A screen actor with more than 200 credits, Auberjonois was most famous for portraying characters in the main casts of several long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III onBenson (1980–1986), for which he was anEmmy Award nominee; andPaul Lewiston onBoston Legal (2004–2008). In films, Auberjonois appeared in severalRobert Altman productions, notablyFather John Mulcahy in the film version ofM*A*S*H (1970); the expedition scientist Roy Bagley inKing Kong (1976); Chef Louis inThe Little Mermaid (1989), in which he sang "Les Poissons"; and Reverend Oliver inThe Patriot (2000). Auberjonois also performed as a voice actor in several video games, animated series and other productions.
Early life
René Marie Murat Auberjonois was born June 1, 1940, inManhattan, New York City.[2] His father, Swiss-bornFernand Auberjonois, was aCold War-era foreign correspondent andPulitzer Prize-nominated writer. Auberjonois' mother, Princess Laure Louise Napoléone Eugénie Caroline Murat, was a great-great-granddaughter ofJoachim Murat (one ofNapoleon'smarshals andKing of Naples during theFirst French Empire), and his wife—Napoleon's youngest sister—Caroline Bonaparte. Auberjonois had a sister and a brother, and two half-sisters from his mother's first marriage.[3] Auberjonois wrote that his French family name, an uncommon one in the United States, means "armorer."[4]
Auberjonois' grandfather, alsoRené Auberjonois, was a Swisspost-Impressionist painter. His maternal grandmother, Hélène Macdonald Stallo, was an American fromCincinnati, Ohio; his maternal grandfather's mother was a Russian noblewoman, Eudoxia Michailovna Somova, and his maternal grandfather's paternal grandmother, Caroline Georgina Fraser, who was the wife ofPrince Napoleon Lucien Charles Murat, was a Scottish-American fromCharleston, South Carolina.
The Auberjonois family also lived for a time in London, where Auberjonois completed high school while studying theater.[6] To complete his education, he attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology (nowCarnegie Mellon University), and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the College of Fine Arts in 1962.[7]
Auberjonois was a member of the original faculty of theJuilliard School's Drama Division when it opened in 1968 under John Houseman.[8][9][10]
Career
Theater
After college, Auberjonois worked with several different theater companies, beginning with three years at the prestigiousArena Stage in Washington, D.C. ("it was my graduate school," he said).[11] He traveled between Los Angeles, California, and New York, working in numerous theater productions. He helped found Bill Ball'sAmerican Conservatory Theater in Pittsburgh, playing the title roles in both "Tartuffe" and "King Lear," before moving with the company to San Francisco. Then came theMark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, and theBrooklyn Academy of Music Repertory Company in New York City. He was a member of thePeninsula Players summer theater program during the 1962 season.[12]
In 1968, Auberjonois landed a role onBroadway, and appeared in three plays that season: as Fool toLee J. Cobb'sKing Lear (the longest running production of the play in Broadway history), as Ned inA Cry of Players (which played in repertory with King Lear), oppositeFrank Langella, and as Marco inFire! In 1969, he earned aTony Award for his performance as Sebastian Baye alongsideKatharine Hepburn inCoco.[13]
His television film credits includeThe Rhinemann Exchange,The Dark Secret of Harvest Home, Disney'sGeppetto,Gore Vidal'sBilly The Kid, the remake ofA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and theSally Hemings: An American Scandal (2000) miniseries. He portrayed the characterFortunato in an episode ofAmerican Masters entitled"Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul" (1995). He received a third Emmy Award nomination for his performance in ABC'sThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He played NASA scientist Dr. Felix Blackwell in the episode "Phoenix" onNCIS.
Auberjonois directed television shows, includingMarblehead Manor, and various episodes ofDeep Space Nine.
Voice acting
Pictured in 2010
Auberjonois was active in radio drama. He read "The Stunt" by Mordechai Strigler for theNational Public Radio (NPR) seriesJewish Stories From the Old World to the New, and he recorded novels on tape. OnPRI, he was featured numerous times onSelected Shorts, reading works of dramatic fiction. His voice was heard in Disney'sThe Little Mermaid (receiving alphabetical top billing as Louis the Chef and singing "Les Poissons").
He did voice work on theChallenge of the GoBots series in 1980s as Dr. Braxis and was the voice of Peter Parker on the 1972Buddah RecordsSpider-Man LP "From Beyond the Grave" (BDS 5119), a radio-style narrative replete with sound effects and rock and roll song interludes.
He voice acted inThe Last Unicorn as the Skull that guards the clock that serves as an entryway into the Red Bull's lair.Peter S. Beagle, the author of theoriginal book, praised Auberjonois' performance, saying "he could have played any role in that movie and I would have been happy ... He's that talented."
One of Auberjonois' earliest forays into video game voice acting was the role of Janos Audron inSoul Reaver 2; he continued to voice the character in subsequent releases in theLegacy of Kain series. According to a behind-the-scenes featurette inSoul Reaver 2, showing candid discussions among the voice actors during recording, he was surprised at the quality of the writing, asking, "This is for a video game?!" when the purpose of the recordings was brought to light.
Auberjonois was married to his wife Judith Helen Mihalyi from 1963 until his death in 2019. They had two children, a daughter, Tessa,[23] and a son,Rèmy-Luc,[24] both of whom also became actors.
In an interview withCompassion & Choices Magazine, Judith Auberjonois revealed that René Auberjonois underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer in 2018. It was discovered in 2019 that the cancer had spread to his brain. Due to the potential forserious cognitive side effects, Auberjonois chose not to pursue thewhole-brain radiation treatment suggested by his doctors.[25]
Death
As a resident of California, Auberjonois decided to seekmedical aid in dying under theCalifornia End of Life Option Act.[25][26] On December 6, 2019, he spent his final hours with his family at his home in Los Angeles reminiscing over photos and listening to music.[26] He then took the medication prescribed for assisted suicide and died two days later at the age of 79. The California End of Life Option Act stipulates that death certificates should list the underlying terminal illness as the cause of death, rather than the use of life-ending medications.[27] His cause of death was given asmetastatic lung cancer.[2][28]
^New York Trap Rock Corp. v. The Town of Clarkstown et al., NY 272 App. Div. 1021 (Appellate Division, Supreme Court of New York, Second Department May 11, 1955).
^""Esteemed Group" Garners Honorary Degrees at 104th Commencement".Carnegie Mellon News. May 10, 2001. RetrievedNovember 2, 2019.Called an 'actor's actor' by his peers, Auberjonois, a 1962 graduate of the School of Drama, earned many accolades for his performances in television, in film and on Broadway during his 40-year career.
^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafag"Rene Auberjonois (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedSeptember 23, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.