Yanne, Jean

(1933-2003)

   Actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. Born Jean Gouyé, Jean Yann started his career as a journalist and worked in radio and television. His debut acting role was in Alain Jessua's La Vie à l'Envers (1964). He landed significant roles in Jean-Luc Godard's Week-End (1967) and in Claude Chabrol's Que la bête meure (1969) and Le Boucher (1969). He later won best actor at Cannes for his performance in Maurice Pialat's Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble (1971). He directed and starred in Tout le monde il est beau, tout le monde il est gentil (1972), a satire on radio journalism. He later directed and played the lead in several films, including Moi y en a vouloir des sous (1973), Les Chinois à Paris (1974), Chobizenesse (1975), and Je te tiens, tu me tiens par la barbichette (1979).

   Yann was especially adept at satire and parody. His feature Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ was one of the most popular films of 1982. Yanne plays a leading role in the film alongside Coluche and Michel Serrault, who is featured in many of his films. It was followed by the last film he directed, Liberté, égalité, chou-croute (1985). He subsequently played memorable characters in Régis Wargnier's Indochine (1992), Rémy Duchemin's Fausto (1993), Christophe Gans's Le Pacte des loups (2001), and Gilles Paquet-Brenner's Gomez & Tavares (2003).

   Historical Dictionary of French Cinema by Dayna Oscherwitz & Mary Ellen Higgins