Philippe Noiret
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Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a
French film French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary influ ...
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
.


Life and career

Noiret was born in
Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student and attended several prestigious Paris schools, including the Lycée Janson de Sailly. He failed several times to pass his
baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
exams, so he decided to study theater. He trained at the Centre Dramatique de l'Ouest and toured with the Théâtre National Populaire for seven years, where he met
Monique Chaumette Monique Chaumette (born 4 April 1927) is a French actress. She appeared in more than forty films since 1958. She was married to Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career No ...
, whom he married in 1962. During that time he developed a career as a nightclub comedian in a duo act with
Jean-Pierre Darras Jean-Pierre Darras (1927–1999) was a French actor. Filmography 1927 births 1999 deaths Deaths from cancer in France French film directors French monarchists Male actors from Paris People from Val-de-Marne French male film actors ...
, in which he played
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...
in an extravagant wig opposite Darras as the dramatist
Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...
. In these roles they satirized the politics of
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
,
Michel Debré Michel Jean-Pierre Debré (; 15 January 1912 – 2 August 1996) was the first Prime Minister of the French Fifth Republic. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France. He served under President Charles de Gaulle from 195 ...
and
André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed by P ...
. Noiret's screen debut (1949) was an uncredited role in '' Gigi''. In 1955 he appeared in ''
La Pointe Courte ''La Pointe Courte'' is a 1955 French drama film directed by Agnès Varda (in her feature film directorial debut). It has been cited by many critics as a forerunner of the French New Wave,Kirshner, J. (2021). An Artist in Her Own Right: The Cinema ...
'' directed by Agnès Varda. She said later, "I discovered in him a breadth of talent rare in a young actor." Sporting a pudding-basin haircut, Noiret played a lovelorn youth in the southern fishing port of Sète. He later admitted: "I was scared stiff, and fumbled my way through the part—I am totally absent in the film." He was not cast again until 1960 in ''
Zazie dans le Métro Isabelle Marie Anne de Truchis de Varennes (born 18 April 1964), better known by her stage name Zazie, is a French singer-songwriter and former fashion model. Her greatest hits include " Je suis un homme", " À ma place" and "Speed". She co-produ ...
''. After playing second leads in
Georges Franju Georges Franju (; 12 April 1912 – 5 November 1987) was a French filmmaker. He was born in Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine. Biography Early life Before working in French cinema, Franju held several different jobs. These included working for a ...
's '' Thérèse Desqueyroux'' in 1962, and in ''Le Capitaine Fracasse'', from
Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...
's romantic adventure, he became a regular on the French screen, without being cast in major roles until ''
A Matter of Resistance ''A Matter of Resistance'' (french: La Vie de château) is a 1966 French romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, and starring Catherine Deneuve, Pierre Brasseur, Philippe Noiret and Henri Garcin. It takes place in Norm ...
'' directed by
Jean-Paul Rappeneau Jean-Paul Rappeneau (born 8 April 1932) is a French film director and screenwriter. Career He started out in film as an assistant and screenwriter collaborating with Louis Malle on ''Zazie dans le métro (film), Zazie dans le métro'' in 1960 a ...
in 1966. He became a star in France with
Yves Robert Yves Robert (19 June 1920 – 10 May 2002) was a French actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. Life and career Robert was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. In his teens, he went to Paris to pursue a career in acting, starting with ...
's '' Alexandre le Bienheureux''. "When I began to have success in the movies," Noiret told film critic
Joe Leydon Joseph Patrick Michael Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for ''Variety'' since 1990, he is the author of ''Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See'' (Michael Wiese Prod ...
at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
in 1989, "it was a big surprise for me. For actors of my generation—all the men of 50 or 60 now in French movies—all of us were thinking of being stage actors. Even people like
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 ...
, all of us, we never thought we'd become movie stars. So, at the beginning, I was just doing it for the money, and because they asked me to do it. But after two or three years of working on movies, I started to enjoy it, and to be very interested in it. And I'm still very interested in it, because I've never really understood how it works. I mean, what is acting for the movies? I've never really understood."
MovingPictureBlog.com, 23 November 2006
Noiret was cast primarily as the
Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...
character, although he did not hesitate to accept controversial roles, such as in ''
La Grande Bouffe ''La Grande Bouffe'' (Italian: ''La grande abbuffata''; English: ''The Grand Bouffe'' and ''Blow-Out'') is a 1973 satirical film directed by Marco Ferreri. It stars Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret and Andréa ...
'', a film about suicide by overeating, which caused a scandal at Cannes in 1973, and in 1991 André Téchiné cast Noiret in ''
J'embrasse pas ''I Don't Kiss'' (french: J'embrasse pas) is a 1991 French drama film directed by André Téchiné, starring Manuel Blanc, Emmanuelle Béart and Philippe Noiret. The plot follows a young man who leaves his provincial home in the Pyrenees, goin ...
'' (I Don't Kiss), as a melancholy old homosexual obsessed with young male flesh. And in 1987, in ''
The Gold Rimmed Glasses ''Gli occhiali d'oro'' (internationally released as ''The Gold Rimmed Glasses'') is a 1987 Italian drama film directed by Giuliano Montaldo, starring Philippe Noiret, Rupert Everett and Valeria Golino. Set in Ferrara and in a nearby seaside resort ...
'' based on
Giorgio Bassani Giorgio Bassani (4 March 1916 – 13 April 2000) was an Italian novelist, poet, essayist, editor, and international intellectual. Biography Bassani was born in Bologna into a prosperous Jewish family of Ferrara, where he spent his childhood wit ...
's novel about the cramped social life of post-war
Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
in Italy, he played an elderly and respectable doctor who is gradually suspected of being a covert homosexual with a passion for a beautiful young man (
Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...
). Noiret won his first César Award for his role in '' Vieux Fusil'' in 1976. His second César came in 1990 for his role in ''
Life and Nothing But ''Life and Nothing But'' (french: La vie et rien d'autre) is a 1989 French film directed by Bertrand Tavernier. It was inspired by the novel by Albanian writer Ismail Kadare titled '' The General of the Dead Army''. Synopsis Set in October 1920, i ...
''. Noiret appeared in Hollywood-financed films by
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 ...
(''
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 ...
''),
George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...
('' Justine''),
Ted Kotcheff William Theodore Kotcheff (born April 7, 1931) is a Bulgarian-Canadian film and television director, writer and producer, known primarily for his work on British and American television productions such as ''Armchair Theatre'' and '' Law & Order ...
(''
Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? ''Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?'' (released in the UK as ''Too Many Chefs'') is a 1978 black comedy mystery film directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring George Segal, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Morley. It is based on the 1976 novel '' ...
''),
Peter Yates Peter James Yates (24 July 1929 – 9 January 2011) was an English film director and producer. Biography Early life Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from ...
(''
Murphy's War ''Murphy's War'' is an Eastmancolor 1971 Panavision war film starring Peter O'Toole and Siân Phillips. It was directed by Peter Yates based on the 1969 novel by Max Catto. The film's cinematographer was Douglas Slocombe. The film is set in ...
'') and Anatole Litvak (''
The Night of the Generals ''The Night of the Generals'' is a 1967 World War II mystery film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Sam Spiegel. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret. The screenplay ...
''). But he may be best known for his roles as Alfredo in '' Cinema Paradiso'' (1988), Pablo Neruda in ''
Il Postino ''Il Postino: The Postman'' ( it, Il postino, lit, 'The Postman'; the title used for the original US release) is a 1994 comedy-drama film co-written by and starring Massimo Troisi and directed by English filmmaker Michael Radford. Based on th ...
'', and Major Dellaplane in
Bertrand Tavernier Bertrand Tavernier (25 April 1941 – 25 March 2021) was a French director, screenwriter, actor and producer. Life and career Tavernier was born in Lyon, France, the son of Geneviève (née Dumond) and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, s ...
's ''
Life and Nothing But ''Life and Nothing But'' (french: La vie et rien d'autre) is a 1989 French film directed by Bertrand Tavernier. It was inspired by the novel by Albanian writer Ismail Kadare titled '' The General of the Dead Army''. Synopsis Set in October 1920, i ...
''. By the time of his death from
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in Paris in 2006, aged 76, Noiret had more than 100 film roles to his credit. He often joked with interviewers about his virtually non-stop work schedule, telling
Joe Leydon Joseph Patrick Michael Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for ''Variety'' since 1990, he is the author of ''Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See'' (Michael Wiese Prod ...
in 1989: "You never know what will be the success of a film. And it's always comfortable to be making another film when you're reading terrible notices for your last film. You can say, 'Well, that's a pity, but I'm already working on another job.' It helps in your living. You see, if you're only making one film a year, or one film every year and a half, it's hard. Because when it's a failure, what do you do? What do you become? You're dead."


Awards

*
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film. Superlatives Note: ...
** 1990 –
Nuovo Cinema Paradiso ''Cinema Paradiso'' ( it, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, , literally "New Paradise Cinema") is a 1988 coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Set in a small Sicilian town, the film centers on the friendship between a young bo ...
*
César Award for Best Actor This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Actor (french: César du meilleur acteur). History Superlatives Winners 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Multiple wins and nominations The following indivi ...
**
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
– ''Le Vieux Fusil'' **
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
– ''La Vie et rien d'autre''


Selected filmography


References


External links

*
''Guardian'' obituary


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noiret, Philippe 1930 births 2006 deaths Mass media people from Lille European Film Award for Best Actor winners Best Actor BAFTA Award winners Best Actor César Award winners Deaths from cancer in France French male film actors French male stage actors Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni David di Donatello winners 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male actors