Jean-Louis Barrault
Barrault, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1952
Born(1910-09-08)8 September 1910
Le Vésinet, France
Died22 January 1994(1994-01-22) (aged 83)
Paris, France
Spouse
(m. 1940)

Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (French: [baʁo]; 8 September 1910 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage.

Biography

Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundian pharmacist who died in the First World War.'[1]:87 He studied at the Collége Chaptal until 1930, when he began his studies at the École du Louvre.[1]:87

Theatre

From 1931 to 1935 Barrault studied and acted at Charles Dullin's L'Atelier.[2]:32 His first performance was a small role in Ben Jonson's Volpone. At the time, Barrault was unable to afford rent and Dullin allowed him to sleep in the theatre on Volpone's bed.[3]:16 It was L'Atelier that he first met and studied under Étienne Decroux,[4]:41 with whom he would create the pantomime La Vie Primitive in 1931.[1]:87

He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1942 to 1946, performing lead roles in Shakespeare's Hamlet and Corneille's Le Cid.[2]:32 He and his wife, actress Madeleine Renaud, formed their own troupe, Compagnie Renaud-Barrault, in 1946 at Paris' Théâtre Marigny.[5]:161 In 1951 he published his memoirs, Reflections on the Theatre.[6]

He was made director of Théâtre de France in 1959, and remained in the role until 1969. In 1971 he was reappointed director of Théâtre des Nations. He retired from theatre in 1990.[1]:87

Film

In 1935 he had his first film role in Marc Allégret's Les Beaux Jours.[1]:87 He would go on to act in nearly 50 movies over the course of his career. One of his most famous performances was in Marcel Carné's film Les Enfants du Paradis (1945), in which he played the mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau.[5]:161

He was the uncle of actress Marie-Christine Barrault and sometime sponsor of Peter Brook. In 1940, he married the actress Madeleine Renaud. They founded a number of theaters together and toured extensively, including in South America.

Barrault died from a heart attack in Paris on 22 January 1994, at the age of 83.[1]:87 He is buried with his wife Renaud in the Passy Cemetery in Paris.

Filmography

Year Title Role Director Notes
1935 Beautiful Days René Marc Allégret
1936 Mayerling Student Anatole Litvak Uncredited
Under Western Eyes Haldin Marc Allégret
Jenny Le Dromadaire Marcel Carné
Helene Pierre Régnier Jean Benoît-Lévy
Beethoven's Great Love Karl van Beethoven Abel Gance
1937 À nous deux, madame la vie Paul Briançon René Guissart and Yves Mirande
Police mondaine Scoppa Michel Bernheim and Christian Chamborant
Street of Shadows Le client fou G. W. Pabst
The Pearls of the Crown young Napoleon Sacha Guitry and Christian-Jaque
Bizarre, Bizarre William Kramps Marcel Carné
1938 Orage the African Marc Allégret
Le puritain Francis Ferriter Jeff Musso
J'accuse! Abel Gance
Mirages Pierre Bonvais Alexandre Ryder
Altitude 3.200 Armand Jean Benoît-Lévy and Marie Epstein
La Piste du sud Olcott Pierre Billon
1939 Farinet ou l'or dans la montagne Maurice Farinet Max Haufler
1941 Parade en sept nuits Lucien Ardouin Marc Allégret
Montmartre-sur-Seine Michel Courtin Georges Lacombe
1942 La Symphonie fantastique Hector Berlioz Christian-Jaque
Le Destin fabuleux de Désirée Clary Napoléon Bonaparte Sacha Guitry
1944 L'Ange de la nuit Jacques Martin André Berthomieu
1945 Children of Paradise Baptiste Deburau Marcel Carné
Blind Desire Michel Kremer Jean Delannoy
1947 Le Cocu magnifique Bruno E.G. de Meyst
1948 Man to Men Henri Dunant Christian-Jaque
1950 Vagabonds imaginaires Le récitant Alfred Chaumel and Jacques Dufilho Voice, (segment 'Le bateau ivre')
La Ronde Robert Kuhlenkampf, the poet Max Ophüls
1951 Traité de bave et d'éternité Himself Isidore Isou
1954 Royal Affairs in Versailles Fénelon Sacha Guitry
1959 The Doctor's Horrible Experiment Doctor Cordelier / Opale Jean Renoir TV movie
1960 Le dialogue des Carmélites Le mime Philippe Agostini and Raymond Leopold Bruckberger
1961 Le Miracle des loups Louis XI of France André Hunebelle
1962 The Longest Day Father Roulland Ken Annakin
1964 La grande frousse Douve Jean-Pierre Mocky
1966 Chappaqua Doctor Benoit Conrad Rooks
1977 Jacques Prévert Himself Jean Desvilles
1980 The Lovers' Exile Introducer Marty Gross
1982 That Night in Varennes Nicolas-Edme Rétif Ettore Scola
1988 La Lumière du lac Le vieux Francesca Comencini

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lust, Annette (19 November 2002). From the Greek Mimes to Marcel Marceau and Beyond: Mimes, Actors, Pierrots, and Clowns : a Chronicle of the Many Visages of Mime in the Theatre. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-4593-0.
  2. 1 2 Osnes, Beth; Osnes, Mary (2001). Acting: An International Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-87436-795-9.
  3. Arnold, Paul; Cohn, Ruby (1963). "The Artaud Experiment". The Tulane Drama Review. 8 (2): 15–29. doi:10.2307/1124697. ISSN 0886-800X. JSTOR 1124697.
  4. Leabhart, Thomas (15 September 1989). Modern and Post-Modern Mime. Macmillan International Higher Education. ISBN 978-1-349-20192-1.
  5. 1 2 Murray, Simon (14 December 2017). Jacques Lecoq. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-33549-2.
  6. Jean-Louis Barrault, Reflections on the Theatre. London: Rockcliff, 1951


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