Sim (born Simon Jacques Eugène Berryer; 21 July 1926 – 6 September 2009) was a
French humourist, writer and comedian.
He was part of the team on ''
Les Grosses Têtes
Les Grosses Têtes (; ("The Big Heads" or "The Big Brains" in English) is a daily comedy radio programme on the French language RTL radio network. Broadcast since 1 April 1977, the current host since 2014 has been Laurent Ruquier.
Presently bro ...
'', a radio and TV programme. He also played the part of
Geriatrix in the films
Asterix and Obelix vs Caesar
''Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar'' (french: Astérix & Obélix contre César) is a 1999 feature film directed by Claude Zidi, the first installment in the ''Asterix'' film series based on Goscinny and Uderzo's Astérix comics. The film combines ...
and
Astérix at the Olympic Games.
Biography
Simon Jacques Eugène was born on 21 July 1926 to engineer Henri Berryer and his wife Marie-Thérèse (née Bonnemazou).
At the time of his birth, Henri was an electrician for the director
Abel Gance
Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J ...
and
grip on the film
''Napoléon''.
Childhood
The family lived in a small flat in the Rue du Fer-à-Moulin, a cinema district in the
5th arrondissement of Paris
The 5th arrondissement of Paris (''Ve arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''le cinquième''.
The arrondissement, als ...
,
where Simon spent the most part of his earliest years at flats 26, then 28.
Very early on, his Russian uncle working at Synchro-Standard took Berryer to see the first talking pictures, which he would remember all his life.
In 1936, the family moved to
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
when Berryer senior found work as a technician at ''Le Majestic'' cinema
(later ''L'Olympic'', then ''La Fabrique'').
Adolescence
At the age of eleven, Barryer founded a comedy group called "Sim-Art".
(age fourteen, according to other sources
). In 1939, with his friend Jojo, Sim got his first award in a funny face competition organised on 15 August at
Saint-Julien-de-Concelles.
Age fourteen, they played truant and performed sketches in a cellar, with fake letters to their school justifying their absence.
Simon later studied at De Launey technical college in Nantes.
In 1941 his parents took over a cinema, ''L'Éden'', in the small town of
Ancenis
Ancenis (; ) is a former commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Ancenis-Saint-Géréon. It is a former sub-prefecture of the department, and was the seat of the former a ...
(between Nantes and
Angers
Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...
). The family moved from Nantes to Ancenis en 1942 and reopened the cinema. Sim continued his studies at the Joubert d'Ancenis lycée and worked as
projectionist
A projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector, particularly as an employee of a movie theater. Projectionists are also known as "operators".
Historical background
N.B. The dates given in the subject headings are approximate.
Early ...
in the family business.
Theatre
In 1946, the Berryer family stopped working at the Ancenis
to start a film distribution company at
Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
, without success.
The Berryer parents returned to Ancenis but Sim – now married – stayed in Rennes as a projectionist at ''Le Royal''. This venue also staged musical performances, so Sim saw performances from
Edith Piaf
Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...
,
Yves Montand
Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer.
Early life
Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held strong ...
,
Henri Salvador
Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean comedian, singer and cabaret artist.
Biography
Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of a native Ca ...
,
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...
, among others. He practiced his comedy, alone, after the performances. He won a contract as a humorous singer in a ballroom. He was spotted by Étienne Perrin, with whom he performed a comic clown act ''Etty et Balta''.
At the end of 1953, he toured as a comic song act in the Paris cabaret clubs, often in
drag, as at
Madame Arthur
Madame Arthur is a drag cabaret venue in the Rue des Martyrs, 18th arrondissement of Paris. It is named after the synonymous song.
History
Madame Arthur opened in 1946 as the first transvestite cabaret, which took its name from the famous song ...
in
Montmartre
Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...
. He also worked at the
Crazy Horse Saloon
Le Crazy Horse Saloon or Le Crazy Horse de Paris is a Parisian cabaret known for its stage shows performed by nude female dancers and for the diverse range of magic and variety 'turns' between each nude show and the next. Its owners have helped ...
as a dresser. This stage of his career would be resurrected in ''
Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais... elle cause !'' by
Michel Audiard
Paul Michel Audiard (; 15 May 1920 – 27 July 1985) was a French screenwriter and film director, known for his witty, irreverent and slang-laden dialogues which made him a prominent figure on the French cultural scene of the 1960s and 1970s. He ...
, where he plays a schoolteacher who has a spare-time
drag act
The term "drag" refers to the performance of exaggerated masculinity, femininity, or other forms of gender expression, usually for entertainment purposes. A drag queen is someone (usually male) who performs femininity and a drag king is someone ...
.
Television and cinema
In the 1960s, he was part of
Jean Nohain
Jean Nohain (1900–1981) was a French playwright, lyricist, and screenwriter, and a radio and television producer and presenter. He was the son of the librettist Franc-Nohain and the brother of the actor Claude Dauphin.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.118 ...
's team producing animated children's television, and performed the ''Baronne de la Tronche-en-Biais''
in a
Guy Lux
Guy Maurice Lux (21 June 1919 – 13 June 2003) was a French TV host and producer best known for his 1961 creation of the game show '' Intervilles'' and its numerous spinoffs. During his 40 year career, he produced, directed, hosted, and wrot ...
production.
In the 1970s he was part of many televised sketch shows. He also performed comic sketches and songs with humourist on
RTBF
The ''Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française'' (RTBF, ''Belgian Radio-television of the French Community'', branded as rtbf.be) is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Commu ...
's '. In France, he was a regular performer in short comic sketches, often in costume, on Guy Lux's programmes.
The 1970s saw his best cinema work. Sim also took part in the radio (and later television) programme ''
Les Grosses Têtes
Les Grosses Têtes (; ("The Big Heads" or "The Big Brains" in English) is a daily comedy radio programme on the French language RTL radio network. Broadcast since 1 April 1977, the current host since 2014 has been Laurent Ruquier.
Presently bro ...
'', from its start in 1977, and was a regular panellist on the television game show '.
He took part in directing the television series ', in which he played the role of Théodore in many episodes, as well as other roles.
Death
Sim died of a
pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain p ...
on 6 September 2009, aged 83, at the Bonnet community hospital in
Fréjus,
Var
Var or VAR may refer to:
Places
* Var (department), a department of France
* Var (river), France
* Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran
* Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...
where he was being treated for pneumonia.
His funeral took place on 11 September 2009 at the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in
Roquebrune-sur-Argens
Roquebrune-sur-Argens (; oc, Ròcabruna d'Argenç) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region, Southeastern France. In 2019, it had ...
, where he had lived for nine years. His wife Marie-Claude and daughter Laurence were accompanied by many famous performers, including
Victor Lanoux
Victor Lanoux (18 June 1936 – 4 May 2017) was a French actor best known to English speaking audiences for his role as Ludovic in '' Cousin, Cousine''.
Biography
Victor Lanoux, born Victor Robert Nataf was the son of a Tunisian Jew from Sfax a ...
,
Jacques Balutin
Jacques Balutin is a French actor.[Évelyne Buyle
Évelyne Buyle (born 3 June 1948) is a French actress
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, ra ...](_blank)
,
Philippe Bouvard
Philippe Bouvard (; born 6 December 1929 in Coulommiers) is a French television and radio presenter. From 1977 to 2014 he hosted the French radio program ''Les Grosses Têtes'' on Radio Luxemburg RTL, from 1982 to 1986 he hosted the television ...
and . The celebrant was Father Jérôme Renard.
He was cremated at
Vidauban
Vidauban () is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
It lies on the bank of the river Argens.
Geography Climate
Vidauban has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate cla ...
(Var) and his ashes scattered in the crematorium's garden of remembrance.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sim (actor)
1926 births
2009 deaths
People from Hautes-Pyrénées
French comedians
French humorists
French male writers
20th-century French comedians
20th-century French male writers
Deaths from pulmonary embolism