Author. Jean Cocteau was a prolific French author as well as a leader in the film industry being an actor, screenwriter, and film director. To a lesser degree, he was a successful painter. Born 12 miles outside Paris in the village of Maisons-Laffitte, his wealthy parents were Georges and Eugénie Lecomte Cocteau. Although he did not excel in a classic education, he found his interest in writing. At the age of 10, his father, a lawyer and amateur artist, committed suicide. At age nineteen, he published his first volume of poems, "Aladdin's Lamp" and became part of the Parisian avant-garde society , which included Cubists, Fauvists and Futurists such as a long-time friend,Pablo Picasso. This led to him to an artistic career in which he is credited with publishing 23 collections of poetry and five novels, having written 21 stage performances, and directing at least eleven films. He designed posters for the Ballets Russe, and he was one of the collaborators on the 1917 ballet "Parade." All of his writings are in French but many have been translated to other languages. He wrote the 1920 play, "Erik Satie", which was composed the music and later choreographed the dance, for which Picasso designed the set and costumes. From 1916 to 1917, he entered the world of modern art. During World War I, he was an ambulance driver on the Belgian front, yet continued his artistic endeavors. His war experiences were used for the 1923 novel, "The Imposter". The death from typhoid of his partner and young author,Raymond Radiguet, led to grief-driven depression. After recuperating from opium addiction, he turned to his Roman Catholic faith, writing the long 1925 poem "The Angel Heurtebise". His literary style had changed with this ordeal. During three weeks in March of 1929, he wrote the novel "Les Enfants terribles", which was later used for the screenplay for a 1950 film, in which he was the film's narrator. In the 1929 "Opium: Journal of Drug Rehabilitation," he recounts the experience of his recovery from the opium addiction. His graphic account with pen-and-ink illustrations alternates between his moment-to-moment drug withdrawal experiences and current events of his life. During his lifetime, he had several male partners and wrote about this life style in the 1920 novella "Le Livre blanc". In 1930, he wrote and directed his first motion picture, the silent, surrealistic film "Le Sang d'un Poète" or "The Blood of a Poet". Sixteen years later and in a talkie film, he made his most famous film, the retelling of the classical fairytale, "Beauty and the Beast". A surreal adaptation of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus was his 1949 film "Orphee", which was a great success and followed in 1950 with "Le Testament d'Orphée". In 1955, he was made a member of the Académie Française and The Royal Academy of Belgium. During his career, he was made a commander of the Legion of Honor, Member of the Mallarmé Academy, German Academy, American Academy, Mark Twain Academy, Honorary President of the Cannes Film Festival, Honorary President of the France-Hungary Association and President of the Jazz Academy and of the Academy of the Disc. In the 21st century, his paintings are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, among others. His posters are selling at auction between $800 and $3,000. He died of a heart attack at his residence. Near his gravesite and opened to the public is his last residence, which houses furnished rooms and a museum of his work.

Author. Jean Cocteau was a prolific French author as well as a leader in the film industry being an actor, screenwriter, and film director. To a lesser degree, he was a successful painter. Born 12 miles outside Paris in the village of Maisons-Laffitte, his wealthy parents were Georges and Eugénie Lecomte Cocteau. Although he did not excel in a classic education, he found his interest in writing. At the age of 10, his father, a lawyer and amateur artist, committed suicide. At age nineteen, he published his first volume of poems, "Aladdin's Lamp" and became part of the Parisian avant-garde society , which included Cubists, Fauvists and Futurists such as a long-time friend,Pablo Picasso. This led to him to an artistic career in which he is credited with publishing 23 collections of poetry and five novels, having written 21 stage performances, and directing at least eleven films. He designed posters for the Ballets Russe, and he was one of the collaborators on the 1917 ballet "Parade." All of his writings are in French but many have been translated to other languages. He wrote the 1920 play, "Erik Satie", which was composed the music and later choreographed the dance, for which Picasso designed the set and costumes. From 1916 to 1917, he entered the world of modern art. During World War I, he was an ambulance driver on the Belgian front, yet continued his artistic endeavors. His war experiences were used for the 1923 novel, "The Imposter". The death from typhoid of his partner and young author,Raymond Radiguet, led to grief-driven depression. After recuperating from opium addiction, he turned to his Roman Catholic faith, writing the long 1925 poem "The Angel Heurtebise". His literary style had changed with this ordeal. During three weeks in March of 1929, he wrote the novel "Les Enfants terribles", which was later used for the screenplay for a 1950 film, in which he was the film's narrator. In the 1929 "Opium: Journal of Drug Rehabilitation," he recounts the experience of his recovery from the opium addiction. His graphic account with pen-and-ink illustrations alternates between his moment-to-moment drug withdrawal experiences and current events of his life. During his lifetime, he had several male partners and wrote about this life style in the 1920 novella "Le Livre blanc". In 1930, he wrote and directed his first motion picture, the silent, surrealistic film "Le Sang d'un Poète" or "The Blood of a Poet". Sixteen years later and in a talkie film, he made his most famous film, the retelling of the classical fairytale, "Beauty and the Beast". A surreal adaptation of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus was his 1949 film "Orphee", which was a great success and followed in 1950 with "Le Testament d'Orphée". In 1955, he was made a member of the Académie Française and The Royal Academy of Belgium. During his career, he was made a commander of the Legion of Honor, Member of the Mallarmé Academy, German Academy, American Academy, Mark Twain Academy, Honorary President of the Cannes Film Festival, Honorary President of the France-Hungary Association and President of the Jazz Academy and of the Academy of the Disc. In the 21st century, his paintings are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, among others. His posters are selling at auction between $800 and $3,000. He died of a heart attack at his residence. Near his gravesite and opened to the public is his last residence, which houses furnished rooms and a museum of his work.

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