Jean Bruce (22 March 1921 – 26 March 1963), born Jean Brochet, was a prolific French popular writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Jean Alexandre, Jean Alexandre Brochet, Jean-Martin Rouan, and Joyce Lindsay. He died in a car accident in 1963 at the age of 42. He is particularly known for the adventures of secret agent

Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath OSS 117 is the codename for Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, a fictional secret agent created by French writer Jean Bruce. Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath is described as being an American Colonel from Louisiana of French descent. After service in the Of ...

, aka

OSS 117 OSS 117 is the codename for Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, a fictional secret agent created by French writer Jean Bruce. Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath is described as being an American Colonel from Louisiana of French descent. After service in the Off ...

, of which many novels were adapted for the screen in the 1960s. Bruce's first OSS 117 novel appeared in 1949. He wrote prolifically with 91 OSS 117 novels and many others before his death in a

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

sports car crash. Though the first ''

OSS 117 Is Not Dead ''OSS 117 n'est pas mort'' is the 1957 film debut of Jean Bruce's fictitious secret agent Hubert Bonnisseur de La Bath, alias OSS 117, and the beginning of a long-lasting series. It was released in the United States by Republic Pictures under ...

'' film with

Ivan Desny Ivan Desny (born Ivan Nikolaevich Desnitskij; 28 December 1922 – 13 April 2002) was a Chinese-born actor of Russian descent. Early life Desny was born in Peking, China. Career Desny was a film actor. Bilingual in French and German, he acted ...

in the lead was already made in 1957, a popular series of several OSS 117 films started no earlier than in 1963, following the French release of '' Dr. No'', with

Kerwin Mathews Kerwin Mathews (January 8, 1926 – July 5, 2007) was an American actor best known for playing the titular heroes in ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' (1958), ''The Three Worlds of Gulliver'' (1960) and '' Jack the Giant Killer'' (1962). Early lif ...

in two, director

André Hunebelle André Hunebelle (1 September 1896 – 27 November 1985) was a French maître verrier (master glassmaker) and film director. Master Glass Artist After attending polytechnic school for mathematics, he became a decorator, a designer, and then a mas ...

's discovery

Frederick Stafford Frederick Stafford (11 March 1928 – 28 July 1979) was a Czechoslovak-born actor. Born Friedrich Strobel von Stein, he spoke fluent Czech, German, English, French and Italian, and was a leading man in European spy-movies. Biography Early life ...

in two more,

John Gavin John A. Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–73), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–86). Among the films he appeared ...

in one (replacing Stafford who was starring in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's ''

Topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can mak ...

'', then with

Luc Merenda Luc Charles Olivier Merenda (born 3 September 1943) is a French film actor. He was one of the most prominent actors of the Italian poliziotteschi genre, working several times with Sergio Martino and Fernando Di Leo. He is of Italian origin thr ...

and Alan Scott in two in the 1970s that were French made for TV films. In 2006 the action spoof '' OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies'' starring

Jean Dujardin Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...

as OSS 117 became a surprise international hit. After his death, his wife

Josette Bruce Josette Bruce (née Josépha Pyrzbil; also Josette Dourne; 1920 – 10 February 1996) was a French novelist of Polish origin. She is remembered for taking over the literary series ''OSS 117'' about secret agent Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath after the ...

continued to write 143 new titles for the OSS 117 character beginning in 1966 until 1985. Afterward their son and daughter François and Martine Bruce wrote 24 books, from 1987 till 1992. Josette died in 1996. Films of some of Bruce's other books such as ''Le vicomte règle ses comptes'' (''The Viscount'') with Kerwin Mathews and ''

Cinq Gars pour Singapour ''Five Ashore in Singapore'' AKA ''Singapore, Singapore'' and ''Cinq gars pour Singapour'' is a 1967 French/Italian international co-production film based on the 1959 novel by Jean Bruce. Filmed on location in Singapore in 1966, it was the last f ...

'' (''Five Ashore in Singapore'') with Sean Flynn were made.

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...

played both a Jean Bruce type writer and his OSS 117 type creation in

Philippe de Broca Philippe de Broca (; 15 March 1933 – 26 November 2004) was a French movie director. He directed 30 full-length feature films, including the highly successful ''That Man from Rio, That Man from Rio (''L'Homme de Rio'')'', ''Le Magnifique, The M ...

's ''

Le Magnifique ''Le Magnifique'' (literally ''The Magnificent''; also known as The Man from Acapulco) is a French/Italian international co-production released in 1973, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jacqueline Bisset and Vittorio Caprioli that was directed by P ...

''.

External links

* * Jean Bruce web site
Translate.google.com
1921 births 1963 deaths Road incident deaths in France French male writers 20th-century French male writers {{France-novelist-20thC-stub