Gabriel-Axel-Obituary

Gabriel Axel

1918 - 2014

Obituary

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Gabriel Axel, the first Dane to win an Oscar for best foreign film with "Babette's Feast," which he directed, has died at the age of 95.

His daughter Karin Moerch said in a statement that he died Sunday "quietly and peacefully after a long and eventful life." She did not say where he died or give the cause of death.

Born April 18, 1918, in Denmark's second city Aarhus, Axel divided his time between his homeland and France. He grew up in Paris where his father owned a factory and at age 18 he returned to Denmark to work as a carpenter making furniture.

But the theater drew him, and he enrolled in the Danish Royal Theater Actors' School, graduating in 1945.

Axel was born Gabriel Axel Moerch but he dropped his last name when he joined the theater troupe of French film and stage artist Louis Jouvet in Paris. Axel directed several large projects for French television, then returned to Denmark to produce series for Denmark's public broadcaster and direct several films in the 1950s and 1960s. He also acted in films.

His international breakthrough came in 1987 with "Babette's Feast," based on a novel by Danish writer Karen Blixen. The movie is about a 19th century Parisian woman, played by French actress Stephan Audran, who finds shelter in a remote, puritanical Danish village, living with two sisters who maintain a strict religious philosophy.

Axel's works include "Prince of Jutland," a 1994 film that tells the story of Amled, the Danish prince whose life inspired Shakespeare's "Hamlet."

In 2003, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Copenhagen International Film Festival.

Axel's wife of nearly 50 years, Lucie Axel Moerch, died in 1996. He is survived by their four children and eight grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were not announced.

___

JAN M. OLSEN, Associated Press


Copyright © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

A gracious and respectable person whose work has done so much to bring so much joy to many of us in these troubled times hard to deal with (2 Tim 3:1). Perhaps more will continue to have positive experiences from a wonderful work that this giving person has shared resulting in a positive impact and contribution to life and its anxieties.

This was truly an amazing person with so much talent the loss is clearly ours. Prayers fill our hearts and burst forth from our mouths to God asking him to let us remember clearly the love we have for this wonderful person gone from our lives never forgetting the joy we shared. Hebrews 6:10.

As the days and weeks pass, and as you return to life's routine, may you continue to feel comforted by the love and support of family and friends.

As the days and weeks pass, and as you return to life's routine, may you continue to feel comforted by the love and support of family and friends.

TO THE FAMILY OF GABRIEL AXEL. I AM SORRY TO HEAR OF THE LOSS OF YOU LOVE ONE. MAY YOU FIND COMFORT BY DRAWING CLOSE TO GOD DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME PS 121:1-8

I am sorry for your loss. I hope you can find comfort in the words written at (Jeremiah 29:11,12)

To the Children and Grandchildren of Gabriel Axel:
May God comfort and sustain each of you at this time of bereavement.

My deepest condolences to the Axel family, friends and supporters. It is terrible to loose a loved one to death. May you draw close to the God of all comfort Ps 145:18.