Robert Castel (in Arabic: روبرت كاستل), whose real name is Robert Adolphe Moyal, is an actor, musician and comedian, born on May 21, 1933 in Algiers in the Bab El-Oued district, Algeria. Robert Castel began as a musician, tar player, then guitarist, accompanying his father, composer violinist, and singer of light French-Arab songs. Young actor in the troupe of the Regional Center of Dramatic Art of Algiers, Robert Castel plays the role of Robert Le Bègue in the theatrical improvisation show on the life of the pieds-noirs, La Famille Hernandez, which is created by Geneviève Baïlac on September 17, 1957 in Paris. Having cut his teeth in music hall, Robert Castel began his film career at the age of 24 in Les Amants De Demain by Marcel Blistène, then in Un témoin dans la ville by Édouard Molinaro. In 1962, Robert Castel left the newly independent Algeria and settled in Paris with Lucette Sahuquet (who died in 1987), whom he married. The couple inaugurated their sketches as a duo that year, notably at the Olympia where they opened for Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich and Philippe Clay. In the 1970s, the comedian, lively and provocative, did a lot of television sketches with his favorite partner and Enrico Macias. For the big screen, this dark-haired comedian, with a clear forehead, who speaks with his hands, abandoned his favorite register. Having become the figure of "pied-noir humor" in France, he played alongside Edith Piaf in Les Amants de demain by Marcel Blistène, Pierre Richard in Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire by Yves Robert, and Isabelle Huppert in Dupont Lajoie by Yves Boisset. In 1982, he made a notable appearance in Algerian cinema by playing in Hassan taxi, directed by Mohamed Slim Riad, alongside Rouiched (Ahmed Ayad), Ouardia Hamitouche and Sidali Kouiret. He appeared in more than thirty films in total, until the early 2000s. Robert Castel kept a low profile for a few years before returning to the stage, this time in a musical, in 2007 thanks to the El-Gusto project. This project, which seeks to bring together Algerian, Jewish and Muslim musicians who were part of Hadj M'hamed El Anka's Algiers Chaâbi orchestra in the early 1950s, resulted in a documentary film that won international awards, the recording of an album and an international tour that took a troupe of 42 musicians to countries such as France, Morocco, Tunisia, Switzerland, Belgium, the United States and the Netherlands. In 2008, Robert Castel signed his autobiography, Je pose 75 [son âge], mais je retaîtres tout. He returned to the stage in 2013 to present his last one-man show, "Nostalgérie". He died on December 5, 2020 in Paris, at the age of 87.

Filmography

• 2017À la recherche de... Pierre Richard — Self - Actor, humorist (archive footage)
• 2016The Jews — M. Bensoussan
• 2012El Gusto — Le Comédien
• 2011Teenagers — Pierre
• 2007Elf, Kings of Oil — André Guelfi
• 2007The Elf Case — André Guelfi
• 2006One Fine Day — M. Plisson
• 2000The Sandmen — Damien
• 1983C'est facile et ça peut rapporter... 20 ans — Agent Alfredo Moreno
• 1983Le Braconnier de Dieu — Le patron du bistrot
• 1982Hassan Taxi
• 1982Les p’tites têtes — Mr. Roger
• 1981Le bahut va craquer — le prof d'anglais
• 1980Les Borsalini — Mohamed Rico
• 1980Sacrés gendarmes — Gendarme Moreno
• 1980What Did I Ever Do to the Good Lord to Deserve a Wife Who Drinks in Cafes with Men? — Gabriel Crémieux, Writer
• 1978Take It from the Top — Le plombier
• 1978Too Shy to Try — Trinita, le joueur de pétanque
• 1977Stop Fooling Around... Soldier! — Rodriguez
• 1976La Décharge — Le pied-noir
• 1976Les Grands Moyens — Hubert Lacagne
• 1976Let's Make a Dirty Movie — Chouchou
• 1975It's Tough for Everybody — Monsieur Gilles
• 1975The Common Man — Loulou
• 1974Bedmania — Monsieur Albert, le directeur de l'hôtel
• 1974By the Blood of Others — Paul
• 1974Le Permis de conduire — L'agent de police
• 1974Par ici la monnaie — Roméo
• 1974Shut Up, Gulli — Antoine
• 1973The Conspiracy — Sapporo
• 1973The Suburbs Are Everywhere — Marcel
• 1973Two Men in Town — André Vaultier
• 1972The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe — Georghiu, Milan agent
• 1972There Once Was a Cop — Rodriguez, Manoni's man
• Agence Interim — M. Fred
• 1969La Honte de la famille
• 1969Les gros malins — Agent at the police station (uncredited)
• 1969Three Men on a Horse — Norber
• Le Train Bleu s'arrête 13 fois — Bob
• 1964The Unvanquished — Amerio
• 1959The Lovers of Tomorrow

Appearances as themselves (9)

• 2009Comiques de toujours (Vol. 1 à 4) — Self (archive footage)
• Champs-Elysées — Self
• Les Rendez-vous du dimanche — Self
• Midi Première — Self
• Numéro un — Self
• Système 2 — Self
• Le Grand Échiquier — Self
• Midi trente — Self
• Samedi soir — Self