Hassan El-Hassani
Hassan El-Hassani (Arabic: حسن الحسني) whose real name was Hassan Bencheikh, was an Algerian comedian. Born on April 24, 1916 at Ksar Boukhari near Medea, Algeria, he died September 25, 1987 in Algiers. Biography. Hassan El-Hassani was a humorist, actor, militant, popular comedian, and founder of theater groups. He was also a member of the National Assembly (first term) and received the Resistance Medal. In over thirty films he embodied "Boubagra", a naive peasant alter ego full of good sense and wisdom in the face of staggering socioeconomic changes. The chance he had wanted since  childhood came in 1940 when Mahieddine Bachtarzi's theatre company travelled through region of Berrouaghia, where he was a hairdresser. Encouraged by Bachtarzi, El Hassani wrote his first play, "Hassan's Dreams"—a satire denouncing colonialism. The ideas in the play led to his arrest and imprisonment on May 8, 1945. In prison, he created many sketches to boost morale among the prisoners. Released at the end of World War II, he moved to the Casbah of Algiers where he worked as a barber, and also in theater. He created the character of Na'anaa in the play "El-houria" which became , in 1950, "the "plot"" then ""tigoule ou ti ghoul pas."" After the troupe disbanded, he was hired in 1953 to act on television under . His first drama was "La poursuite" ("The Chase") When the Algerian war for independence broke out, he was totally committed to the fight. In 1968, he joined the Algerian National Theatre, then abandoned his favorite character "Na'naa" for the even more significant "Boubagra". With the Four Seasons theater troupe, he toured Algeria for ten years. In 1976 he was elected to the National People's Congress, and the company was dissolved. Hassan El-Hassani has been  featured in the credits of many television and film productions since independence. Bibliography. "Dictionary of Film ", Larousse, 2001 .