Jean-Pierre Cassel born Jean-Pierre Crochon; 27 October 1932 – 19 April 2007 was a French actor.
Life and career
Cassel was born “Jean-Pierre Crochon” in Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite (née Fabrègue), an opera singer, and Georges Crochon, a doctor. Cassel was discovered by Gene Kelly as he tap danced on stage, and later cast in the 1957 film The Happy Road. Then, Cassel gained prominence in the late 1950s as a hero in comedies by Philippe de Broca such as Male Companion and through his role as ‘Jean François Jardie’ in the famous French resistance piece L’ Armée des ombres.
During the 1960s and 1970s, he worked with Claude Chabrol (The Breach), Luis Buñuel (as Stéphane Audran’s husband in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 1972), Ken Annakin (as Frenchman in Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines 1965), Gérard Brach (as Claude Jade’s lover in The Boat on the Grass), Richard Lester (as Louis XIII of France in The Three Musketeers 1973 and its sequel The Four Musketeers 1974), Sidney Lumet (as Pierre in Murder on the Orient Express) and Joseph Losey (with Isabelle Huppert in The Trout). He also made a memorable appearance in Oh! What a Lovely War as a French military officer singing ‘Belgium put the Kibosh on the Kaiser’. In later years, he appeared in Robert Altman’s Prêt-à-Porter (1994) and also as Dr. Paul Gachet for Vincent & Theo (1990).
In 2006, at the age of 74, he climbed back on stage for a retrospective of Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Pierre Cassel chante et danse Gainsbourg Suite. This homage to an old friend (he knew Gainsbourg in the 1950s) featured various songs of the famous French composer among which three unpublished songs named “Top à Cassel” – “Cliquediclac”, “Ouh ! Là là là là”, and “Viva la pizza” – all of which were intended for a television show aired in 1964.
In 2007, Cassel appeared in dual roles (as Père Lucien and the Lourdes souvenir vendor) in Julian Schnabel’s film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
He’s the father of Vincent Cassel, Mathias Cassel (also known as Rockin’ Squat, leader of the French rap crew Assassin) and Cécile Cassel.
Selected filmography
- Pigalle-Saint-Germain-des-Prés (1950, directed by André Berthomieu) as Un figurant
- Saluti e baci (1953, directed by Maurice Labro and Giorgio Simonelli) (uncredited)
- Act of Love (1953, directed by Anatole Litvak) as Un danseur (uncredited)
- La Famille Anodin (1956, TV Series) as Jean Lou Anodin
- The Happy Road (1957, directed by Gene Kelly) as Young lover at the Guinguette (uncredited)
- Comme un cheveu sur la soupe (1957, directed by Maurice Régamey) as Un journaliste (uncredited)
- La peau de l’ours (1957, directed by Claude Boissol) as Le fils Duquenne
- On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels (1957, directed by Maurice Delbez) as Mariel
- Le désordre et la nuit (1958, directed by Gilles Grangier) as Un jeune militaire (uncredited)
- Sacrée jeunesse (1958, directed by André Berthomieu) as Un jeune dans la boîte (uncredited)
- In Case of Adversity (1958, directed by Claude Autant-Lara) as Le trompettiste (uncredited)
- Et ta soeur (1958, directed by Maurice Delbez) (uncredited)
- La Marraine de Charley (1959, directed by Pierre Chevalier) as Claude
- The Love Game (1960, directed by Philippe de Broca) as Victor
- Le Farceur (1960, directed by Philippe de Broca) as Édouard Berlon
- Candide ou l’optimisme au XXe siècle (1960, directed by Norbert Carbonnaux) as Candide
- Five Day Lover (1961, directed by Philippe de Broca) as Antoine
- Goodbye Again (1961, directed by Anatole Litvak, Cameo) as Dancer (uncredited)
- Napoléon II l’Aiglon (1961, directed by Claude Boissol) as Gustav von Neipperg
- The Dance (1962, directed by Norbert Carbonnaux) as Albert
- The Seven Deadly Sins (1962) as Raymond (segment “Avarice, L'”)
- The Elusive Corporal (1962, directed by Jean Renoir) as Le caporal / The Corporal
- Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (1962, directed by Édouard Molinaro) as Gérard Dagmar
- High Infidelity (1964) (Anthology film) as Tonino (segment “La Sospirosa”)
- Les plus belles escroqueries du monde (1964) (Anthology film) as Alain des Arcys (segment “L’homme qui vendit la Tour Eiffel”)
- Cyrano et d’Artagnan (1964, directed by Abel Gance) as Monsieur d’Artagnan, de la Compagnie des Mousquetaires du Roy
- Male Companion (1964, directed by Philippe de Broca) as Antoine Mirliflor
- Nunca pasa nada (1965, directed by Juan Antonio Bardem) as Juan
- Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (1965, directed by Ken Annakin) as Pierre Dubois
- The Lace Wars (1965, directed by René Clair) as Jolicoeur
- Is Paris Burning? (1966, directed by René Clément) as Lieutenant Henri Karcher
- The Killing Game (1967, directed by Alain Jessua) as Pierre Meyrand
- Anyone Can Play (1968, directed by Luigi Zampa) as Aldo, Luisa’s husband
- Oh! What a Lovely War (1969, directed by Richard Attenborough) as French Colonel
- Army of Shadows (1969, directed by Jean-Pierre Melville) as Jean François Jardie
- L’Ours et la Poupée (1970, directed by Michel Deville) as Gaspard
- The Breach (1970, directed by Claude Chabrol) as Paul Thomas
- The Boat on the Grass (1971, directed by Gérard Brach) as David
- Malpertuis (1971, directed by Harry Kümel) as Lampernisse
- The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, directed by Luis Buñuel) as Henri Sénéchal
- Il magnate (1973, directed by Giovanni Grimaldi) as Gianni
- Baxter! (1973, directed by Lionel Jeffries) as Roger Tunnell
- The Three Musketeers (1973, directed by Richard Lester) as King Louis XIII
- Le Mouton enragé (1974, directed by Michel Deville) as Claude Fabre
- The Four Musketeers (1974, directed by Richard Lester) as Louis XIII
- Murder on the Orient Express (1974, directed by Sidney Lumet) as Pierre
- That Lucky Touch (1975, directed by Christopher Miles) as Leo
- Docteur Françoise Gailland (1976, directed by Jean-Louis Bertucelli) as Daniel Letessier
- Scrambled Eggs (1976, directed by Joël Santoni) as Le représentant du dirigeant italien
- The Twist (1976, directed by Claude Chabrol) as Jacques Lavolet, l’éditeur
- Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978, directed by Ted Kotcheff) as Kohner
- Les Rendez-vous d’Anna (1978, directed by Chantal Akerman) as Daniel
- From Hell to Victory (1979, directed by Umberto Lenzi) as Dick Sanders
- Grandison (1979, directed by Achim Kurz) as Oppenheimer
- Je te tiens, tu me tiens par la barbichette (1979, directed by Jean Yanne) as Jean-Marcel Grumet
- La ville des silences (1979, directed by Jean Marboeuf) as Le privé
- Le soleil en face (1980, directed by Pierre Kast) as Marat
- 5% de risque (1980, directed by Jean Pourtalé) as Henri Tanin
- Love in a Cold Climate (1980, TV Mini-Series) as Fabrice, Duc de Sauveterre
- Superman II (1980, directed by Richard Lester) as French Officer at the White House (uncredited)
- La vie continue (1981, directed by Moshé Mizrahi) as Pierre
- Portrait of a Woman, Nude (1981, directed by Nino Manfredi) as Pireddu
- Alice (1982, directed by Jacek Bromski and Jerzy Gruza) as Rabbit
- La guérilléra (1982, directed by Pierre Kast) as Coronel Larzac
- The Trout (1982, directed by Joseph Losey) as Rambert
- Ehrengard (1982, directed by Emidio Greco) as Cazotte
- T’es heureuse? Moi, toujours… (1983, directed by Jean Marboeuf) (voice)
- Vive la sociale! (1983, directed by Gérard Mordillat) as Le camelot
- Tranches de vie (1985, directed by François Leterrier) as Le comte de Forcheville
- Vado a riprendermi il gatto (1987, directed by Giuliano Biagetti)
- Chouans! (1988, directed by Philippe de Broca) as Baron de Tiffauges
- Young Toscanini (1988, directed by Franco Zeffirelli) as Comparsa (uncredited)
- Mangeclous (1988, directed by Moshé Mizrahi) as De Surville
- The Return of the Musketeers (1989, directed by Richard Lester) as Cyrano de Bergerac
- The Fatal Image (1990 TV Movie) as Vandelle
- Mister Frost (1990, directed by Philippe Setbon) as Inspector Corelli
- Vincent & Theo (1990, directed by Robert Altman) as Dr. Paul Gachet
- The Maid (1990, TV Movie, directed by Ian Toynton) as C.P. Olivier
- The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991, directed by Ben Lewin) as Zalman
- Between Heaven and Earth (1992, directed by Marion Hänsel) as Le rédacteur en chef
- Amor e Dedinhos de Pé (1992, directed by Luís Filipe Rocha) as Gonçalo Botelho
- Coup de jeune (1993, directed by Xavier Gélin) as Le ministre
- Pétain (1993, directed by Jean Marbœuf) as Hans Roberto
- Chá Forte com Limão (1993, directed by António de Macedo) as Tiago
- L’oeil écarlate (1993, directed by Dominique Roulet) as Leprince
- Métisse (1993, directed by Mathieu Kassovitz) as Gynecologist
- Hell (1994, directed by Claude Chabrol) as M. Vernon
- Casque bleu (1994, directed by Gérard Jugnot) as Nicolas
- Prêt-à-Porter (1994, directed by Robert Altman) as Olivier de la Fontaine
- La Cérémonie (1995, directed by Claude Chabrol) as Georges Lelievre
- Tatort (1995, German TV-series, Episode: “Camerone”) as Bruno Dupeyron
- Amores que matan (1996, directed by Juan Manuel Chumilla-Carbajosa) as André
- Les Bidochon (1996, directed by Serge Korber) as Le PDG de Canal B
- Con rabbia e con amore (1997, directed by Alfredo Angeli) as Gigi
- The Ice Rink (1998, directed by Jean-Philippe Toussaint) as Ice Rink’s Manager
- Trafic d’influence (1999, directed by Dominique Farrugia) as Pierre-Jean Guisard
- Le plus beau pays du monde (1999, directed by Marcel Bluwal) as Blondel
- Sade (2000, directed by Benoît Jacquot) as Le vicomte de Lancris
- The Crimson Rivers (2000, directed by Mathieu Kassovitz) as Dr. Bernard Chernezé
- The Wooden Camera (2003, directed by Ntshavheni Wa Luruli) as Mr. Shawn
- Michel Vaillant (2003, directed by Louis-Pascal Couvelaire) as Henri Vaillant
- Narco (2004, directed by Tristan Aurouet and Gilles Lellouche) as Le père de Gus
- Dans tes rêves (2005, directed by Denis Thybaud) as Mike
- Virgil (2005, directed by Mabrouk El Mechri) as Ernest
- Bunker paradise (2005, directed by Stefan Liberski) as Henri Devaux
- Congorama (2006, directed by Philippe Falardeau) as Hervé Roy
- Call Me Agostino (2006, directed by Christine Laurent) as Adrien Beaudessin
- Fair Play (2006, directed by Lionel Bailliu) as Édouard
- Mauvaise foi (2006, directed by Roschdy Zem) as Victor Breitmann
- Où avais-je la tête? (2007, directed by Nathalie Donnini) as Albert
- Contre-enquête (2007, directed by Franck Mancuso) as Le docteur Delmas
- J’aurais voulu être un Danseur (2007, directed by Alain Berliner) as Guy adulte
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007, directed by Julian Schnabel) as Père Lucien et le Vendeur
- Vous êtes de la police ? (2007, directed by Romuald Beugnon) as Simon Sablonnet
- Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008, directed by Thomas Langmann and Frédéric Forestier) as Panoramix (final film role)