Leroy Haynes

Leroy Haynes (1914–1986) was an expat American restaurateur and actor who resided in Paris, France. As an actor, he appeared in The Butterfly Affair, Bons Baisers de Hong Kong, and Ace High. His restaurant, Chez Haynes was a well known and iconic restaurant which would be visited by well known actors and entertainers.

Background

Leroy "Roughouse" Haynes was born Leroy Howard Milton Haynes in Clinton, Kentucky on January 7, 1914 to parents Robert Haynes and M.C. Curine Lena.[1][2] A student of the arts,[3] he was a Morehouse graduate who got his Roughouse name from his football days. While in the army he came to Europe. While stationed in Germany, he would come to Paris. In 1949, he married Gabrielle Lecarbonnier, a young French woman. Together they opened "Gabby and Haynes", and later Chez Haynes. Later he acted in movies of the gangster genre. He was also the president of the American Fellowship for a period of time.[4] In Adrian Miller's book Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, it mentioned a newspaper saying in 1966, that his restaurant and it's down home cooking and soul food would make Haynes America's unofficial ambassador to France.[5] A definite part of Parisian African-American Culinary History, he has been honored by Electra Weston in her performances.[6]

He died in 1986. His widow Maria dos Santos kept running the restaurant for 23 years after his death.[7]

Restaurant

His soul food restaurant was opened in 1949. They would serve fried chicken and chitlins, beans and rice, mashed potatoes, and corn bread.[8] The clientele include African Americans living in Paris as well as others visiting, also white Europeans wanting to try the food. You can see Leroy Haynes and his restaurant in the French film La Bonzesse (1974), directed by François Jouffa.

Actor

An early film role was in 1961, in Un nommé La Rocca, which was directed by Jean Becker.[9] He then appeared in Le gorille a mordu l'archevêque in 1962.[10] His last film was in 1975, the Yvan Chiffre directed Bons Baisers de Hong Kong.[11]

Filmography
Film
Title Year Role Director Notes #
Un nommé La Rocca 1961 Racketteur Jean Becker Uncredited
Le gorille a mordu l'archevêque 1962 Maurice Labro
Gendarme in New York 1965 Le chauffeur de taxi Jean Girault
Trois chambres à Manhattan 1965 Marcel Carné
Tendre voyou 1966 Le cuisinier du yacht Jean Becker
Die Schatzinsel 1966 / 1967 Abraham Gray Wolfgang Liebeneiner groundbreaking German TV miniseries
I quattro dell'Ave Maria 1968 Prize boxer Giuseppe Colizzi Uncredited
Le cri du cormoran, le soir au-dessus des jonques 1971 Boubou Michel Audiard Uncredited
Popsy Pop 1971 Ponchette Jean Herman
Petroleum Girls 1971 Marquis Christian-Jaque, Guy Casaril
L'Atlantide 1972 Bamako Jean Kerchbron TV movie
L'ange de la rivière morte 1974 Big Joe Edouard Logereau TV movie
Bons Baisers de Hong Kong 1975 Le gros noir Yvan Chiffre
Le faucon 1983 Entraîneur boxe Paul Boujenah

[12]

References
  1. Cinemafrodiscendente.com Haynes, Leroy
  2. Celebrity BIrthdays Leroy Haynes
  3. From Harlem to Paris: Black American Writers in France, 1840-1980 By Michel Fabre Page 165 "Making It" in Postwar France
  4. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 22, 2010
    "Chez Haynes": Let's not forget this soul food restaurant in the Harlem of Paris' that was a delectable piece of Black history
  5. Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, By Adrian Miller Page 105 Chitlins
  6. Discover Paris, February 2001 Newsletter Archives, African-American Culinary History in Paris by Monique Y. Wells
  7. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 22, 2010
    "Chez Haynes": Let's not forget this soul food restaurant in the Harlem of Paris' that was a delectable piece of Black history
  8. I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy, By Bob Riesman Page 192
  9. Osobnosti.cz Leroy Haynes, Filmografie
  10. UNIFRANCE French Cinema Worldwide Le Gorille a mordu l'archevêque
  11. Cinememorial BONS BAISERS DE HONG KONG
  12. Imdb Leroy Haynes (1914–1986)
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