Paul Hébert, OC, CQ (May 28, 1924 – April 20, 2017) was a

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

television and stage

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and director, and the founder of six theatres in Quebec. He is best known for his role as Siméon Desrosiers in '' Le Temps d’une paix'', a Canadian

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Life

Hébert was born on May 28, 1924, in

Thetford Mines Thetford Mines (; Canada 2021 Census population 26,072) is a city in south-central Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality. The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains, 187 km east-northeast of Mo ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, where he was raised by his mother and aunts. He attended high school at the Collège de Lévis in Lévis and university at

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. He died on April 20, 2017, in Quebec City.

Career

Hébert appeared on many Canadian

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

including '' 14, rue de Galais'' and ''Nos étés''. He also notable for portraying the French judge

Henri Donnedieu de Vabres Henri Donnedieu de Vabres (; 8 July 1880 – 14 February 1952) was a French jurist who took part in the Nuremberg trials after World War II and a president of the AIDP. He was the primary French judge during the proceedings, with Robert Falco ...

in the Canadian–American drama film ''Nuremberg''. He spent the first two years of his career managing Les Comédiens de Québec, a theater company in Quebec City. In 1949, on scholarship from the Arts Council of Great Britain, he traveled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to study at The Old Vic theatre. He returned to Canada in 1952. Between 1954 and 1964, he founded three theatre houses to train actors. In 1982, he opened another theatre house, Théâtre Paul-Hébert in

Île d'Orléans Île d'Orléans (; ) is an island located in the Saint Lawrence River about east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage of French Canadians c ...

. In 1965, he appeared in the Gilles Carle film ''La Vie heureuse de Léopold Z''. He also taught at the National Theatre School that year. During the 1970s, he was the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

for Trident Theatre, another house he founded. He was made an

Officer of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian national order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the centennial of Canadian Confederation, the ...

on June 29, 1987, for his services to French Canadian entertainment and was made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

in 1994. In 1984, the

Université du Québec The Université du Québec () is a system of ten provincially-run public universities in Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters are in Quebec City. The university coordinates 1400 programs for over 100,000 students. The government of Quebec founded ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate, as did Université Laval in 2000. In 2007, he earned the Denise-Pelletier Award for Performing Arts, a Governor General's Award, the Academy of Quebec Theatre's Hommage Award and the Victor-Morin Theatre Award.

Partial filmography

*'' The Luck of Ginger Coffey'' (1964) - Court Clerk *'' Walls of Memory (Mémoire en fête)'' - 1964, narrator *''Regards sur l'occultisme (2e partie) - Science et esprits'' (1965) - Narrator *'' La vie heureuse de Léopold Z'' (1965) - Théophile Lemay *'' It Isn't Jacques Cartier's Fault (C'est pas la faute à Jacques Cartier)'' (1968) *'' My Side of the Mountain'' (1969) - Hunter *'' The Christmas Martian (Le martien de Noël)'' (1971) - Le père / Father *''Les jours gris'' (1974) - Un pensionnaire *'' Pardon Mon Affaire'' (1976) - (uncredited) *'' Happy Memories (Les Beaux Souvenirs)'' (1981) - Marie's father *'' Red Eyes (Les Yeux rouges)'' (1982) - Thomas *'' Summer Rain (Pluie d'été)'' - 1985 *'' In the Shadow of the Wind (Les Fous de Bassan)'' (1987) - Timothé Brown *'' The Mills of Power (Les tisserands du pouvoir II: La Révolte)'' (1988) *''La nuit avec Hortense'' (1988) *'' The Confessional (Le Confessionnal)'' (1995) - The Parish Priest (1989) *''The Ear of a Deaf Man (L'oreille d'un sourd)'' (1996) - Emile *'' The Long Winter'' (1999) - Grand-père Bouchard *''

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

'' (2000, TV Mini-Series) - Henri Donnedieu de Vabres *''The Book of Eve'' (2002) - Mr Cooper *'' The Novena (La Neuvaine)'' (2005) - Prêtre qui bénit *'' Route 132'' (2010) - Monsieur Crète (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hebert, Paul 1924 births 2017 deaths Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Knights of the National Order of Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada People from Thetford Mines Prix Denise-Pelletier winners Governor General's Award winners