 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Hassan El-Hassani" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Hassan El-Hassani | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hassan Bencheikh (1916-04-24)24 April 1916 |
| Died | 25 September 1987(1987-09-25) (aged 71) |
| Occupation(s) | Comedian, actor |
| Notable work | L'Opium et le Bâton |
Hassan El-Hassani (April 24, 1916 – September 25, 1987), known by the stage name Hassan El-Hassani (Arabic:حسن الحسني), was an Algerian comedian.
Bencheikh was born inKsar Boukhari, nearMedea,French Algeria. He was ahumorist,actor, and comedian who was responsible for the founding of various theatre groups. He was also a member of theNational Assembly and received theResistance Medal.
Across more than thirty films, Bencheikh embodiedBoubagra, a caricature of a naive peasant full of good sense and wisdom in the face of socioeconomic stagnation.
Bencheikh had comedic aspirations from childhood, and he first began acting in 1940 whenMahieddine Bachtarzi's theatre company travelled throughBerrouaghia, where Bencheikh worked as a hairdresser. Encouraged by Bachtarzi, El Hassani wrote his first play,Hassan's Dreams, asatire mocking Europeancolonialism in Africa. The anti-Colonialist messages in the play led to his arrest and imprisonment on 8 May 1945. In prison, he wrote comedic sketches to boost morale among his fellow prisoners.[citation needed]
Released at the end ofWorld War II, Bencheikh moved to theCasbah of Algiers, where he worked as a barber, as well as in theater. He created the character of Na'anaa in the playEl-houria which became, in 1950,theplot thentigoule ou ti ghoul pas. After Bencheikh's theatre groups disbanded, he was hired in 1953 to act on television under Mustapha Badie[fr]. His first drama under Badie wasLa poursuite (The Chase). When theAlgerian war for independence broke out, he was an adamant supporter of the Algerian resistance. In 1968, he joined theAlgerian National Theatre, then abandoned his favourite characterNa'anaa for the more popularBoubagra. With the Four Seasons theater troupe, Bencheikh toured Algeria for 10 years. In 1976, he was elected to the National People's Congress, and the company was dissolved. Bencheikh has been featured in the credits of many television and film productions since Algerian independence.
El-Hassani died inAlgiers on 25 September 1987.
Dictionary of FilmArchived 2011-07-02 at theWayback Machine, Larousse, 2001Archived 2011-07-02 at theWayback Machine.