Jean Desailly

Jean Desailly (24 August 1920 – 11 June 2008) was a French actor whose career spanned stage, film, and recorded performance across more than six decades. He trained at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won first prize, and joined the Comédie-Française in 1942, remaining a member until 1946. He went on to appear in approximately 90 films over the course of his career.

Following his departure from the Comédie-Française, Desailly became a leading member of the Jean-Louis Barrault-Madeleine Renaud company at the Théâtre Marigny in 1946. There he performed across a broad repertoire that included Les Fausses Confidences, Bérénice, and Le Songe d'une nuit d'été. His association with the Renaud-Barrault company continued at the Odéon-Théâtre de France, where he took on both principal roles in Le Mariage de Figaro, playing Figaro on provincial tour and Count Almaviva in Paris.

It was with the Renaud-Barrault company that Desailly made his Broadway appearances, performing in New York between 1952 and 1957. His credits during that period included Les Adieux, the play Intermezzo, Feu la Mere de Madame, the comedy The Misanthrope, and the play Volpone, among other productions.

Desailly's second wife was the French actress Simone Valère, and together they formed a theatre company that they directed at the Théâtre Hébertot and subsequently at the Théâtre de la Madeleine, presenting a wide repertoire at both venues from 1972 to 2002. Valère also appeared alongside Desailly in recorded musical works: he served as narrator on the 1965 Supraphon recording of Stravinsky's Oedipus rex conducted by Karel Ančerl, and on the 1971 Erato recording of Honegger's Le roi David under Charles Dutoit, on which Valère performed the role of the prophetess.

Among his screen work, Desailly received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1960 for his performance in Maigret tend un piège. In 2002 he was awarded the Molière acting prize.