Leroy Haynes
Leroy Haynes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leroy Howard Milton Haynes January 7, 1914 Clinton, Kentucky, United States |
| Died | 1986 (aged 71–72) |
| Occupations | Restaurateur and actor |
| Known for | Chez Haynes restaurant in Paris, France |
| Spouses | Gabrielle Lecarbonnier (m. 1949; div.) Maria dos Santos |
Leroy Haynes (7 January 1914 – 1986) was an American restaurateur and actor. As an actor, he appeared in The Butterfly Affair, Bons Baisers de Hong Kong, and Ace High. His restaurant Chez Haynes in Paris, France, became an iconic restaurant that was visited by well known actors and entertainers.
Biography
Leroy "Roughouse" Haynes was born Leroy Howard Milton Haynes in Clinton, Kentucky, United States, 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 earned the nickname "Roughouse" from his football playing days. He enlisted in the U.S. army, serving from 1946 to 1949,[4] during which time he went to Europe. While stationed in Germany, he would go to Paris, where he chose to remain after completing his service, leaving with the rank of a chief warrant officer in Europe.[4][5][6] In 1949, he married Gabrielle Lecarbonnier, a young French woman. Together they opened "Gabby and Haynes", and later Chez Haynes. Culinary historian Adrian Miller in his book Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time (2013) quoted a newspaper saying in 1966 that the restaurant restaurant "would make Haynes America's unofficial ambassador to France for down home cooking and, later, for soul food."[6] As part of Parisian African-American culinary history, he has been honored by Electra Weston in her performances.[7] From the 1960s, he acted in movies of the gangster genre. He was also the president of the American Fellowship for a period of time.[8]
Haynes died in 1986. His widow Maria dos Santos continued running the restaurant for 23 years after his death, until it closed in 2009.[6][8]
Restaurant
His soul food restaurant was opened in 1949. They would serve fried chicken and chitlins, beans and rice, mashed potatoes, and corn bread.[9] The clientele included African Americans living in Paris, as well as others visiting, also white Europeans wanting to try the food. Haynes and his restaurant feature in the French film La Bonzesse (1974), directed by François Jouffa.
Actor
In 1961, Haynes had an early film role was in Un nommé La Rocca, directed by Jean Becker.[10] He then appeared in Le gorille a mordu l'archevêque in 1962.[11] His last film roles included being in the 1975 Yvan Chiffre-directed Bons Baisers de Hong Kong (From Hong Kong with Love).[12][13]
Filmography
| 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 |
References
- ^ Cinemafrodiscendente.com Haynes, Leroy
- ^ Celebrity BIrthdays Leroy Haynes. Archived 2017-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Fabre, Michel (1991). "'Making It' in Postwar France". From Harlem to Paris: Black American Writers in France, 1840–1980. University of Illinois Press. p. 165. ISBN 9780252063640 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Jones, Wilbert (July 24, 2024). "Remembering Leroy Haynes and Chez Haynes". Cuisine Noir. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ Julie D. "The Legacy of Soul Food in Paris | Chez Haynes, The restaurant of the African-American community". HomeTown. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ a b c Miller, Adrian (2013). "Chitlins". Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time. UNC Press Books. p. 105. ISBN 9781469607634 – via Google Books.
- ^ Discover Paris, February 2001 Newsletter Archives, African-American Culinary History in Paris by Monique Y. Wells
- ^ a b "Chez Haynes": Let's not forget this soul food restaurant in the Harlem of Paris' that was a delectable piece of Black history. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 22, 2010.
- ^ Riesman, Bob (2011). I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy. University of Chicago Press. p. 192. ISBN 9780226717456 – via Google Books.
- ^ Osobnosti.cz Leroy Haynes, Filmografie
- ^ "Le Gorille a mordu l'archevêque". UNIFRANCE French Cinema Worldwide.
- ^ a b Leroy Haynes (1914–1986), IMDb.
- ^ "FROM HONG KONG WITH LOVE". Cinememorial.