Le Poulain, Jean

▪ French actor

born Sept. 12, 1924, Marseille, France

died March 1, 1988, Paris

      French actor and administrator who was celebrated primarily for his comedic interpretations but also was noted for his tragic roles.

      Le Poulain spent his childhood in Indochina, where his father was a colonial administrator, and returned to France at the age of 19. He studied in small conservatories before being admitted to the National Conservatory of Theatre Arts in Paris, where he won first prize in comedy acting before graduating in 1949. After his application to the venerable Comédie Française was turned down, he joined the livelier Théâtre National Populaire.

      During the 1950s and '60s Le Poulain performed more than 100 roles and directed classic French comedies and contemporary dramas by such playwrights as Bertolt Brecht and Jean Cocteau. By the 1970s he had become one of the most popular Parisian actors onstage, in films, and on radio and television. One year after he published his autobiography, Je rirai le dernier (1977; “I Will Have the Last Laugh”), he was invited to join the Comédie Française as an actor. After President François Mitterrand appointed him administrator of the company (1986), Le Poulain increased the number of stages and instituted a training program for young actors.

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