Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally asJean Marais (French:[ʒɑ̃maʁɛ]), was a French actor, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. In 1937, Marais became the lover of acclaimed poet, playwright and film directorJean Cocteau, who considered him hismuse and directed him in multiple plays and films, notablyBeauty and the Beast (1946).[1] Following their relationship, Marais and Cocteau remained close friends and Marais later endeavored to keep Cocteau's legacy alive. During the post-war period, Marais was one France's major film stars and performed in various successfulswashbuckler films In 1996, he was awarded theFrench Legion of Honor for his contributions toFrench cinema.[2][3]
A native ofCherbourg, France, Marais was a son of Alfred Emmanuel Victor Paul Villain-Marais, aveterinarian, and his wife, the former Aline Marie Louise Vassord.[4] Having recently lost a two-year-old daughter Madeleine, Aline was very disappointed when she gave birth to a boy. She came to accept him but until Jean was six or seven years old his mother raised him as if he were a girl, dressing him like one and giving him dolls to play with. Sometimes Aline was mysteriously absent from home. When he was eighteen, Marais became aware that his mother was akleptomaniac and that she had been imprisoned for several months or even years in her lifetime.[5]
These were small roles. Marais also appeared on stage. He was in a 1937 stage production ofOedipe directed byCharles Dullin, where he was seen byJean Cocteau. Marais impressed Cocteau, who cast the actor in his playLes Chevaliers de la table ronde.[6]
Marais appeared in Cocteau's playLes Parents terribles (1938), supposedly based on Marais' home life, which was a great success.[6]
On stage he appeared inLa Machine à ecrire (1941) by Cocteau and he directed and designed Racine'sBritannicus (1941). He performed briefly with theComédie-Française. In 1941, after Alain Laubreaux, theater critic for thecollaborationist newspaperJe suis partout, wrote an insulting review ofLa Machine à écrire which alluded to Cocteau's sexuality and drug usage, Marais personally beat up Laubreaux. Cocteau had to personally intervene to prevent reprisals against Marais.[7]
The success of the James Bond films saw Marais cast in an espionage movie,The Reluctant Spy (1963) for directorJean-Charles Dudrumet. He did a comedy,Friend of the Family (1964), then had a huge box office success withFantomas (1964), playing the villain and hero, under the direction of Hunebelle.[9]
He performed on stage until his 80s, also working as a sculptor and painter. His sculptureLe passe muraille (The Walker Through Walls) can be seen in theMontmartre Quarter of Paris.[15]
In 1985, he was the head of the jury at the35th Berlin International Film Festival. He was featured in the 1995 documentaryScreening at the Majestic, which is included on the 2003 DVD release of the restored print ofBeauty and the Beast.[16]
From 1937 to 1947 Marais was the lover ofJean Cocteau, who considered him his "'muse". They remained lifelong friends after their relationship ended.[17] Following Cocteau's death in 1963, Marais renounced the inheritance in favor of Cocteau's, last partner, Édouard Dermit.[18] Late in life, he described Cocteau essentially as a friend and mentor.[19] In 1992, Marais wrote a memoir of Cocteau,L'Inconcevable Jean Cocteau. He also wrote an autobiography,Histoires de ma vie, published in 1975. Throughout his life Marais made little effort to hide his sexual orientation but did not flaunt it either,[19] and it never hindered his career and popularity in France.[20]
While the majority of Marais' partners were men, he also had several relationships with women, the most significant one with actressMila Parély. Marais' relationship with Parély began while they co-starred in the filmLe Lit à colonnes (1942) and continued during the making ofBeauty and the Beast (1946).[21] They later remained lifelong friends and were also business partners: in the 1970s, Parély became the manager of an art gallery and pottery shop where Marais sold his works in Paris.[22] From 1948 until 1959, Marais' companion was the American dancerGeorge Reich.[4]
In 1942, Marais had a brief affair with a woman, Maria Ayala. This resulted in the birth of a son, Serge Ayala. Marais initially disbelieved that he was Serge's biological father; they met years later when Serge was a teenager and Marais eventuallyrecognized his son in 1963.[23] In his autobiography, Marais falsely claimed that Serge was hisadopted son,[24] which was later repeated in the media. Serge, who took the legal name Serge Villain-Marais, had a brief career as a singer and actor thanks to his father's support. In 1996, Marais, who felt neglected by his son, bequeathed his possessions to his close friend Nicole Pasquali. After Marais' death, Serge sued Pasquali and her husband and managed to recover part of his inheritance; he committed suicide in 2012 at age 69 following bouts of loneliness and depression.[23]
^Sir Harold Hobson (12 June 1978). "Tourists mob box office – and the theaters thrive: Half the audience Impresario White Musical flaw Difficulty overcome".The Christian Science Monitor. p. B10.
