André Maturette (born 1914) was a prisoner in the

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

prison colony of

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islan ...

who attempted to escape with

Henri Charrière Henri Charrière (; 16 November 1906 – 29 July 1973) was a French writer, convicted of murder in 1931 by the French courts and pardoned in 1970. He wrote the 1969 novel '' Papillon'', a memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a p ...

and Joanes Clousiot.

Biography

Maturette was born in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and was arrested in 1932 when he was seventeen for the murder of a taxi cab driver. He was originally sentenced to death by

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

, but was later sentenced to life because of his young age. In early 1933, Maturette was sent to the penal colony in

where he met Charrière and Joanes Clousiot, with whom he would eventually escape. In the early morning hours of 28 November 1933 the three escaped from the hospital in

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

prison and went to a

leper colony A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East ...

, buying a boat from the lepers led by

Toussaint ''Toussaint'' (French for All Saints' Day, literally: "All Saints") may refer to: * Toussaint (name) * Toussaint, Seine-Maritime, a commune in the arrondissement of Le Havre in the Seine-Maritime département of France * Toussaint hierarchy, a mat ...

. Eventually, they were all recaptured in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, and were returned to French authorities who sentenced them to two years

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

. Clousiot died shortly after being released from solitary. Charrière survived solitary confinement and successfully escaped from

on a bag of coconuts, while Maturette stayed in Royale working in the hospital. In the 1950s, Maturette was living and married in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. In the

1973 film This page covers significant events of the year 1973 in film. Warner Bros. and Walt Disney Studios celebrated their 50th anniversaries. Highest-grossing films United States and Canada The top ten 1973 released films by box office gross in th ...

'' Papillon'', he was portrayed by

Robert Deman Robert Kurt Deman (born November 1, 1946) is an American actor most famous for starring in the 1973 film '' Papillon'' as André Maturette. He also appeared in ''The Four Deuces'' (1975) starring Jack Palance and Carol Lynley, the TV movie ''Mu ...

. In the 2017 film adaptation of the same name, directed by Michael Noer, Maturette (played by

Joel Basman Joel Basman (born 23 January 1990) is a Swiss actor best known for having played Franz Kafka in the ARD Miniseries ''Kafka'' (2024) Early life Basman was born in Zurich, Switzerland, to a Swiss Christian mother and an Israeli-Jewish father ...

) is shot by Colombian policemen after having escaped to a native village.

References

1914 births Possibly living people Devil's Island inmates Escapees from French detention French escapees {{France-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References