Jean-Pierre Aumont (5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Legion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Aumont was born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons in Paris, the son of Suzanne (née Cahen), an actress, and Alexandre Salomons, owner of La Maison du Blanc (a linen department store). His mother's uncle was well-known stage actor Georges Berr (died 1942). His father was from a Dutch Jewish family; his mother's family were French Jews. Aumont's younger brother, François (1920-2009), was the noted French film director François Villiers. Aumont began studying drama at the Paris Conservatory at age 16; his mother had also studied there. His professional stage debut occurred at the age of 21. His film debut came one year later, when Jean de la Lune (Jean of the Moon) was produced in 1931. However, his most important, career-defining role came in 1934, when Jean Cocteau's play, La Machine infernale (The Infernal Machine), was released. When his film and stage career began rising quickly, World War II broke out.