Corinne Benizio ("Shirley", born 1962) and Gilles Benizio ("Dino", born 1957), are a French comic duo known by their stagename Shirley et Dino.

Biographies and debut

Gilles was born on June 1, 1957 in

Villerupt Villerupt (; lb, Weller) is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. A festival takes place in the commune each year in October-November. Population Notable people from Villerupt * Aurélie Filippetti * Olivi ...

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.Dugny Dugny () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. About a third of Le Bourget airport lies on the territory of the commune of Dugny, including its main terminal and the '' Musée de l'A ...

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobigny ...

. The couple met at university in 1982, married in 1985, and made their debut the same year with the stage name "Achilles Tonic". In several of their shows, the duo depicted touching stories about unsuccessful naïve clowns.Philippe Rège - Encyclopedia of French Film Directors - Volume 1 2009 081086939X- Page 77 In 2002 they released a partially autobiographical movie '

Cabaret Paradis ''Cabaret Paradis'' (Cabaret Paradise) is a 2006 French comedy film. The plot revolves around Shirley and Dino (Corinne and Gilles Benizio respectively), two entertainers as they purchase an old cabaret, in Paris, which they desperately try to put ...

'. In 2009 they have played the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

King Arthur (opera) ''King Arthur, or The British Worthy'' (Z. 628), is a semi-opera in five acts with music by Henry Purcell and a libretto by John Dryden. It was first performed at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden, London, in late May or early June 1691. The p ...

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

, and in 2015 they played

Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse ''Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse'' (''Don Quixote at the Duchess'') is a "comic ballet" ('' comédie lyrique'') by the French baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. Although it is described as a ballet, it is sung throughout with a libret ...

, a comic

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

by the French Baroque writer

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (23 December 1689 – 28 October 1755) was a French baroque composer of instrumental music, cantatas, opéra-ballets, and vocal music. Boismortier was one of the first composers to have no patrons: having obtained ...

The Shirley et Dino show

Corinne and Gilles created the characters "Shirley and Dino" during an improvisation internship with

Ariane Mnouchkine Ariane Mnouchkine (; born 3 March 1939) is a French stage director. She founded the Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble ''Théâtre du Soleil'' in 1964. She wrote and directed ''1789'' (1974) and ''Molière'' (1978), and directed ''La Nuit Mirac ...

in 2002, and their frequent skits on

Patrick Sébastien Patrick Boutot (born 14 November 1953 in Brive-la-Gaillarde, Corrèze), better known as Patrick Sébastien, is a French television host, producer and media personality, radio host, singer, writer, producer, director, impressionist entertainer ...

's TV show "Le plus grand Cabaret du Monde" (The Greatest Cabaret Show of the World) made them famous in France. The release of clips from that show on YouTube in 2011 made them famous around the world, with more than 2.5 million views (as of September 2018). As 'Shirley and Dino' they played magic tricks that don't work or magic tricks that were "mistakenly" revealed, and sang well-known

Chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic s ...

style songs off-tune, with the wrong words or misinterpreted lyrics in foreign languages. ''Shirley'', dressed in a 1960s style

gingham Gingham, also called Vichy check, is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric typically with striped, check or plaid duotone patterns, in bright colour and in white made from dyed cotton or cotton-blend yarns. It is made of carded, medium or ...

dress would explain what they are about to do, with outbursts of awkward laughter, and standing in a childish silly posture, while ''Dino'', dressed in a white suit, pants a bit too short, and a wig with two curls on his forehead, constantly interrupts her, mocking her and talking to the crowd. In 2003 they received the Mulier prize for their "Le Duo" show, as the "Best Sketch Show of the year". According to the official website, Their DVD was sold in more than 1 million copies.Corinne and Gilles' official website
(in French)

Theater

Filmography

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley and Dino French comedians 1957 births 1962 births Living people