 Historical Gentile
I figli non si vendono 1952 Carlo Dazzeni / Roberto Dazzeni
The Angels of the District 1952 Mario
The Mute of Portici 1952 drama Uncredited
Finishing School 1953 Jean-Jacques
Lulu 1953 comedy Mario
L'envers du paradis 1953 Blaise d'Orliac
I Always Loved You 1953 Carlo
Sua altezza ha detto: no! 1953
Dieci canzoni d'amore da salvare 1953 drama Pietro Niccoli, The songwriter
Terra straniera 1954
100 Years of Love 1954 Roberto aka Roby, Lucia's Husband (segment "Amore 1954")
Maddalena 1954 drama Giovanni Belloni
Il grande addio 1954
Barrier of the Law 1954 Aldo
Loving You Is My Sin 1954 drama Count Giorgio Danieli
Jump into Hell 1955 adventure Captain Guy Bertrand
Helen of Troy 1956 epic Paris
Altair 1956 drama De Montel
The Goddess of Love 1957 Laertes
C'est la faute d'Adam 1957 Gérard Sandret
Pia de' Tolomei 1958 Ghino Perticari
Vite perdute 1959 The Baron
Venetian Honeymoon 1959 Bob Lebel
Nel Segno di Roma 1959 Julianus
World of Miracles 1959 Marco Valenti
The Secret Nights of Lucrezia Borgia 1959 Frederico
Lost Lives [it] 1959 The Baron (Vite perdute)
The Loves of Salammbo 1960 Mathos
Culpables 1960 Emilio
The Huns 1960 Malok (La regina dei tartari)
Love in Rome 1960 Tony Meneghini
Maciste contro il vampiro 1961 Kurtick
Duel of Champions 1961 Marcus
The Centurion 1961 historical drama Caius Vinicius
Romolo e Remo 1961 Curtius
Che femmina!! e... che dollari! [it] 1961 Jefferson Thompson
The Slave 1962 Vetius - companion of late Spartacus
55 Days at Peking 1963 epic Maj. Bobrinski
Last Plane to Baalbek 1964 Nick Mann
The Dirty Game 1965 Spy film Sernas
Balearic Caper 1966 Pierre
For a Few Extra Dollars 1966 Spaghetti Western Major Sanders
American Secret Service 1968
Midas Run 1969 comedy Paul Giroux
Hornets' Nest 1970 war Major Taussig
Super Fly T.N.T. 1973 Matty Smith
E cominciò il viaggio nella vertigine 1974
Children of Rage 1975 war Dr. Ben-Joseph
Last Feelings 1978 Sports Director
The Skin 1981 Gen Guillaume
L'Addition 1984 Prison guard
Io, Peter Pan 1989 Bernard
Luna di sangue 1989 Dottor Marc Duvivier
The Miser 1990 Don Guglielmo
The African Woman 1990 Dr. Wargnier
Caldo soffocante 1991 Il presidente
Coppia omicida 1998 Godard
Amor nello specchio 1999 Principe Bassompierre
Pope John XXIII [it] 2002 biographical Cardinale Feltin TV movie
Regina dei fiori [it] 2005 comedy Ambasciatore TV movie

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Portrait of Jacques Sernas Archived 2015-06-13 at the Wayback Machine. gettyimages.co.uk
  2. ^ "Google Translate".
  3. ^ "Addio a Jacques Sernas, icona del cinema anni 50" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Jacques Sernas and his fifteen-year-old daughter Francesca are seated..." Getty Images. 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  5. ^ a b "Jacques Sernas - Trailer - Showtimes - Cast - Movies - The New York Times". The New York Times. 2008-06-07. Archived from the original on 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  6. ^ 'Cine Tele Review' May, 1993[permanent dead link]. torchieflash.com
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