Jesse Beryle "Jess" Hahn (October 29, 1921 - June 29, 1998) was an American-French actor and musician.
He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, and served in the US Army during World War II (he took part to the Normandy landings in June 1944, among others), then took residence in France once the war was over, eventually acquiring French citizenship.
He appeared in over 100 French films, mostly comedies, film noirs and westerns. Due to his stout build, he was frequently cast in "strong man" roles, such as in Cartouche and Topkapi. His distinctive American accent when talking in French was used for humorous effects in comedies such as Les Barbouzes.
Selected filmography:
- Cartouche (1962) as La Douceur
- Les Barbouzes (1964) as Commodore O'Brien
- Topkapi (1964) as Hans Fisher
- What's New Pussycat? (1965) as Mr. Werner
- Tribulations of a Chinaman in China (1965) as Cornelius
- The Saint Lies in Wait (1966) as Hoppy Uniatz
- Atlantic Wall (1970) as a British colonel
- The Mysterious Island (1973) as Bonaventure Pencroff
- Maigret (1981) as FBI agent Harry Cole
