Patrick Dewaere(1947-1982)
- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Popular but troubled renegade French actor Patrick Dewaere was
christened Jean-Marie Patrick Bourdeaux on January 26, 1947, at
Saint-Brieuc in Britanny in the north-west region of France. The third
of six children born to actress Mado Maurin (1915-2011), his mother made
acting a family affair. All of his siblings --
Jean-Pierre Maurin (1941-1996), Yves-Marie Maurin (1944-2009), Dominique Maurin (1949- ),
Jean-François Vlerick (also known as Jean-Francois Maurin) (1957- ) and Marie-Véronique Maurin (1960- )
-- all became thespians. Patrick made his film debut at the age of four
under the name Patrick Maurin in
Amazing Monsieur Fabre (1951).
While growing up, he was taunted by his schoolyard friends for his
young film endeavors, he learned sensitivity and isolation at an early
age. Other films during this adolescent period of time included his
playing an unbilled child role in
Gene Kelly's
The Happy Road (1957).
As a young adult in the early 1960s Patrick appeared on French
television, then joined the "Café de Gare" theatrical troupe in 1968
where he remained for nearly a decade. It was during these stage years
that he changed his stage name to Dewaere, the maiden name of his great
grandmother. He also met and became romantically involvement with
fellow troupe member Miou-Miou. A child,
Angele, was born to this liaison in 1974, but the couple broke up after
only two years. Another daughter, Lola, was born in the early 1980s
from a later marriage.
After numerous film bits, stardom was finally his with the leading
rebel-like role of Pierrot in
Bertrand Blier's anarchic comedy
Going Places (1974) [Going
Places], which also starred up-and-coming actor
Gérard Depardieu and lady love
Miou-Miou. He and Depardieu earned instant
"anti-hero" stardom in this tale of two wanderlust petty thugs.
Patrick's genius for dark, offbeat comedy was apparent in the number of
black comedies that came his way.
Catherine & Co. (1975)
[Catherine & Co.] co-starred Patrick with
Jane Birkin, a social commentary on the
prostitution business. He followed this with the crime drama
The French Detective (1975) [The French
Detective] as Lino Ventura's inspector
sidekick. Dewaere earned high marks for his off-balanced role in
La meilleure façon de marcher (1976)
[The Best Way], then paired up again with Depardieu in the
Oscar-winning cross-over comedy
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978)
[Get Out Your Handkerchiefs].
Infinitely more interested in searching out complex roles than fame,
his work in films were more often than not experimental, low budget and
quirky in style. He appeared innately drawn to playing sensitive,
scruffy, miserable neurotics, misfits and losers, as exemplified by his
characters in Hothead (1979) [Hothead],
Serie Noire (1979),
Heat of Desire (1981) [Heat of Desire],
Hotel America (1981)
[Hotel America] which co-starred
Catherine Deneuve, and the
critically-acclaimed Beau-père (1981).
This obsession may have triggered a deep and profound suffering in his
own off-screen personal life. Unlike his counterpart Depardieu,
Patrick's fame never branched out internationally, but he was
recognized consistently throughout Europe for his superlative
portrayals. Amazingly, he was nominated for seven César awards (the
French equivalent of the "Oscar") but never won.
Patrick's career ended in tragic and still mysterious circumstances.
Shortly after the release of the film
Paradis pour tous (1982)
[Paradise for All], a dark comedy in which his character commits
suicide, the 35-year-old actor decided to end his own life by shooting
himself with a rifle in his Paris home on July 16, 1982. At the time he
was working on the Claude Lelouch's film
Edith and Marcel (1983). A
shocking, inexplicable end to friends, fans and family alike, Dewaere
later became the subject of a full-length French documentary
Patrick Dewaere (1992), which was
shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The Patrick Dewaere Award was
established in France in 1983.
christened Jean-Marie Patrick Bourdeaux on January 26, 1947, at
Saint-Brieuc in Britanny in the north-west region of France. The third
of six children born to actress Mado Maurin (1915-2011), his mother made
acting a family affair. All of his siblings --
Jean-Pierre Maurin (1941-1996), Yves-Marie Maurin (1944-2009), Dominique Maurin (1949- ),
Jean-François Vlerick (also known as Jean-Francois Maurin) (1957- ) and Marie-Véronique Maurin (1960- )
-- all became thespians. Patrick made his film debut at the age of four
under the name Patrick Maurin in
Amazing Monsieur Fabre (1951).
While growing up, he was taunted by his schoolyard friends for his
young film endeavors, he learned sensitivity and isolation at an early
age. Other films during this adolescent period of time included his
playing an unbilled child role in
Gene Kelly's
The Happy Road (1957).
As a young adult in the early 1960s Patrick appeared on French
television, then joined the "Café de Gare" theatrical troupe in 1968
where he remained for nearly a decade. It was during these stage years
that he changed his stage name to Dewaere, the maiden name of his great
grandmother. He also met and became romantically involvement with
fellow troupe member Miou-Miou. A child,
Angele, was born to this liaison in 1974, but the couple broke up after
only two years. Another daughter, Lola, was born in the early 1980s
from a later marriage.
After numerous film bits, stardom was finally his with the leading
rebel-like role of Pierrot in
Bertrand Blier's anarchic comedy
Going Places (1974) [Going
Places], which also starred up-and-coming actor
Gérard Depardieu and lady love
Miou-Miou. He and Depardieu earned instant
"anti-hero" stardom in this tale of two wanderlust petty thugs.
Patrick's genius for dark, offbeat comedy was apparent in the number of
black comedies that came his way.
Catherine & Co. (1975)
[Catherine & Co.] co-starred Patrick with
Jane Birkin, a social commentary on the
prostitution business. He followed this with the crime drama
The French Detective (1975) [The French
Detective] as Lino Ventura's inspector
sidekick. Dewaere earned high marks for his off-balanced role in
La meilleure façon de marcher (1976)
[The Best Way], then paired up again with Depardieu in the
Oscar-winning cross-over comedy
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978)
[Get Out Your Handkerchiefs].
Infinitely more interested in searching out complex roles than fame,
his work in films were more often than not experimental, low budget and
quirky in style. He appeared innately drawn to playing sensitive,
scruffy, miserable neurotics, misfits and losers, as exemplified by his
characters in Hothead (1979) [Hothead],
Serie Noire (1979),
Heat of Desire (1981) [Heat of Desire],
Hotel America (1981)
[Hotel America] which co-starred
Catherine Deneuve, and the
critically-acclaimed Beau-père (1981).
This obsession may have triggered a deep and profound suffering in his
own off-screen personal life. Unlike his counterpart Depardieu,
Patrick's fame never branched out internationally, but he was
recognized consistently throughout Europe for his superlative
portrayals. Amazingly, he was nominated for seven César awards (the
French equivalent of the "Oscar") but never won.
Patrick's career ended in tragic and still mysterious circumstances.
Shortly after the release of the film
Paradis pour tous (1982)
[Paradise for All], a dark comedy in which his character commits
suicide, the 35-year-old actor decided to end his own life by shooting
himself with a rifle in his Paris home on July 16, 1982. At the time he
was working on the Claude Lelouch's film
Edith and Marcel (1983). A
shocking, inexplicable end to friends, fans and family alike, Dewaere
later became the subject of a full-length French documentary
Patrick Dewaere (1992), which was
shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The Patrick Dewaere Award was
established in France in 1983.