Jean Marais

Although he harbored a desire to act, Jean Marais was rejected by the top drama schools in France. The son of a doctor from whom his mother separated in 1917, he came to the attention of film director Maurice L'Herbier who cast him in small roles in "L'Epervier" and "L'Aventurier" (both 1933). Marais worked at the theater run by Charles Dullin in return for acting classes and a chance to play minor stage roles. In 1937, the actor met the man who would change his life--poet, playwright and designer Jean Cocteau. They became lovers and Cocteau began to utilize the handsome Marais in various stage productions like "Oedipe Roi" and as Sir Galahad in "Les Chevaliers de la table rond". The writer created the role of the smothered son in "Les Parents terribles" especially for the actor, which proved an artistic high point for both. With his striking looks, ethereal charm and vulnerability, Marais proved a perfect choice to embody Cocteau's tragic heroes. He first made his mark in the author's retelling of the Tristan and Isolde myth in "L'Eternal retourne/The Eternal Return" (1943), directed by Jean Delannoy. But perhaps their best-known collaboration remains the poetic masterpiece "La Belle et la bete/Beauty and the Beast" (1945). Of their remaining films together, the 1948 version of "Les parents terribles" ranks as the best. By the time of "Orphee" (1949), their personal relationship was ending, although they remained close friends.

The 1950s saw Marais undertake swashbuckling roles and become France's version of Errol Flynn in a number of popular but critically-derided vehicles like "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1954) and "Le Bossu" (1959). On the advice of Cocteau, he accepted the role of "Fantomas" in the 1964 remake and went on to essay the athletic master criminal in several sequels. In 1970, Jacques Demy tapped him to appear as the widowed king seeking a new queen in the fairy tale "Peau d'ane/Donkey Skin", which was an homage to Cocteau. By then, though, his film career was all but over and Marais returned to the stage, reviving Cocteau plays and appearing as "King Lear". He reteamed with Demy to play the Devil in "Parking" (1985), an ill-advised musical version of "Orphee". His last screen appearances were in Claude Lelouch's "Les Miserables" (1994) and Bernardo Bertolucci's "Stealing Beauty" (1995).

• Also Credited As:
  Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais
• Born:
  December 11, 1913 in Cherbourg, France
• Died:
  November 8, 1998.
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Director, Photographer's apprentice, Stage designer, Golf caddy, Newspaper vendor

Family

• Brother: Henri Marais.

Significant Others

• Companion: Jean Cocteau. directed Marais in several features including "La Belle et la bete" (1946) and "Orphee" (1950)

Milestones

• 1930 Left school and worked as a photographer's apprentice
• 1936 Studied acting with Charles Dullin; acted in minor roles with Dullin's company
• 1937 Met Jean Cocteau; acted on stage in Cocteau's productions of "Oedipe roi/Oedipus Rex" and "Les chevaliers de la table rond/Knights of the Round Table"
• 1938 Created role of the son smothered by his moter in play "Les Parents terribles"; part written especially for him by Cocteau
• 1939 Served in the French Air Force
• 1941 Acted in, directed and designed the stage production "Britannicus"
• 1943 Starred in "L'eternal retour/Eternal Return", a modern-day version of the Tristan and Isolde, directed by Jean Delannoy and scripted by Cocteau
• 1945 Had one of his greatest screen triumphs as the Beast in Cocteau's "La Belle et la bete/Beauty and the Beast"
• 1946 Originated the role of Stanislas, a poet chosen to assassinate a Queen with whom he instead falls in love in Cocteau's play "L'aigle a deux tetes/The Eagle With Two Heads"; recreated role on screen in 1948
• 1948 Recreated stage role in Cocteau's filming of "Les parents terribles"
• 1949 Reteamed with Cocteau for "Orphee"; last collaboration for a decade
• 1954 Had title role in "The Count of Monte Cristo"
• 1957 Appeared with Maria Schell and Marcello Mastroianni in Luchino Visconti's "Les nuits blanches/White Nights"
• 1959 Reunited with Cocteau for "Le testament d'Orphee"; also marked Cocteau's final film
• 1960 Appeared in Abel Gance's "Austerlitz"
• 1964 Undertook the leading role in the remake of "Fantomas"; reprised role in several sequels
• 1969 Acted in and directed a stage revival of Cocteau's "Oedipe Roi"
• 1970 Cast as the king in Jacques Demy's fairy tale "Peau d'ane/Donkey Skin"
• 1978 Made London stage debut playing the father in a revival of "Les parents terribles", opposite Lila Kedrova
• 1985 Appeared as the Devil in "Parking", in a musical remake of "Orphee" directed by Demy
• 1995 Acted in Claude Lelouch's "Les miserables"
• 1996 Final film role as an elderly art dealer in "Stealing Beauty", directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
• After WWI, moved to just outside Paris with his mother
• Began playing swashbuckling roles in the 1950s
• Began studying acting; came to the attention of Marcel L'Herbier who cast him in first film role in "L'Epervier" (1933)
• Briefly spent time as a company member of the Comedie-Francaise; did not act on stage
• Played Prospero in a staging of Shakepeare's "The Tempest"
• Returned to the Comedie-Francais
• Toured as "King Lear"