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Jacques Dutronc

Actor, Composer, Additional CreditsBorn April 28, 1943 (82 years)
Jacques Dutronc (born 28 April 1943) is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. Some of Dutronc's best-known hits include "Il est cinq heures, Paris s'éveille" (which AllMusic has called "his finest hour"), "Le Responsable", and "Les Cactus".

Dutronc played guitar in the rock group El Toro et les Cyclones. He wrote successful songs for singer Françoise Hardy in the 1960s before moving on to pursue a successful solo career. His music incorporated traditional French pop and French rock as well as styles such as psychedelic and garage rock. He was also very important in the yéyé music movement and has been a longtime songwriting collaborator with Jacques Lanzmann. According to AllMusic, Dutronc is "one of the most popular performers in the French-speaking world", although he "remains little known in English speaking territories" aside from a cult following in the UK.

Dutronc later branched out into film acting, starting in 1973. He earned a César Award for Best Actor for the leading role in Van Gogh (1991), which was directed by Maurice Pialat. He married Hardy in 1981 and together they have a son, guitarist Thomas Dutronc (born 1973); the couple separated in 1988, but never divorced.

Jacques Dutronc was born on 28 April 1943 at 67 Rue de Provence in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, the home of his parents, Pierre and Madeleine. His father was a manager for the state-run Office of Coal Distribution. Jacques was educated at Rocroy-Saint-Léon elementary school (now a lycée), the École de la Rue Blanche (now a drama school), and then at the École Professionnelle de Dessin Industriel, where he studied graphic design from 1959.

In 1960, Dutronc formed a band with himself as guitarist, schoolfriend Hadi Kalafate as bassist, Charlot Bénaroch as drummer (later replaced with André Crudot), and Daniel Dray as singer. They auditioned in 1961 for Jacques Wolfsohn, an artistic director at Disques Vogue, who signed them and gave them the name El Toro et les Cyclones. The group released two singles, "L'Oncle John" and "Le Vagabond", but disbanded when Dutronc was obliged to undertake military service.

After being discharged from the army in 1963, Dutronc briefly played guitar in Eddy Mitchell's backing band and was also given a job at Vogue as Jacques Wolfsohn's assistant. In this capacity, he co-wrote songs for artists such as ZouZou, Cléo, and Françoise Hardy.

Wolfsohn asked Dutronc to work with Jacques Lanzmann, a novelist and editor of Lui magazine, to create songs for a beatnik singer called Benjamin. Benjamin released an EP in 1966, featuring songs written with Dutronc and a Lanzmann–Dutronc composition, "Cheveux longs" ("Long Hair"). However, Wolfsohn was disappointed by Benjamin's recording of a song titled "Et moi, et moi, et moi". A second version was recorded, with Dutronc's former bandmate Hadi Kalafate on vocals. Wolfsohn then asked Dutronc if he would be interested in recording his own version. The single reached number 2 in the French charts in September 1966. ...

Source: Article "Jacques Dutronc" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Known For

  • Van Gogh
  • Nightcap
  • My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days
  • Every Man for Himself
  • That Most Important Thing: Love
  • Summer Things
  • Place Vendôme
  • Tricheurs
  • C'est la vie
  • Malevil
  • UV
  • The Good and the Bad
  • The Second Wind
  • Paradis pour tous
  • Us Two
  • Mado
  • Sweetheart
  • Violette & François
  • Is There a Frenchman in the House?
  • Return to the Beloved
  • Pédale dure
  • Every Man for Himself
  • The Bit Between the Teeth
  • The Victims

Filmography

2018
Kiss & Tell · as Bertrand
2014
Les Francis · as Orso
2010
What War May Bring · as Cameo Appearance
2010
Joseph et la fille · as Joseph
2007
The Second Wind · as Orloff
2007
UV · as Dad
2007
Ma place au soleil · as Gérard
2004
Pédale dure · as Charles
2002
Summer Things · as Bertrand Lannier
2001
C'est la vie · as Dimitri
2000
Nightcap · as André Polonski
1998
Place Vendôme · as Battistelli
1996
The Victims · as Bernard Jaillac
1995
1994
De Serge Gainsbourg à Gainsbarre de 1958 - 1991 · as (segment "les Roses Fanées")
1992
Sweetheart · as Antoine Gardella
1991
Van Gogh · as Van Gogh
1989
Separate Bedrooms · as Francis
1989
1984
Tricheurs · as Elric
1983
Sarah · as Arnold Samson
1982
Paradis pour tous · as Pierre Valois
1982
1981
L'ombre rouge · as Léo
1981
Malevil · as Colin
1981
1981
Rends-moi la clé! · as Nicolas Kervellec
1980
Every Man for Himself · as Paul Godard
1980
L'entourloupe · as Olivier
1979
Us Two · as Simon Lacassaigne
1979
The Bit Between the Teeth · as Loïc Le Guenn
1979
1978
L'état sauvage · as Avit
1977
Focal Point · as Julien
1977
Violette & François · as François Levene
1976
Mado · as Pierre
1976
The Good and the Bad · as Jacques
1975
That Most Important Thing: Love · as Jacques Chevalier
1974
OK Patron · as Léon Bonnet
1974
Antoine and Sebastian · as Sébastien

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