Jean-Roger Caussimon

One of the greatest authors and composers of his generation, Jean-Roger Caussimon was born in Paris on July 24, 1918. He grew up in Bordeaux and discovered poetry, before taking diction lessons to become an actor. After winning first prize at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique, he made his theatrical debut in 1937 and moved to Paris, where he studied with Louis Jouvet. Mobilized during the Second World War, he was taken prisoner and detained in Silesia, where he began writing poetry and a play. On his return in 1942, he performed at the Lapin Agile, where he returned frequently until 1952, when he was hired by Charles Dullin. In 1945, he began a film career. Between multiple roles in theater over two decades, he appeared in some sixty films, including Marcel Carné's Juliette ou la clé des songes (1950), Jean Renoir's French Cancan (1955), Bertrand Tavernier's comedies Que la fête commence (1974) and Le Juge et l'assassin (1976), and Robert Hossein's Les Misérables (1982). His meeting with Léo Ferré in 1947 led to a series of songs including the hits "Monsieur William" (1950), "Mon Sébasto " (1957), "Mon camarade " (1958) and "Comme à Ostende " (1960). His songwriting attracted other performers such as Catherine Sauvage, Philippe Clay, Les Frères Jacques, Maurice Chevalier, André Claveau, Les Quatre Barbus, Réda Caire, then Julien Clerc and Bernard Lavilliers. A recurring figure on television, where he appeared in some 30 productions, Jean-Roger Caussimon combined his multiple activities with his first personal albums released by Pierre Barouh's Saravah label between 1970 and 1979, including five untitled collections in which he reworked his existing repertoire and performed new songs such as "Ne chantez pas la mort " (1972), the fruit of a collaboration with Éric Robrecht and other composers and arrangers. The first, Jean-Roger Caussimon Chante Jean-Roger Caussimon, is awarded the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles-Cros. Honored with the Prix André-Mauprey de la Sacem in 1975, Caussimon returned to the stage at the Olympia (1974), the Théâtre de la Ville (1978) and on tour. After reuniting with Léo Ferré in 1980, for the album Les Loubards, released five years later, he continued to give concerts despite several hospitalizations, and devoted a final album to his most libertarian lyrics. Named Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1985, Jean-Roger Caussimon died of lung cancer on October 20 of the same year, aged 67.