Jean Marais

Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (; 11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais, was a French actor, writer, director and sculptor. He performed in over 100 films and was the muse and lover of acclaimed director Jean Cocteau. In 1996, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his contributions to French Cinema.
Early life.
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.
Career.
Early films.
Marais' first role was an uncredited bit in "Song of the Streets" (1933) and he was in "Etienne" (1933). Filmmaker Marcel L'Herbier put him in "The Sparrowhawk" (1933) with Charles Boyer; "The Scandal" (1934), with Gaby Morlay; "Happiness" (1934) again with Boyer, "The Venturer" (1934) with Victor Francen; "The New Men" (1934) with Harry Baur; and "Nights of Fire" (1937) with Morlay and Francen.
Marcel Carne gave Marais a small role in "Bizarre, Bizarre" (1937) and the actor was in "Abused Confidence" (1937) by Henri Decoin; "The Patriot" (1938), a biopic of Paul I of Russia with Baur, directed by Maurice Tourneur; and "Remontons les Champs-Élysées" (1938) directed by Sacha Guitry.
Jean Cocteau.
These were small roles. Marais also appeared on stage. He was in a 1937 stage production of "Oedipe" directed by Charles Dullin, where he was seen by Jean Cocteau. Marais impressed Cocteau, who cast the actor in his play "Les Chevaliers de la table ronde".
Marais appeared in Cocteau's play "Les Parents terribles" (1938), supposedly based on Marais' home life, which was a great success.
Marais had bigger film parts in "The Pavilion Burns" (1941) directed by Jacques de Baroncelli, and "The Four Poster" (1942) directed by Roland Tual.
On stage he appeared in "La Machine à ecrire" (1941) by Cocteau and he directed and designed Racine's "Britannicus" (1941). He performed briefly with the Comédie-Française, then left acting for a time for fight in Alsace with the Free French Forces, winning the Croix de Guerre.
Stardom.
Marais' first film as leading man was "L'Éternel retour" (1943), a re-telling of Tristan and Isolde set in 1940s France, written by Jean Cocteau. It was directed by Jean Delannoy and co-starred Madeleine Sologne. It was popular and made him a star.
Marais was the male lead in "Voyage Without Hope" (1943) with Simone Renant directed by Christian-Jaque.
Christian-Jaque also directed Marais in "Carmen" (1944) with Viviane Romance. This was one of the most popular films in France when it was released.
"Beauty and the Beast" and Jean Cocteau.
Marais became a star in "Beauty and the Beast" (1946), written and directed by Cocteau.
He performed in a popular revival of Cocteau's 1938 play "Les Parents terribles" on stage.
Marais' next films were "The Royalists" (1947), a historical adventure film directed by Henri Calef from a novel by Balzac; and "Ruy Blas" (1948) with Danielle Darrieux, from a play by Victor Hugo and script by Cocteau, directed by Pierre Billon.
Marais' second film with Cocteau as director was "The Eagle with Two Heads" (1948) with Edwige Feuillère. He did "To the Eyes of Memory" (1948) with Michele Morgan for director Jean Delannoy, a big commercial success, then "Les Parents Terribles" (1949) for Cocteau again.
Marais was reunited with Delannoy for "The Secret of Mayerling" (1949), about the Mayerling incident. He did "Orpheus" (1950) with Cocteau, which was soon regarded as a classic.
Post-Cocteau stardom.
Marais and Morgan were in "The Glass Castle" (1950) directed by René Clement. Marais did two films for Yves Allegret: "Miracles Only Happen Once" (1951) with Alida Valli and "Leathernose" (1952).
Marais was in "L'appel du destin" (1953) for Georges Lacombe; "The Lovers of Midnight" (1953) for Roger Richebé; "Voice of Silence" (1953), an Italian film from G. W. Pabst; "Inside a Girls' Dormitory" (1953); "Julietta" (1953) for Marc Allegret with Dany Robin and Jeanne Moreau; the all-star "Boum sur Paris" (1953); and "The Faith Healer" (1954).
Marais starred in a version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1954) that was hugely popular. He then made some all-star Guitry films, "Royal Affairs in Versailles" (1954), "Napoleon" (1955) (playing Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon) and "If Paris Were Told to Us" (1956); "School for Love" (1955) for Allegret, with a young Brigitte Bardot, a box office flop; "Kiss of Fire" (1956) for Robert Darène; and "The Whole Town Accuses" (1956).
Marais did "Elena and Her Men" (1956) with Ingrid Bergman and Mel Ferrer for Jean Renoir. He followed it with "Typhoon Over Nagasaki" (1957) with Darrieux; "S.O.S. Noronha" (1957); "White Nights" (1957) for Luchino Visconti, with Maria Schell and Marcello Mastroianni; "Girl in His Pocket" (1958); "King on Horseback" (1958); "Every Day Has Its Secret" (1958); and the all-star "Life Together" (1958).
Swashbuckler star.
Marais starred in the swashbuckler "Le Bossu" (1959), appearing alongside Bourvil and directed by André Hunebelle which was a mammoth hit launched a new stage of his career. He was reunited with Cocteau for "Testament of Orpheus" (1960). He played Lazare Carnot in the all-star "The Battle of Austerlitz" (1960), then was reunited with Bourvil and Hunebelle in another swashbuckler, "Captain Blood" (1960).
He did "Princess of Cleves" (1961) for Delannoy with Marina Vlady based on a script by Cocteau. It was back to swashbuckling with "Captain Fracasse" (1961) for director Pierre Gaspard-Huit, and "Blood on His Sword" (1961) for Hunebelle.
Marais had a supporting role in "Napoléon II, l'aiglon" (1962) then did some films in Italy: "Romulus and the Sabines" (1962) with Roger Moore, and "Pontius Pilate" (1962), where Marais played the title role alongside Jeanne Crain and Basil Rathbone.
He was reunited with Hunebelle for "The Mysteries of Paris" (1962), then did "The Iron Mask" (1962) for Decoin.
Spy films and "Fantomas".
The success of the James Bond films saw Marais cast in an espionage movie, "The Reluctant Spy" (1963) for director Jean-Charles Dudrumet. He did a comedy, "Friend of the Family" (1964), then had a huge box office success with "Fantomas" (1964), playing the villain and hero, under the direction of Hunebelle.
In 1963, he was a member of the jury at the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival.
Marais did "Ivory Coast Adventure" (1965) directed by Christian-Jaque; "Killer Spy" (1965), directed by Georges Lampin; a sequel to "The Reluctant Spy"; and "Operation Double Cross" (1965), a spy film; then a "Fantomas" sequel, "Fantomas Unleashed" (1965).
He played Simon Templar in "The Saint Lies in Wait" (1966) for Christian-Jaque, and a French general in "Seven Guys and a Gal" (1967), directed by Bernard Borderie. "Fantomas vs. Scotland Yard" (1967) was the third and final Fantomas, with Hunebelle.
Marais went on to appear in "Le Paria" (1969); "Renaud et Armide" (1969), based on a play by Cocteau; and "Le jouet criminel" (1969), a short.
1970s.
After 1970, Marais preferred concentrating on his stage work, and his movie performances became fewer.
His film credits included "La provocation" (1970); "Donkey Skin" (1970) with Catherine Deneuve, directed by Jacques Demy; and "Robert Macaire" (1971) for French TV.
He was in the miniseries "Karatekas and co" (1973) and "Joseph Balsamo" (1973), and did the TV movies "Vaincre à Olympie" (1977) and "Les Parents terribles" (1980), based on the play by Cocteau.
He directed stage productions of "Le bel indifférent" (1975) and "Les Parents terribles". He took the latter to London in 1978.
Later career.
His later work included "Emmenez-moi au théâtre"; "Parking" (1985) directed by Demy; "Lien de parenté" (1986); "Les enfants du naufrageur" (1992); "Dis Papa, raconte-moi là-bas" (1993); "Les Misérables" (1995 film), directed by Claude Lelouch; and "Stealing Beauty" (1996), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.
He performed on stage until his 80s, 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.
Marais was Jean Cocteau's lover from 1937 to 1947, his muse and longtime friend. After Cocteau's death, Marais wrote a memoir of Cocteau, "L'Inconcevable Jean Cocteau", attributing authorship to "Cocteau-Marais". He also wrote an autobiography, "Histoires de ma vie", published in 1975. From 1948 until 1959, his companion was the American dancer George Reich. He is rumored to have been among the lovers of Umberto II of Italy.
In spite of being mainly homosexual, in 1942 Marais met and had a two-year liaison with actress Mila Parély, with whom he later performed in Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast". They remained lifelong friends, and since 1976 Parély managed Marais' pottery shop in Paris.
In the early 1960s, Marais adopted a young man, Serge Ayala, who eventually took the name Serge Villain-Marais. This adopted son, who became a singer and an actor, committed suicide in 2012 at age 69 after an inheritance litigation and bouts of loneliness and depression.
Death.
Marais died from cardiovascular disease in Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes in 1998. He is interred in the Village cemetery at Vallauris, near Antibes.
In popular culture.
His life story became the inspiration for the 1980 François Truffaut film "The Last Metro".