Jean Marais

For the South African cricketer, see Jean Marais (cricketer).

Jean Marais
photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1947
Born	Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (1913-12-11)11 December 1913 Cherbourg, France
Died	Cannes, France
Occupation	Actor, director
Years active	1933 - 1996
Spouse(s)	Mila Parély (1942-1944)
Partner(s)	Jean Cocteau (1937-1963; his death)

Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais, also known as Jean Marais (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɑ̃ maʁɛ]; 11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), was a French actor, director and sculptor.

Life and career

A native of Cherbourg, France, Marais was a son of Alfred Emmanuel Victor Paul Villain-Marais and his wife, the former Aline Marie Louise Vassord.

Marais starred in several movies directed by Jean Cocteau, for a time his lover and a lifelong friend, most famously Beauty and the Beast (1946) and Orphée (1949). Marais played over 100 roles in film and on television, and also was known for work in other areas of artistic expression, such as writing, painting and sculpture.

In the 1950s, Marais became a star of swashbuckling pictures, enjoying great box office popularity in France. He performed his own stunts. In the 1960s, he played both the famed villain and the hero of the Fantômas trilogy. In 1963, he was a member of the jury at the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival.

"Le passe muraille" (The Walker Through Walls), a sculpture by Jean Marais

After 1970, Marais's on-screen performances became few and far between, as he preferred concentrating on his stage work. He kept performing on stage until his eighties, also working as a sculptor. His sculpture "Le passe muraille" (The Walker Through Walls) can be seen in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris.

In 1985, he was the head of the jury at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival. He was featured in the 1995 documentary "Screening at the Majestic", which is included on the 2003 DVD release of the restored print of Beauty and the Beast. Marais appears on the cover sleeve of The Smiths single This Charming Man.

Personal life

Though he was engaged during World War II to the actress Mila Parély, the couple split after around two years.

Marais, who was gay, was the muse and lover of Jean Cocteau until Cocteau's death. After Cocteau's death, Marais wrote a memoir of Cocteau, L'Inconcevable Jean Cocteau, attributing authorship to "Cocteau-Marais". He also wrote his own autobiography, L'Histoire de ma vie, published in 1975. From 1953 until 1959, his companion was the American dancer George Reich.

Marais died from cardiovascular disease in Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, in 1998. He is interred there at Vallauris cemetery.

In the early 1960s, Marais learned that he had a biological son, Serge Ayala, whom he recognized in 1962 and who eventually took the name Serge Villain-Marais. This son, who became a singer and an actor, committed suicide in 2012 at age 69.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Director
1933	Dans les rues	uncredited	Victor Trivas
	L'Épervier	uncredited	Marcel L'Herbier
	Étienne	uncredited	Jean Tarride
1934	Le Scandale	the liftboy	Marcel L'Herbier
	L'Aventurier	the young worker
	Le Bonheur	uncredited
1936	Les Hommes nouveaux	the office clerk
	Nuits de feu	uncredited
1937	Abus de confiance	Marais	Henri Decoin
	Bizarre, Bizarre	uncredited	Marcel Carné
1941	Le Pavillon brûle	Daniel	Jacques de Baroncelli
1942	Le Lit à colonnes	Rémi Bonvent	Roland Tual
1943	L'Éternel retour	Patrice	Jean Delannoy
	Voyage sans espoir	Alain Ginestier	Christian-Jaque
1945	Carmen	Don José
1946	Beauty and the Beast	The Beast / The Prince / Avenant	Jean Cocteau
1947	The Royalists	the Marquis de Montauran	Henri Calef
	fr	Ruy Blas	Pierre Billon
	L'Aigle à deux têtes	Stanislas	Jean Cocteau
1948	Aux yeux du souvenir	Jacques Forester	Jean Delannoy
	Le Secret de Mayerling	Archduke Rodolphe
	Les Parents terribles	Michel	Jean Cocteau
1949	Orphée	Orphée
1950	Le Château de verre	Rémy Marsay	René Clément
	Les Miracles n'ont lieu qu'une fois	Jérôme	Yves Allégret
1951	Nez de cuir	Roger de Tainchebraye
1952	L'Amour, Madame	cameo appearance	Gilles Grangier
	La Maison du silence	the former maquis	Georg Wilhelm Pabst
1953	L'Appel du destin	Lorenzo Lombardi	Georges Lacombe
	Les Amants de minuit	Marcel Dulac	Roger Richebé
	Dortoir des grandes	Désiré Marco	Henri Decoin
	Julietta	André Landrecourt	Marc Allégret
1954	The Count of Monte Cristo	Edmond Dantès / Comte de Monte-Cristo	Robert Vernay
	Le Guérisseur	Dr. Jean Scheffer	Yves Ciampi
	Royal Affairs in Versailles	Louis XV of France	Sacha Guitry
1955	Futures vedettes	Éric Walter	Marc Allégret
	Napoléon	Montholon	Sacha Guitry
1956	Goubbiah, mon amour	Goubbiah	Robert Darène
	Toute la ville accuse	François Nérac	Claude Boissol
	Elena et les hommes	Général François Rollan	Jean Renoir
	Si Paris nous était conté	Francis I of France	Sacha Guitry
1957	Typhon sur Nagasaki	Pierre Marsac	Yves Ciampi
	S.O.S. Noronha	Frédéric Coulibaud	Georges Rouquier
	Amour de poche	Jérôme Nordman	Pierre Kast
	La Vie à deux	Teddy Brooks	Clément Duhour
	Le Notti bianche	the tenant	Luchino Visconti
	La Tour, prends garde !	Henri La Tour	Georges Lampin
1958	Chaque jour a son secret	Xavier Lezcano	Claude Boissol
1959	Le Bossu	Henri de Lagardère	André Hunebelle
	Le Testament d'Orphée	Oedipe (uncredited)	Jean Cocteau
1960	Austerlitz	Lazare Carnot	Abel Gance
	Le Capitan	François de Capestan	André Hunebelle
1961	La Princesse de Clèves	Le Prince de Clèves	Jean Delannoy
	Le Capitaine Fracasse	Capitaine Fracasse	Pierre Gaspard-Huit
	Le Miracle des loups	Robert de Neuville	André Hunebelle
	Napoléon II l'Aiglon	Montholon	Claude Boissol
	L'Enlèvement des Sabines	Mars	Richard Pottier
1962	Ponce Pilate	Pontius Pilate	Gian Paolo Callegari
	Le Masque de fer	d'Artagnan	Henri Decoin
	Les Mystères de Paris	Rodolphe de Sambreuil	André Hunebelle
1963	L'honorable Stanislas, agent secret	Stanislas Evariste Dubois	Jean-Charles Dudrumet
1964	Patate	Noël Carradine	Robert Thomas
	Fantômas	Fantômas/Fandor	André Hunebelle
	Thomas l'imposteur	Narrator (voice)	Georges Franju
1965	Le gentleman de Cocody	Jean-Luc Hervé de la Tommeraye	Christian-Jaque
	Pleins feux sur Stanislas	Stanislas Evariste Dubois	Jean-Charles Dudrumet
	Train d'enfer	Antoine Donadieu	Gilles Grangier
	Fantômas se déchaîne	Fantômas/Fandor	André Hunebelle
	Le Saint prend l'affût	Simon Templar	Christian-Jaque
1966	Sept hommes et une garce	Dorgeval	Bernard Borderie
	Fantômas contre Scotland Yard	Fantômas/Fandor	André Hunebelle
1969	Le Paria	Manu	Claude Carliez
1970	La Provocation	Christian	André Charpak
	Le Jouet criminel	the nameless protagonist	Adolfo Arrieta
	Peau d'âne	"The first King"	Jacques Demy
1973	fr (TV miniseries)	Alessandro Cagliostro	André Hunebelle
1976	Vaincre à Olympie (TV)	Menesthée	Michel Subiela
	Chantons sous l'Occupation	as himself	André Halimi
1980	Les Parents terribles	Georges	Yves-André Hubert
1982	Cher menteur (TV)	George Bernard Shaw	Alexandre Tarta
1985	Parking	Hades	Jacques Demy
1986	Lien de parenté	Victor Blaise	Willy Rameau
1992	Les Enfants du naufrageur	Marc-Antoine	Jérôme Foulon
1995	Les Misérables	Monseigneur Myriel	Claude Lelouch
1996	Stealing Beauty	Monsieur Guillaume	Bernardo Bertolucci
1997	Milice, film noir	as himself	Alain Ferrari
1999	Luchino Visconti	as himself	Carlo Lizzani

See also

• Place Jean-Marais

External links

• Jean Marais at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jean Marais at the Internet Movie Database
• Eternel Jean Marais
• Jean Marais at Find a Grave
• Jean Marais at the Films de France