Jean Marais

During the post-war period, Marais was one of France's major film stars and performed in various successful swashbuckler films. In 1996, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his contributions to French cinema.

• Name — Jean Marais • Birth Name — Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais • Born — 11 December 1913 • Birthplace — Cherbourg, France • Died — 8 November 1998 • Place of death — Cannes, France • Occupation — * Actor • director • painter • sculptor • visual artist • writer • photographer • Years Active — 1933–1996 • Partner — * Jean Cocteau (1937–1947) • Mila Parély (1942–1946) • Georges Reich (1948–1959) • Children — 1

A native of Cherbourg, France, Marais was a son of Alfred Emmanuel Victor Paul Villain-Marais, a veterinarian, and his wife, the former Aline Marie Louise Vassord. Having recently lost a two-year-old daughter Madeleine, Aline was very disappointed when she gave birth to a boy. She came to accept him but until Jean was six or seven years old his mother raised him as if he were a girl, dressing him like one and giving him dolls to play with. Sometimes Aline was mysteriously absent from home. When he was eighteen, Marais became aware that his mother was a kleptomaniac and that she had been imprisoned for several months or even years in her lifetime.

Marais' first role was an uncredited bit in On 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 Carné 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.

Marais performed 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. In 1941, after Alain Laubreaux, theater critic for the collaborationist newspaper Je suis partout, wrote an insulting review of La Machine à écrire which alluded to Cocteau's sexuality and drug usage, Marais personally beat up Laubreaux. Cocteau had to personally intervene to prevent reprisals against Marais. Following the liberation of Paris, Marais enlisted in the Free French Forces and left acting for a time to fight in Alsace, winning the Croix de Guerre.

Marais' first film as leading man was The Eternal Return (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.

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 Michèle 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.

Marais and Morgan were in The Glass Castle (1950) directed by René Clément. Marais did two films for Yves Allégret: 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 Allégret 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 was Ingrid Bergman's co-star in Elena and Her Men (1956) directed Jean Renoir, with also Mel Ferrer. 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).

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.

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.

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 and painter. 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.

From 1937 to 1947 Marais was the lover of Jean Cocteau, who considered him his "'muse". They remained lifelong friends after their relationship ended. Following Cocteau's death in 1963, Marais renounced the inheritance in favor of Cocteau's last partner, Édouard Dermit. Late in life, he described Cocteau essentially as a friend and mentor. In 1992, Marais wrote a memoir of Cocteau, L'Inconcevable Jean Cocteau. He also wrote an autobiography, Histoires de ma vie, published in 1975. Throughout his life Marais made little effort to hide his sexual orientation but did not flaunt it either, and it never hindered his career and popularity in France. While the majority of Marais' partners were men, he also had several relationships with women, the most significant one with actress Mila Parély. Marais' on-off relationship with Parély began while they co-starred in the film Le Lit à colonnes (1942) and continued during the making of Beauty and the Beast (1946). They later remained lifelong friends and were also business partners: in the 1970s, Parély became the manager of an art gallery and pottery shop where Marais sold his works in Paris. From 1948 until 1959, Marais' companion was the American dancer Georges Reich. In 1942, Marais had a brief affair with a woman, Maria Ayala. This resulted in the birth of a son, Serge Ayala. Marais initially disbelieved that he was Serge's biological father; they met years later when Serge was a teenager and Marais eventually recognized his son in 1963. In his autobiography, Marais falsely claimed that Serge was his adopted son, which was later repeated in the media. Serge, who took the legal name Serge Villain-Marais, had a brief career as a singer and actor thanks to his father's support. In 1996, Marais, who felt neglected by his son, bequeathed his possessions to his close friend Nicole Pasquali. After Marais' death, Serge sued Pasquali and her husband and managed to recover part of his inheritance; he committed suicide in 2012 at age 69 following bouts of loneliness and depression.

Marais died from cardiovascular disease in Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes in 1998. He is interred in the Village cemetery at Vallauris, near Antibes.

The character Tragicomix, in the comic book Asterix the Legionary of 1967, has his characteristics based on Jean Marais. The story of Marais' wartime beating of Alain Laubreaux became an inspiration for a scene in François Truffaut's 1980 film The Last Metro. In 1983, a still shot of him from Jean Cocteau's 1950 film Orphée was featured on the cover of The Smiths' "This Charming Man."

• Year — Title — Role — Director — Notes • 1933 — On the Streets — Victor Trivas — Uncredited • L'Épervier — Marcel L'Herbier • Étienne — Jean Tarride • 1934 — The Scandal — Liftboy — Marcel L'Herbier • Le Bonheur — Journalist — Uncredited • The Adventurer — Young worker — Uncredited • 1936 — The New Men — Office clerk • 1937 — Nights of Fire — Uncredited • Bizarre, Bizarre — Drunk who gets mugged — Marcel Carné — Uncredited • Abused Confidence — Marais — Henri Decoin • 1938 — The Patriot — Maurice Tourneur • Remontons les Champs-Élysées — Abbot tutor — Sacha Guitry • 1941 — The Pavilion Burns — Daniel — Jacques de Baroncelli • 1942 — Le Lit à colonnes — Rémi Bonvent — Roland Tual • Carmen — Christian-Jaque • 1943 — The Eternal Return — Patrice — Jean Delannoy • Voyage Without Hope — Alain Ginestier — Christian-Jaque • 1944 — Carmen — Don José • 1946 — Beauty and the Beast — Beast/Ardent/Avenant — Jean Cocteau • 1947 — The Royalists — The Marquis de Montauran — Henri Calef • 1948 — Ruy Blas — Ruy Blas — Pierre Billon • The Eagle with Two Heads — Stanislas — Jean Cocteau • To the Eyes of Memory — Jacques Forester — Jean Delannoy • Les Parents terribles — Michel — Jean Cocteau • 1949 — The Secret of Mayerling — Archduke Rodolphe — Jean Delannoy • 1950 — Orpheus — Orphée — Jean Cocteau • The Glass Castle — Rémy Marsay — René Clément • Coriolan — Jean Cocteau • 1951 — Miracles Only Happen Once — Jérôme — Yves Allégret • 1952 — Leathernose — Roger de Tainchebraye • 1952 — Love, Madame — Himself — Gilles Grangier — cameo appearance, Uncredited • 1953 — The Call of Destiny — Lorenzo Lombardi — Georges Lacombe • The Lovers of Midnight — Marcel Dulac — Roger Richebé • Voice of Silence — the former maquis — Georg Wilhelm Pabst • Dortoir des grandes — Désiré Marco — Henri Decoin • Julietta — André Landrecourt — Marc Allégret • Boum sur Paris — Himself — Maurice de Canonge • Le Guérisseur — Pierre Lachaux-Laurent — Yves Ciampi • 1954 — The Count of Monte Cristo — Edmond Dantès / Count of Monte Cristo — Robert Vernay • Royal Affairs in Versailles — Louis XV — Sacha Guitry • 1955 — Napoléon — General Montholon — Sacha Guitry • Futures vedettes — Éric Walter — Marc Allégret • 1956 — If Paris Were Told to Us — Francis I of France — Sacha Guitry • Goubbiah, mon amour — Goubbiah — Robert Darène • The Whole Town Accuses — François Nérac — Claude Boissol • Elena and Her Men — Général François Rollan — Jean Renoir • 1957 — Typhoon Over Nagasaki — Pierre Marsac — Yves Ciampi • S.O.S. Noronha — Frédéric Coulibaud — Georges Rouquier • White Nights — the tenant — Luchino Visconti • Amour de poche — Jérôme Nordman — Pierre Kast • 1958 — La Tour, prends garde! — Henri La Tour — Georges Lampin • Every Day Has Its Secret — Xavier Lezcano — Claude Boissol • Life Together — Teddy Brooks — Clément Duhour • 1959 — Le Bossu — Henri de Lagardère — André Hunebelle • 1960 — Le Testament d'Orphée — Oedipe — Jean Cocteau — Uncredited • Austerlitz — Lazare Carnot — Abel Gance • Captain Blood — François de Capestan — André Hunebelle • 1961 — La Princesse de Clèves — Prince of Clèves — Jean Delannoy • Captain Fracasse — Capitaine Fracasse — Pierre Gaspard-Huit • Le Miracle des loups — Robert de Neuville — André Hunebelle • Napoleon II, the Eaglet — General Montholon — Claude Boissol • L'Enlèvement des Sabines — Mars — Richard Pottier — Cameo • 1962 — Ponce Pilate — Pontius Pilate — Gian Paolo Callegari • The Mysteries of Paris — Rodolphe de Sambreuil — André Hunebelle • Le Masque de fer — d'Artagnan — Henri Decoin • 1963 — The Reluctant Spy — Stanislas Evariste Dubois — Jean-Charles Dudrumet • 1964 — Cherchez l'idole — Himself — Michel Boisrond — Cameo • Patate — Noël Carradine — Robert Thomas • Fantômas — Fantômas / Fandor — André Hunebelle • 1965 — The Man from Cocody — Jean-Luc Hervé de la Tommeraye — Christian-Jaque • Thomas the Impostor — Narrator — Georges Franju — Voice • Pleins feux sur Stanislas — Stanislas Evariste Dubois — Jean-Charles Dudrumet • Operation Double Cross — Antoine Donadieu — Gilles Grangier • Fantômas se déchaîne — Fantômas / Fandor — André Hunebelle • 1966 — The Saint Lies in Wait — Simon Templar — Christian-Jaque • 1967 — 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 • Donkey Skin — The first King — Jacques Demy • 1973 — Joseph Balsamo (miniseries) — Alessandro Cagliostro — André Hunebelle — 7 episodes • 1976 — Chantons sous l'Occupation — Himself — André Halimi • 1977 — Vaincre à Olympie — Menesthée — Michel Subiela — TV movie • 1980 — Les Parents terribles — Georges — Yves-André Hubert — TV movie • 1982 — Emmenez-moi au théâtre — George Bernard Shaw — Alexandre Tarta — Episode: "Cher menteur" • 1985 — Parking — Hades — Jacques Demy • 1986 — Lien de parenté — Victor Blaise — Willy Rameau • 1992 — Les Enfants du naufrageur — Marc-Antoine — Jérôme Foulon • 1993 — Dis Papa, raconte-moi là-bas — Guy Gilles • 1995 — Les Misérables — Bishop Myriel — Claude Lelouch — Cameo • 1996 — Stealing Beauty — Monsieur Guillaume — Bernardo Bertolucci • 1997 — Milice, film noir — Himself — Alain Ferrari — Documentary • 1999 — Luchino Visconti — Himself — Carlo Lizzani — Documentary