François Chaumette (September 8, 1923 - February 27, 1996) was a French actor and voice actor.
A very prolific stage actor, he became the 435th sociétaire of the Comédie-français theatre troupe and made his film debut with a small role in Marcel Carné's Les Visiteurs du Soir in 1942. Known for appearing in films like Le Bossu and series like Belphegor, or Phantom of the Louvre , D'Artagnan (1969) and Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge, he also had a career as a dubbing actor. He wasn't attached to a specific actor (although he dubbed Robert Duvall four times).
His best known dubbing roles include Darth Vader in the first Star Wars film, A New Hope (Georges Aminel replaced him afterwards, for his voice sounded deeper and closer to that of James Earl Jones), as well as HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon and Skeletor in the Masters of the Universe live-action film. He also appeared in the Contes à trembler debout ("Tales to shiver standing up") skits of the early 1980s show Les Visiteurs du mercredi as a storyteller of frightening tales.
His voice was much appreciated for Narrator parts and was used in Z, some French animated series in The '80s, audiobooks and audio plays (either stories for children or documentaries), including one about Superman in 1980.
He passed away from cancer at age 72 on February 27, 1996.
