René Auberjonois was born on June 1 1940 in New York City. His father was Swiss-born Fernand Auberjonois, who was a foreign correspondent of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Toledo Blade. He was nominated multiple times for the Pulitzer Prize. His mother was Princess Laure Louise Napoléone Eugénie Caroline Murat, a great-great granddaughter of Joachim Murat, the 1st Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808, and King of Naples from 1808 to 1815. Following World War II, his family moved to Paris and they spent several years in France. It was while in Paris that he decided to become an actor. The family later returned to the United States and joined the South Mountain Road artists' colony in Rockland County, New York. With the The Rockland Foundation Players he appeared in a production of All My Sons. The family later moved to London, where René Auberjonois completed his high school education. He attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Following his graduation he worked with various theatrical companies. He helped found the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
René Auberjonois made his debut on Broadway in a production of King Lear in 1968. In the late Sixties he appeared on Broadway in the productions A Cry of Players, Fire!, and Coco. In the Seventies he appeared on Broadway in the productions Twelfth Night, Tricks, The Good Doctor, and Break a Leg. After a gap of several years, he returned to Broadway in Big River. In the late Eighties he appeared in Metamorphosis and City of Angels. He was off the Broadway stage for several years before appearing in Dance of the Vampires in 2002. His last appearance on Broadway was in Sly Fox in 2004.
René Auberjonois made his film debut in an uncredited role in Lilith in 1964. In the Sixties he appeared in the films Petulia (1968), M*A*S*H (1970), and Brewster McCloud (1970). In the Seventies he appeared in the films McCable and Mrs. Miller (1971), Images (1972), Pete 'n' Tillie (1972), The Hindenburg (1975), The Big Bus (1975), King Kong (1976), Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), and Where the Buffalo Roam (1980).
In the Eighties René Auberjonois provided voices for the animated films The Last Unicorn (1982), Little Nemo (1989), and The Little Mermaid (1989). He appeared in the films 3:15 (1986), The Christmas Star (1986), My Best Friend is a Vampire (1987), Walker (1987), Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988), and The Feud (1989). In the Nineties he appeared in The Lost Language of Cranes (1991), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), The Player (1992), The Ballad of Little Joe (1993), Batman Forever (1995), Snide and Prejudice (1997), Los Locos (1997), Inspector Gadget (1999), The Patriot (2000), and We All Fall Down (2000). He provided a voice in the animated film Cats Don't Dance (1997).
In the Naughts Mr. Auberjonois appeared in the films Burning Down the House (2001) and Eulogy (2006). In the Teens he appeared in the films This is Happening (2015), Certain Women (2016), Blood Stripe (2016), The Circuit (2019), Windows on the World (2019), and Raising Buchanan (2019).
René Auberjonois made his television debut in an episode of The Mod Squad in 1971. In the Seventies he guest starred on the TV shows McMillan & Wife; Night Gallery; NET Playhouse; Love, American Style; Great Performances; Harry O; The Jeffersons; Ellery Queen; The Bob Newhart Show; Saturday Night Live; The Rookies; Baa Baa Black Sheep; Delvecchio; Rhoda; The Bionic Woman; Rosetti & Ryan; Man from Atlantis; Richie Brockelman, Private Eye; Starsky and Hutch; The Rockford Files; Wonder Woman; Hart to Hart; Charlie's Angels; Mrs. Columbo; Beyond Westworld; and The Righteous Apples. He appeared in the mini-series The Rhinemann Exchange, The Lives of Benjamin Franklin; and The Dark Secret of Harvest Home. Mr. Auberjonois appeared in several television movies in the decade, including the reunion movie The Wild Wild West Revisited. Beginning in 1980, he played Clayton Runnymede Endicott III on Benson.
For much of the Eighties René Auberjonois continued to appear on Benson. In the Eighties he guest starred on Faerie Tale Theatre; Murder, She Wrote; Blacke's Magic; and L.A. Law. Either as a voice or a regular he provided voices for several television cartoon series, among them Challenge of the GoBots, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, Wildfire, Johnny Quest, Superman, Snorks, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, and Darkwing Duck.
Beginning in 1993, Mr. Auberjonois played security chief Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He guest starred on the shows Civil Wars; Lucky Luke; Eerie, Indiana; Matlock; The Outer Limits; Poltergeist: The Legacy; Chicago Hope; Stargate SG-1; and The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne. Either as a guest or a regular, he provided voices for several animated series, including Batman: The Animated Series; The Pirates of Dark Water; Aladdin; The Savage Dragon; Richie Rich; Men in Black: The Series; and The Wild Thornberrys.
In the Naughts René Auberjonois had a regular role on Boston Legal and earlier a recurring role on Judging Amy. He guest starred on the shows Nash Bridges, Frasier, The Practice, Star Trek: Enterprise, Saving Grace, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Dan Vs. He provided voices for several animated shows, including The Legend of Tarzan, Justice League, Xiaolin Showdown, Xyber 9: New Dawn, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Young Justice.
In the Teens he guest starred on Bored to Death, Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, The Good Wife, 1600 Penn, Warehouse 13; and Madam Secretary. He provided voices for such animated series as The Looney Tunes Show, Archer, Pound Puppies, and Ben 10: Omniverse.
René Auberjonois was an extraordinarily talented and versatile actor. This can be seen in that the characters in television shows for which he was best known were often very different. On Benson Clayton Runnymede Endicott III was a snob with a long streak of arrogance. On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Odo was taciturn, a cynic, and a curmudgeon, but one with a very warm heart. On Boston Legal Paul Lewiston was strictly by the book. The three characters were each very different, but all were played excellently by Mr. Auberjonois. His versatility was seen in his work as a voice actor as well. He played everything from supervillains such as DeSaad and Blockbuster to amorous skunk Pepe LePew. René Auberjonois was extremely versatile and very talented. It is little wonder he was also very prolific.
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