Jean-Pierre Darras

Jean-Pierre Darras — Biography

French actor and director Jean-Pierre Darras, whose real name was Jean-Pierre Dumontet, was born in Paris on 26 November 1927 and died in Créteil on 5 July 1999. Besides directing for the stage, he worked in film and television as an actor, director and screenwriter.

He was born in the 8th arrondissement of Paris and was educated at the Collège Stanislas. The centre of gravity of his career was the theatre; alongside the plays he staged, he also acted in screen adaptations of the classical French repertoire. He played Argante in the Les Fourberies de Scapin (1981) adaptation and the philosophy master in that of Le bourgeois gentilhomme (1982).

His first screen work goes back to the late 1950s; Two Men in Manhattan (1959) is one of the productions of that period. During the 1960s he appeared regularly in supporting and character parts in French cinema: he was Névada in A Man Named Rocca (1961), Napo in Lucky Jo (1964), José in Monsieur (1964), the drama teacher in Un monde nouveau (1966), Pascal Moratti in Diamond Safari (1966) and Lucien in The Tattoo (1968).

The 1970s were his busiest period. He played the police superintendent in Elise, or Real Life (1970), Paoli in The Fighting Cock (1971), Emile Galipeau in Le Viager (1972), Sacha in The Old Maid (1972) and Edgar Fuchs in L'emmerdeur (1973). In the same years he took part in films such as Elle court, elle court la banlieue (1973), Oublie-moi, Mandoline (1976), The Porter from Maxim's (1976), The Parisian Life (1977) and La Carapate (1978).

In the following decade he played Commissaire Chauffard in To Kill a Cop (1981) and Flavacourt in Te marre pas... c'est pour rire! (1982). On the 1983 film Le braconnier de Dieu he served as both director and screenwriter as well as taking the role of Frisou; that production is the best-known example of his work behind the camera. His last films include My Mother's Castle (1990).

He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour. He was married to the actress Christiane Minazzoli and to Corinne Lahaye; his son is François Darras. He died on 5 July 1999 in Créteil at the age of 71.