# Jean-Claude Brialy

Jean-Claude Brialy (30 March 1933 – 30 May 2007) was a French actor and film director.

## Early life

Brialy was born in Aumale (now Sour El-Ghozlane), French Algeria, where his father was stationed with the French Army. Brialy moved to mainland France with his family in 1942. He was an alumnus of the Prytanée National Militaire. When he was 21 years old, he went to Paris to work as an actor.

## Career

In 1956, Brialy acted in his first role in the short film Le coup du berger (Fool's Mate) by Jacques Rivette.
By the late 1950s, he'd become one of the most prolific actors in the French nouvelle vague and a star. He appeared in films of nouvelle vague directors such as Claude Chabrol (Le Beau Serge, 1958; Les Cousins, 1959), Louis Malle (Ascenseur pour l'échafaud, 1958; Les Amants, 1958), François Truffaut (Les 400 Coups, 1959), Jean-Luc Godard, (Une femme est une femme, 1961), Éric Rohmer (Claire's Knee, 1970), as well as in films of other filmmakers such as Jean Renoir (Elena et les hommes 1958), Roger Vadim (La ronde, 1964), Philippe de Broca (Le Roi de cœur, 1966), Luis Buñuel (Le Fantôme de la liberté, 1974), and Claude Lelouch (Robert et Robert, 1978).
In 2006, he appeared in his last role, as the eponymous character of the TV film Monsieur Max, directed by Gabriel Aghion. Godard described him as "the French Cary Grant," while Brialy's self-described "life models" had reportedly been actor Sacha Guitry and director Jean Cocteau.
Brialy directed a number of films, including Églantine in 1971, which was loosely inspired by his own memories of a happy childhood spent in Chambellay with his grandparents, and Les volets clos (Closed shutters) in 1972.
He owned the restaurant L'Orangerie, on the Île Saint-Louis; he'd also worked as a TV presenter, a singer, and a radio host. During the presentation of one of his books, Brialy described himself this way: "I'm a boy who got lucky enough to do what I love in life".

## Personal life and death

Brialy, in 1959, acquired a château in the commune of Monthyon, near Paris. There, he accommodated and entertained many friends from the cinema and the theatre, such as Jean Marais, Pierre Arditi, and Romy Schneider whom he'd met during the 1958 production of the film Christine. Schneider, after the 1981 fatal accident of her son David, found a "refuge from the paparazzi" in Brialy's home. French singer Barbara would often sing at the piano. Director Jean-Pierre Melville used the château to shoot the last scenes of his 1970 crime film Le Cercle Rouge, where Alain Delon and Yves Montand are killed by the police.
In his books, the autobiographical Le Ruisseau des singes (The river of monkeys) (2000) and the memoir J'ai oublié de vous dire (I Forgot to Tell You) (2004), Brialy revealed that he was bisexual.
Brialy died on 30 May 2007, in his Monthyon home, after a long time with cancer. He bequeathed his Monthyon estate to the commune of Meaux, near Monthyon, with the following codicil: that the Meaux authorities would finance the estate's maintenance as long as his partner, Bruno Finck (1962-2021) would reside there. In the summer of 2020, Finck left the estate and, for "health reasons," moved to the south of France, upon which time the commune of Meaux assumed full ownership of the estate. At the end of January 2021, the mayor invited the association of the Friends of Jean-Claude Brialy to "work in close collaboration [with Meaux]" in the context of "enhancing" the star's "heritage."

## Honours

* Monaco: Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit (November 2002)

## Filmography
### As actor

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 1956 | Fool's Mate | Claude | Jacques Rivette | Short |
| 1956 | La Sonate à Kreutzer | Trukhacevskij | Éric Rohmer | |
| 1957 | A Friend of the Family | Philippe Lemonnier | Paolo Sorrentino | |
| 1957 | Young Girls Beware | Le client du sexy-bar | Yves Allégret | Uncredited |
| 1957 | Amour de poche | Jean-Loup | Pierre Kast | |
| 1957 | Anyone Can Kill Me | Jean-Claude | Henri Decoin | |
| 1958 | Elevator to the Gallows | a chess player | Louis Malle | Uncredited |
| 1958 | School for Coquettes | Robert | Jacqueline Audry | |
| 1958 | Le Beau Serge | François Baillou | Claude Chabrol | |
| 1958 | White Cargo | Jean | Georges Lacombe |
| 1958 | The Lovers | the house husband | Louis Malle | Uncredited |
| 1958 | And Your Sister? | Bruno Puymartin | Maurice Delbez | |
| 1958 | Christine | Théo Kaiser | Pierre Gaspard-Huit | |
| 1959 | Les Cousins | Paul Thomas | Claude Chabrol | |
| 1959 | The 400 Blows | Man in Street | François Truffaut | |
| 1959 | All the Boys Are Called Patrick | Patrick | Jean-Luc Godard | Short |
| 1959 | Le chemin des écoliers | Paul Tiercelin | Michel Boisrond | |
| 1959 | Bad Girls Don't Cry | Scintillone | Mauro Bolognini | |
| 1959 | Eyes of Love | Pierre Ségur | Denys de La Patellière | |
| 1960 | Le Bel Âge [fr] | Jean-Claude | Pierre Kast | |
| 1960 | The Gigolo | Jacky | Jacques Deray | |
| 1960 | Tire-au-flanc 62 | Capitaine | François Truffaut and Claude de Givray | Uncredited |
| 1961 | A Story of Water | young man in a car | Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut | Short |
| 1961 | Wise Guys | Ronald | Claude Chabrol | |
| 1961 | A Woman Is a Woman | Émile Récamier | Jean-Luc Godard | |
| 1961 | Three Faces of Sin | Laurent Renaud | François Villiers | |
| 1961 | Les Lions sont lâchés | Didier Marèze | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1961 | Amores Célebres | Törring | Michel Boisrond | (segment "Agnès Bernauer") |
| 1961 | Paris Belongs to Us | Jean-Marc | Jacques Rivette | |
| 1962 | A Very Private Affair | narrator | Louis Malle | Voice, Uncredited |
| 1962 | The Burning Court | Marc Desgrez | Julien Duvivier | |
| 1962 | The Seven Deadly Sins | Arthur | Claude Chabrol | (segment "Avarice, L'") |
| 1962 | Girl on the Road | Jean-Claude | Jacqueline Audry | |
| 1962 | L'Éducation sentimentale | Frédéric Moreau | Alexandre Astruc | |
| 1962 | Cléo from 5 to 7 | the male nurse | Agnès Varda | Uncredited |
| 1962 | Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin [fr] | François de Vierne | Édouard Molinaro | |
| 1962 | Le Diable et les Dix Commandements | Didier Martin | Julien Duvivier | (segment "Bien d'autrui ne prendras") |
| 1963 | Le glaive et la balance | Jean-Philippe Prévost | André Cayatte | |
| 1963 | Les Veinards | a young man in a car | Jack Pinoteau | (segment "Un gros lot"), Uncredited |
| 1963 | Carom Shots | Paul Martin | Marcel Bluwal | |
| 1963 | La banda Casaroli | Corrado Minguzzi | Florestano Vancini | |
| 1963 | Château en Suède | Sébastien | Roger Vadim | |
| 1964 | La Bonne Soupe | Jacquot | Robert Thomas | |
| 1964 | Tonio Kröger | Tonio Kröger | Rolf Thiele | |
| 1964 | La Chasse à l'homme | Antoine Monteil | Édouard Molinaro | |
| 1964 | Circle of Love | Alfred | Roger Vadim | |
| 1964 | Male Companion | Antoine | Philippe de Broca | |
| 1964 | Comment épouser un premier ministre [fr] | Philippe Lambert | Michel Boisrond | |
| 1964 | Les siffleurs | Jean-Claude Brialy | Corneliu Porumboiu | |
| 1964 | Love at Sea | L'homme qui aime la nuit et la jeunesse | Guy Gilles | cameo appearance |
| 1965 | L'Amour à la chaîne | Le spectateur du cabaret | Claude de Givray | Uncredited |
| 1965 | La bonne occase | | Michel Drach | Cameo Appearance |
| 1965 | Cent briques et des tuiles | Marcel | Pierre Grimblat | |
| 1965 | The Mandrake | Ligurio | Alberto Lattuada | |
| 1965 | I Knew Her Well | Dario Marchionni | Antonio Pietrangeli | |
| 1966 | I nostri mariti | Ottavio | Luigi Zampa | (segment "Il marito di Olga") |
| 1966 | King of Hearts | the Duke of Trèfle | Philippe de Broca | |
| 1967 | Anna | Serge | Pierre Koralnik | TV movie |
| 1967 | Shock Troops | Jean | Costa-Gavras | |
| 1967 | The Oldest Profession | Philibert | Philippe de Broca | (segment "Mademoiselle Mimi") |
| 1967 | Lamiel | the Count of Aubigné | Jean Aurel | |
| 1967 | Operazione San Pietro | Cajella | Lucio Fulci | |
| 1968 | Manon 70 | Jean-Paul | Jean Aurel | |
| 1968 | Darling Caroline | Comte de Boimussy | Denys de La Patellière | |
| 1968 | The Bride Wore Black | Corey | François Truffaut | |
| 1970 | The Ball of Count Orgel | Count of Orgel | Marc Allégret | |
| 1970 | Claire's Knee | Jérôme | Éric Rohmer | |
| 1971 | Gang War | Domenico "Mimì" Gargiulo | Steno | |
| 1971 | A Season in Hell | Paul Verlaine | Nelo Risi | |
| 1972 | Un meurtre est un meurtre [fr] | Paul Kastner | Étienne Périer | |
| 1973 | A Rare Bird | Armand, 'l'oiseau rare' | Jean-Claude Brialy | |
| 1974 | Loving in the Rain | Le dragueur | Jean-Claude Brialy | |
| 1974 | The Phantom of Liberty | Monsieur Foucault | Luis Buñuel | |
| 1974 | Comme un pot de fraises | Norbert | Jean Aurel | |
| 1975 | Catherine & Co. | Guillaume | Michel Boisrond | |
| 1975 | Les Onze Mille Verges | Le client de la gallerie d'art | Éric Lipmann | Uncredited |
| 1976 | The Judge and the Assassin | Villedieu | Bertrand Tavernier | |
| 1976 | Un animal doué de déraison | Claude | Pierre Kast | |
| 1976 | Scrambled Eggs | Brumaire | Joël Santoni | |
| 1976 | L'Année sainte | Pierre Bizet | Jean Girault | |
| 1976 | Barocco | Walt, the editor | André Téchiné | |
| 1977 | Julie pot de colle [fr] | Jean-Luc | Philippe de Broca | |
| 1977 | The Accuser | Le Rantec | Jean-Louis Bertucelli | |
| 1977 | Pour Clémence | Narrator | Charles Belmont | Voice |
| 1977 | Double Murder | Van Nijlen | Steno | |
| 1978 | Robert et Robert | Jacques Millet | Claude Lelouch | |
| 1978 | The Song of Roland | Le Seigneur | Frank Cassenti | |
| 1979 | Le Maître-nageur | Logan | Jean-Louis Trintignant | |
| 1979 | Bobo Jacco | Guillaume | Walter Bal | |
| 1980 | L'oeil du maître | Cazeau | Stéphane Kurc | |
| 1980 | The Lady Banker | Paul Cisterne | Francis Girod | |
| 1981 | Les Uns et les Autres | the Lido's director | Claude Lelouch | |
| 1982 | That Night in Varennes | Monsieur Jacob | Ettore Scola | |
| 1982 | The Girl from Trieste | Professor Martin | Pasquale Festa Campanile | |
| 1983 | Le Démon dans l'île | Dr. Paul Henry Marshall | Francis Leroi | |
| 1983 | Cap Canaille | Samuel Kedabjan | Juliet Berto and Jean-Henri Roger | |
| 1983 | Deadly Circuit | Monsieur Voragine | Claude Miller | |
| 1983 | Édith et Marcel | Loulou Barrier | Claude Lelouch | |
| 1983 | Sarah | Gabriel Larcange | Maurice Dugowson | |
| 1983 | Stella | Roland Caron | Laurent Heynemann | |
| 1983 | La Crime [fr] | Jean-François Rambert | Philippe Labro | |
| 1983 | Papy fait de la résistance | tennis player sycophant | Jean-Marie Poiré | |
| 1984 | Pinot simple flic | Morcy | Gérard Jugnot | |
| 1985 | Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois!! | the inspector | Jean-Pierre Vergne | |
| 1985 | Le 4ème pouvoir | Serge Leroy | TV director | |
| 1985 | Le Mariage du siècle | Kaffenberg | Philippe Galland | |
| 1985 | An Impudent Girl | Sam | Claude Miller | |
| 1986 | Inspecteur Lavardin | Claude Alvarez | Claude Chabrol | |
| 1986 | Suivez mon regard | Freddy Langlois, l'impresario | Jean Curtelin | |
| 1986 | A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later | Un spectateur de '40 ans déjà' | Claude Lelouch | Uncredited |
| 1986 | Le Débutant | Willy | Daniel Janneau | |
| 1987 | Lévy et Goliath | Bijou / Delaroche | Gérard Oury | |
| 1987 | Grand Guignol | M. Albert | Jean Marboeuf | |
| 1987 | Maschenka | Kolin | John Goldschmidt | |
| 1987 | Le Moustachu | Leroy | Dominique Chaussois | |
| 1987 | Maladie d'amour | Frédéric | Jacques Deray | |
| 1987 | Les Innocents | Klotz | André Téchiné | |
| 1989 | Comédie d'été | Gaston | Daniel Vigne | |
| 1990 | There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs | the judge | Duccio Tessari | |
| 1990 | My New Partner II | Le banquier | Claude Zidi | |
| 1990 | Faux et usage de faux | Charles Laumière | Laurent Heynemann | |
| 1990 | No Fear, No Die | Pierre Ardennes | Claire Denis | |
| 1991 | Août | Martin | Henri Herré | |
| 1994 | La Reine Margot | Coligny | Patrice Chéreau | |
| 1994 | Le Monstre | Mr. Roccarotta | Roberto Benigni | |
| 1995 | One Hundred and One Nights | the guide for Japanese tourists | Agnès Varda | |
| 1995 | A French Woman | Arnoult | Régis Wargnier | |
| 1995 | Beaumarchais | Abbot | Édouard Molinaro | |
| 1995 | Le Fils de Gascogne | Himself | Pascal Aubier | |
| 1996 | Beaumarchais | Abbot | Édouard Molinaro | |
| 1996 | Unpredictable Nature of the River | Monsieur de Saint-Chamont | Bernard Giraudeau | |
| 1996 | Portraits chinois | René Sandre | Martine Dugowson | |
| 1999 | L'Homme de ma vie | Lucien Vilner | Stéphane Kurc | |
| 1999 | Kennedy et moi | Benny Grimaldi | Sam Karmann | |
| 2000 | Les Acteurs | Himself | Bertrand Blier | |
| 2000 | In extremis | The lawyer | Étienne Faure | |
| 2001 | Concorrenza sleale | Nonno Mattia | Ettore Scola | |
| 2001 | South Kensington | Fernandino | Carlo Vanzina | |
| 2002 | Les Filles, personne s'en méfie | Le projectionniste | Charlotte Silvera | |
| 2002 | C'est le bouquet ! | Robert Fresnel | Jeanne Labrune | |
| 2003 | The Car Keys | Himself | Laurent Baffie | |
| 2004 | People | Minimo | Fabien Onteniente | |
| 2005 | Quartier V.I.P. | Ferdinand | Laurent Firode | |
| 2005 | Les Rois maudits | Hugues de Bouville | Josée Dayan | Episode: "Le Roi de Fer" |
| 2007 | Vous êtes de la police ? | Alfred Lamproie | Romuald Beugnon | (final film role) |

### As director

* Eglantine (1972)
* Closed Shutters (1973)
* A Rare Bird (1973)
* Loving in the Rain (1974)
* La nuit de l'été (1979)
* Les malheurs de Sophie (1981)
* Cinq-Mars (1981)
* A Good Little Devil (1983)
* Vacances bourgeoises (1996)
* Georges Dandin de Molière (1997)
* La dame aux camélias (1998) with Cristiana Reali and Michaël Cohen
* Les parents terribles (2003)