Prosper Charles Bensoussan professionally known as Philippe Clair (14 September 1930 – 28 November 2020) was a Moroccan-French actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and popular humorist.[1] Along with fellow French directors Max Pécas and Richard Balducci, his name is synonymous with the golden age of camp and low comedy in French cinema.[2]
Philippe Clair moved to Paris in 1950 to study acting at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts of Paris. He won the Bernstein and College Stars awards, honors given to the best young Parisian actors. He performed on stage and television with major directors and writers in shows such as L'Affaire des poisons [Affair of the Poisons] directed by Raymond Rouleau, Une femme libre [A free woman] by Armand Salacrou, and Les Îles fortunées [The Prosperous Islands] by Simon Gantillon. Eventually he got a show of his own and became an important French humorist, mounting such works as the Judeo-Arabic Purée de nous z'otres [Mashed we z'otres], and Le Cid in Oued Bel [Parody of El Cid] based on the book by Edmond Brua. He specialized in improvisation and in writing comedy sketches.
In 1965 Clair directed his first film, Déclic et des claques [Clicks and Slaps] with Annie Girardot, the comic misadventures of a young pied-noir [French Algerian] in Paris. He continued his work as a singer: in 1967, his sketch Rien Nasser de courir which satirized the Six-Day War was banned because of its political overtones.
In 1970, Philippe Clair became the leading director of popular comedy. His humor usually had a French Algerian flavor. Most of his films were commercial successes, although sometimes they were panned by critics who called them vulgar or overacted. His films were often plagiarized by other directors with typical French disrespect or–as the French call it–franchouillards.
His 1971 film La Grande Java [Great Java] launched the comedy careers of the members of the French band Les Charlots.[3] He went on to use band member Aldo Maccione in The Great Maffia, Plus beau que moi, tu meurs [More beautiful than me, you die], and Tais-toi quand tu parles! [Shut up when you talk]. He made several surreal films, such as Le Führer en folie [The Fuhrer Runs Amok], which featured Henri Tisot in the role of Adolf Hitler and in which Michel Galabru plays the role of a football referee. In 1984, he managed the greatest coup of his career by casting Jerry Lewis in the film Par où t'es rentré ? On t'a pas vu sortir [How Did You Get In? We Didn't See You Leave].
In 2013 journalist and filmmaker Gilles Botineau joined with Philippe Clair to produce a documentary portrait titled, Plus drôle que lui, tu meurs [Funnier than him, you die].[4] The film, lasting 55 minutes covered Clair's entire career, focusing especially on his vision of comedy.[5] Clair retired in 1990 at the age of 60. However, he returned with a production he wrote in 2013 titled, Help, Philippe Clair returns.[6]
Reception
Philippe Clair was not always treated kindly by the critics. Critic John Tulard in the "Dictionary of French directors" said, "His work is incredibly stupid and vulgar". The weekly French magazineTélérama opined, "Every film by Philippe Clair is worse than the last, and yet it never stops".[2]
In the 1980s Clair's style of popular comedy went out of favor in France and he stopped producing films. But critic Louis Skorecki maintained that the 1996 film La Vérité si je mens! [Would I Lie to You?], a classic Jewish-Algerian comedy, was simply a remake of Philippe Clair's first film, Click and slaps.
philippe, clair, prosper, charles, bensoussan, professionally, known, september, 1930, november, 2020, moroccan, french, actor, director, producer, screenwriter, popular, humorist, along, with, fellow, french, directors, pécas, richard, balducci, name, synonym. Prosper Charles Bensoussan professionally known as Philippe Clair 14 September 1930 28 November 2020 was a Moroccan French actor director producer screenwriter and popular humorist 1 Along with fellow French directors Max Pecas and Richard Balducci his name is synonymous with the golden age of camp and low comedy in French cinema 2 Philippe ClairPhilippe Clair in 2013BornCharles Bensoussan 1930 09 14 14 September 1930Ahfir MoroccoDied28 November 2020 2020 11 28 aged 90 Occupation s Actor DirectorYears active1950 2013 Contents 1 Career 2 Reception 3 Filmography 4 References 5 External linksCareer EditPhilippe Clair moved to Paris in 1950 to study acting at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts of Paris He won the Bernstein and College Stars awards honors given to the best young Parisian actors He performed on stage and television with major directors and writers in shows such as L Affaire des poisons Affair of the Poisons directed by Raymond Rouleau Une femme libre A free woman by Armand Salacrou and Les Iles fortunees The Prosperous Islands by Simon Gantillon Eventually he got a show of his own and became an important French humorist mounting such works as the Judeo Arabic Puree de nous z otres Mashed we z otres and Le Cid in Oued Bel Parody of El Cid based on the book by Edmond Brua He specialized in improvisation and in writing comedy sketches In 1965 Clair directed his first film Declic et des claques Clicks and Slaps with Annie Girardot the comic misadventures of a young pied noir French Algerian in Paris He continued his work as a singer in 1967 his sketch Rien Nasser de courir which satirized the Six Day War was banned because of its political overtones In 1970 Philippe Clair became the leading director of popular comedy His humor usually had a French Algerian flavor Most of his films were commercial successes although sometimes they were panned by critics who called them vulgar or overacted His films were often plagiarized by other directors with typical French disrespect or as the French call it franchouillards His 1971 film La Grande Java Great Java launched the comedy careers of the members of the French band Les Charlots 3 He went on to use band member Aldo Maccione in The Great Maffia Plus beau que moi tu meurs More beautiful than me you die and Tais toi quand tu parles Shut up when you talk He made several surreal films such as Le Fuhrer en folie The Fuhrer Runs Amok which featured Henri Tisot in the role of Adolf Hitler and in which Michel Galabru plays the role of a football referee In 1984 he managed the greatest coup of his career by casting Jerry Lewis in the film Par ou t es rentre On t a pas vu sortir How Did You Get In We Didn t See You Leave In 2013 journalist and filmmaker Gilles Botineau joined with Philippe Clair to produce a documentary portrait titled Plus drole que lui tu meurs Funnier than him you die 4 The film lasting 55 minutes covered Clair s entire career focusing especially on his vision of comedy 5 Clair retired in 1990 at the age of 60 However he returned with a production he wrote in 2013 titled Help Philippe Clair returns 6 Reception EditPhilippe Clair was not always treated kindly by the critics Critic John Tulard in the Dictionary of French directors said His work is incredibly stupid and vulgar The weekly French magazineTelerama opined Every film by Philippe Clair is worse than the last and yet it never stops 2 In the 1980s Clair s style of popular comedy went out of favor in France and he stopped producing films But critic Louis Skorecki maintained that the 1996 film La Verite si je mens Would I Lie to You a classic Jewish Algerian comedy was simply a remake of Philippe Clair s first film Click and slaps Filmography Edit1962 Girl on the Road dir Jacqueline Audry as Le motard 2 1965 Declic et des claques Clicks and Slaps 1971 La Grande Java fr The Great Java 1971 La Grande Maffia fr The Great Maffia 1973 La Brigade en folie fr The Mad Brigade 1974 Le Fuhrer en folie fr The Fuhrer Runs Amok 1976 Le Grand Fanfaron fr The Great Braggart 1978 Comment se faire reformer fr How to Reform 1978 Les reformes se portent bien fr The Reformers are Doing Well 1979 Ces flics etranges venus d ailleurs fr Those Strange Cops From Elsewhere 1980 Rodriguez au pays des merguez fr Rodriguez in the Land of Merguez 1981 Tais toi quand tu parles fr Shut Up When You Talk 1982 Plus beau que moi tu meurs fr More Beautiful Than Me You Die 1984 Par ou t es rentre On t a pas vu sortir How Did You Get In We Didn t See You Leave 1986 Si t as besoin de rien fais moi signe If You Need Anything Let Me Know 1987 Si tu vas a Rio tu meurs fr If You Go to Rio You Die 1990 L Aventure extraordinaire d un papa peu ordinaire fr Extraordinary Adventure of an Ordinary Papa References Edit Philippe Clair at Unifrance Films a b Nanarland The site of sympathetic bad movies Philippe Clair biography La Grande Java at the Internet Movie Database Plus drole que lui tu meurs at AlloCine Plus drole que lui tu meurs at the Internet Broadway Database Philippe Clair One Man Show 2013 2014 External links EditThe database of the Parisian Theater of ART Autobiography of Philippe Clair Philippe Clair at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Philippe Clair amp oldid 1123480186, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
