Patrick Dewaere

Patrick Dewaere Actor - Born January 26, 1947 in Saint Brieuc, Côtes-du-Nord, France

Died July 16, 1982 in Paris, France (suicide)

Birth Name Patrick Jean Marie Henri Bourdeaux

Height 5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Bio (1) Popular but troubled renegade French actor Patrick Dewaere was christened Jean-Marie Patrick Bourdeaux on January 26, 1947, at Saint-Brieuc in Britanny in the north-west region of France. The third of six children born to actress Mado Maurin (1915-2011), his mothere made acting a family affair. All of his siblings -- Jean-Pierre Maurin (1941-1996), Yves-Marie Maurin (1944-2009), Dominique Maurin (1949- ), 'Jean-Francois Maurin' (1957- ) and 'Marie-Veronique Maurin' (1960- ) -- all became thespians. Patrick made his film debut at the age of four under the name Patrick Maurin in Amazing Monsieur Fabre (1951).

While growing up, he was taunted by his schoolyard friends for his young film endeavors, he learned sensitivity and isolation at an early age. Other films during this adolescent period of time included his playing an unbilled child role in Gene Kelly's The Happy Road (1957).

As a young adult in the early 1960's Patrick appeared on French television, then joined the "Café de Gare" theatrical troupe in 1968 where he remained for nearly a decade. It was during these stage years that he changed his stage name to Dewaere, the maiden name of his great grandmother. He also met and became romantically involvement with fellow troupe member Miou-Miou. A child, Angele, was born to this liaison in 1974, but the couple broke up after only two years. Another daughter, Lola, was born in the early 1980's from a later marriage.

After numerous film bits, stardom was finally his with the leading rebel-like role of Pierrot in Bertrand Blier's anarchic comedy Going Places (1974) [Going Places], which also starred up-and-coming actor Gérard Depardieu and lady love Miou-Miou. He and Depardieu earned instant "anti-hero" stardom in this tale of two wanderlust petty thugs. Patrick's genius for dark, offbeat comedy was apparent in the number of black comedies that came his way. Catherine & Co. (1975) [Catherine & Co.] co-starred Patrick with Jane Birkin, a social commentary on the prostitution business. He followed this with the crime drama The French Detective (1975) [The French Detective] as Lino Ventura's inspector sidekick. Dewaere earned high marks for his off-balanced role in The Best Way to Walk (1976) [The Best Way], then paired up again with Depardieu in the Oscar-winning cross-over comedy Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978) [Get Out Your Handkerchiefs].

Infinitely more interested in searching out complex roles than fame, his work in films were more often than not experimental, lowbudget and quirky in style. He appeared innately drawn to playing sensitive, scruffy, miserable neurotics, misfits and losers, as exemplified by his characters in Coup de tete (1979)_ [Hothead], Série noire (1979), Heat of Desire (1981) [Heat of Desire], Hotel America (1981) [Hotel America] which co-starred Catherine Deneuve, and the critically-acclaimed Beau Pere (1981).

This obsesssion may have triggered a deep and profound suffering in his own off-screen personal life. Unlike his counterpart Depardieu, Patrick's fame never branched out internationally, but he was recognized consistently throughout Europe for his superlative portrayals. Amazingly, he was nominated for seven César awards (the French equivalent of the "Oscar") but never won.

Patrick's career ended in tragic and still mysterious circumstances. Shortly after the release of the film Paradis pour tous (1982) [Paradise for All], a dark comedy in which his character commits suicide, the 35-year-old actor decided to end his own life by shooting himself with a rifle in a Paris hotel on July 16, 1982. At the time he was working on the Claude Lelouch's film Edith and Marcel (1983). A shocking, inexplicable end to friends, fans and family alike, Dewaere later became the subject of a full-length French documentary Patrick Dewaere (1992), which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The Patrick Dewaere Award was established in France in 1983.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Elsa Chalier (16 October 1980 - 16 July 1982) ( his death) ( 1 child) Lola Dewaere (4 December 1979)

Sotha (26 July 1968 - 12 November 1979) ( divorced)

Other Relationships Miou-Miou (? - ?) 1 child Angèle Herry-Leclerc (13 August 1974)

Trivia (8) 1. Brother of Jean-Pierre Maurin. 2. Son of Mado Maurin. 3. In the late 60's he joined an experimental acting troupe called the 'Café de la Gare' -- a company that included future French star Miou-Miou, whom he subsequently co-starred with in movies. 4. A strange, scruffy, highly-depressed individual, he was best known for his light comedic work, but was actually more drawn to playing losers, misfits, rather luckless, sometimes tortured characters on film. 5. In his last completed film, entitled Paradise for All, his character suffers from depression and commits suicide. 6. Daughter Angèle Herry-Leclerc, with actress Miou-Miou, born in 1974. 73 Second daughter, Lola, was born around 1980. 8. Father of Lola Dewaere.