Jean Poiret, born Jean Poiré (17 August 1926 – 14 March 1992), was a French actor, director, and screenwriter. He is primarily known as the author of the original play '' La Cage aux Folles''.

Early career

Poiret was born in Paris, and first rose to prominence in 1951 playing the role of Fred Transport, one of the heroes of Pierre Dac and Francis Blanche's radio series ''Malheur aux Barbus''. In 1952, he met his future co-star of ''La Cage'' Michel Serrault at the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre. They starred in the sketch "Jerry Scott, Vedette Internationale". In 1961, Poiret, as a member of the French cinematic society Pathé, wrote and recorded "La Vache à Mille Francs", a parody of "La Valse à Mille Temps" by

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

. In 1973, he married actress Caroline Cellier, with whom he had one child.

''La Cage aux Folles''

In 1973, Poiret wrote and starred in the stage play '' La Cage aux Folles''. Its

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

in 1978 brought Poiret immense success. Although Poiret was replaced by Italian actor

Ugo Tognazzi Ottavio "Ugo" Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the most important faces of Italian comedy together with Vittorio Gassman, Nino Manfredi, Marcello Mastr ...

in the role of Renato Baldi, Serrault reprised his stage-role of Zaza Napoli and won a

César Award Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar R ...

for his work.

Later career

In 1992, Poiret directed ''Le Zèbre'' (''The Zebra''). his first and only film, an adaptation of

Alexandre Jardin Alexandre Jardin (; born 14 April 1965) is a French writer, film director and winner of the Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French List of literary awards, literary prize awarded each year by an exclusively female jury. The prize, which was ...

's novel. It starred Thierry Lhermitte and Caroline Cellier, and it was one of the top grossing films in France for the year and the highest-grossing debut European film for the year (with a gross of $12 million). Poiret died of a heart attack in Suresnes on 14 March 1992, three months before the film's premiere. He is buried at the

Cimetière du Montparnasse Montparnasse Cemetery () is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 35,000 graves, and approximately 1 ...

in Paris.

Filmography

*1953: ''Le Gang des pianos à bretelles'' (by Gilles de Turenne) - Le présentateur de 'La nuit brune' (uncredited) *1953: '' Les 3 Mousquetaires'' (by André Hunebelle) *1956: '' Cette sacrée gamine'' (by

Michel Boisrond Michel Jacques Boisrond (9 October 1921 – 10 November 2002) was a French film director and screenwriter. His work spanned five decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Career A former apprentice of Jean Delannoy, Jean Cocteau, and René Clair ...

) - first inspector *1956: '' La Vie est belle'' (by Roger Pierre and Jean-Marc Thibault) - maracas player *1956: '' Assassins et voleurs'' (by

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre (aesthetic), boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French ac ...

) - Philippe d'Artois *1956: ''

The Terror with Women ''The Terror with Women'' (French: ''La terreur des dames'') is a 1956 comedy film directed by Jean Boyer and starring Noël-Noël, Jacqueline Gauthier and Yves Robert.The A to Z of French Cinema p.24 It is an adaptation of the 1882 short stor ...

'' (by Jean Boyer) - gendarme *1957: '' Adorables démons'' (by

Maurice Cloche Maurice Cloche (17 June 1907, in Commercy, Meuse (department), Meuse – 20 March 1990, in Bordeaux, France) was a French people, French film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. Best known for his Oscar-winning film ''Monsieur V ...

) - Julien Willis Jr *1957: '' Le naïf aux quarante enfants'' (by

Philippe Agostini Philippe Agostini was a French cinematographer, director and screenwriter born 11 August 1910 in Paris (France), died 20 October 2001. He was married to Odette Joyeux until the end of her life. Biography Founder of École Louis-Lumière (sit ...

) - Master Bardine *1957: '' Ça aussi c'est Paris'' (Short, by

) - reporter *1957: '' Clara et les méchants'' (by

Raoul André Raoul André (24 May 1916 in Rabat (Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has ...

) - Chantuer - un gangster *1959: '' Nina'' (by Jean Boyer) - Adolphe Tessier *1959: '' Oh ! Qué Mambo'' (by John Berry) - inspector Sapin *1959: '' Messieurs les ronds de cuir'' (by

Henri Diamant-Berger Henri Diamant-Berger (9 June 1895 – 7 May 1972) was a French film director, director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he directed 48 films between 1913 in film, 1913 and 1959 in film, 1959, ...

) - René Lahrier *1959: '' Vous n'avez rien à déclarer ?'' (by Clément Duhour) - Robert de Trivelin *1960: '' La française et l'amour'' (by Charles Spaak) - Michel's lawyer (sketch ''Le divorce'') *1960: '' Candide ou l'optimisme du XXe siècle'' (by Norbert Carbonnaux) - 1st policeman *1961: '' Ma femme est une panthère'' (by Raymond Bailly) - psychiatrist *1961: '' Auguste'' (by Pierre Chevalier) - Georges Flower *1962: '' Les parisiennes'' (by

, Francis Cosne and Annette Wademant) - Jean-Pierre Leroy (segment "Antonia") *1962: '' The Dance'' (by Norbert Carbonnaux) - Old man *1962: ''

It's Not My Business ''It's Not My Business'' (French: ''C'est pas moi, c'est l'autre'') is a 1962 French comedy film directed by Jean Boyer (director), Jean Boyer and starring Fernand Raynaud, Jean Poiret and Micheline Dax.Krawc p.221 The film's sets were designed b ...

'' (by Jean Boyer) - Jean Duroc *1962: '' How to Succeed in Love'' (by

) - Bernard Monod *1962: '' Les quatre vérités'' (by Hervé Bromberger) - Renard (Fox) (segment "Le corbeau et le renard") *1963: '' Les vierges'' (by Jean-Pierre Mocky) - the banker Marchaix *1963: '' Un drôle de paroissien'' (by Jean-Pierre Mocky) - Raoul *1963: '' La foire aux cancres'' (by

Louis Daquin Louis Daquin (20 May 1908 – 2 October 1980) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed 14 films between 1938 and 1963. He also appeared in 11 films between 1937 and 1979. Selected filmography * ''The Man from Nowhere ...

) - Collin *1964: '' Les durs à cuire ou comment supprimer son prochain sans perdre l'appétit'' (by Jacques Pinoteau) - Louis *1964: '' Jealous as a Tiger'' (by Darry Cowl) - doctor Raymond *1964: '' La grande frousse'' (by Jean-Pierre Mocky) - Loupiac *1965: '' Les baratineurs'' (by Francis Rigaud) - André *1965: '' La bonne occase'' (by Michel Drach) - Grégoire *1965: '' La tête du client'' (by Jacques Poitrenaud) - Philippe / Monsieur Paul *1965: '' Le petit monstre'' (by Jean-Paul Sassy) - the godfather *1966: '' Your Money or Your Life'' (by Jean-Pierre Mocky) - Lucien Pélépan *1967: '' Le grand bidule'' by

) - Verdier *1967: '' Ces messieurs de la famille'' (by

) - Bernard Le Gall *1968: '' La grande lessive (!)'' (by Jean-Pierre Mocky) - Jean-Michel Lavalette *1969: '' Aux frais de la princesse'' (by Roland Quignon) - Santos *1969: '' Trois hommes sur un cheval'' (by

Marcel Moussy Marcel Moussy (7 May 1924 – 10 August 1995) was a French people, French screenwriter and television director. Moussy was born in Algiers. He was co-nominated with François Truffaut for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the ...

) - Tout / Freddy *1969: '' Ces messieurs de la gâchette'' (by

) - ''Bernard Le Gall'' *1970: '' Le Mur de l'Atlantique'' (by Marcel Camus) - Armand *1971: '' Mais qu'est-ce qui fait courir les crocodiles ?'' (by Jacques Poitrenaud) - Gontran *1979: '' La Gueule de l'autre'' (by Pierre Tchernia) - Jean-Louis Constant *1980: '' Le Dernier Métro'' (by

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

) - Jean-Loup Cottins *1982: ' (by Denys Granier-Deferre) - André Joeuf *1984: ' (by

Claude Pinoteau Claude Pinoteau (; 25 May 1925 – 5 October 2012) was a French film director and scriptwriter. Born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts de Seine, Île-de-France (region), Île-de-France, France. He died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, aged 87. (in French) ...

) - Jean Michelis *1985: '' Poulet au vinaigre'' (by

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...

) - Inspector Jean Lavardin *1985: ' (by

Jean Yanne Jean Yanne (; born Jean Roger Gouyé ; 18 July 1933 – 23 May 2003) was a French actor, screenwriter, producer, director and composer. In 1972, he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film '' We Won't ...

) - the caliph *1986: '' Inspecteur Lavardin'' (by

) - Inspector Jean Lavardin *1986: ' (by

Gérard Krawczyk Gérard Krawczyk (17 May 1953, Paris) is a French film director. He is of Polish people, Polish descent (his grandparents were from Częstochowa). Filmography Director * ''Homicide by Night'' (1984 in film, 1984) * ''Je hais les acteurs'' (a.k.a ...

) - Orlando Higgin *1987: '' Le Miraculé'' (by Jean-Pierre Mocky) - Papu *1988: '' Les saisons du plaisir'' (by Jean-Pierre Mocky) - Bernard Germain *1988: '' Corentin'' (by Jean Marboeuf) - the exorcist *1988: '' Une nuit à l'Assemblée Nationale'' (by Jean-Pierre Mocky) - Octave Leroy *1988: '' La petite amie'' (by Luc Béraud) - Martin Morel *1990: '' Lacenaire'' (by

Francis Girod Francis Girod (9 October 1944 – 19 November 2006) was a French film director, actor, and screenwriter. He directed 20 films between 1974 and 2006. His film ''L'enfance de l'art'' was entered into the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. In 1994 he w ...

) - Aliard *1992: '' Sup de fric'' (by Christian Gion) - Cyril Dujardin *1991: ' (by Christoph Böll) - Herzog Max *2007: '' La méthode Barnol'' (by Jean-Pierre Mocky) - M. Hubert

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poiret, Jean 1926 births 1992 deaths French male film actors French male stage actors 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery 20th-century French male actors French parodists Parody musicians French comedy musicians