Jean Martin
Born
March 6, 1922
Died
February 2, 2009 (86 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Paris, France
Jean Martin (6 March 1922 - 2 February 2009) was a French actor. Coming from a Berry family, he spent part of his childhood in Biarritz, where his father worked for a furrier. During the Second World War, he hid to escape the Forced Labor Service. Staying in Paris, he appeared in two films by Maurice Tourneur: "The Devil's Hand" (1942) then "Cécile Est Mort" (1943). At the twilight of the forties, he started doing theater.
In 1953, Jean Martin gained notoriety by playing the new play by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, "Waiting for Godot", under the direction of Roger Blin, becoming the first to take on the role of Lucky. The same Roger Blin produced “End of the Game” (1957), by the same Beckett, a few years later, and entrusted the same Jean Martin with the role of Clov. In 1960, Jean Martin staged his first play, “Letter Dead”, by Robert Pinget. In 1962, he again staged a play, “The Representatives”, by Aglaé and Mona Mitropoulos, adapted by Michel Arnaud. Alongside this theatrical career which would prove to be rich, Jean Martin returned to cinema: “Notre-Dame de Paris” (1956), by Jean Delannoy, “Paris belongs to us” (1958), by Jacques Rivette, “Ballade for a thug " (1962), by Jean-Claude Bonnardot, "La foire aux dunces" (1963), by Louis Daquin and "À toi de fait mignon" (1963), by Bernard Borderie.
In 1960, he was a signatory of the Manifesto of the 121 entitled “Declaration on the right to insubordination in the Algerian war”. In 1965, a role marked his career, that of Colonel Mathieu, in a film retracing the struggle in 1957 for control of the Casbah district of Algiers between FLN militants and French soldiers: "The Battle of Algiers" . Three years after the end of the Algerian War, the subject is still sensitive on each side of the Mediterranean; the film was banned in France upon its release, then censored until 2004. Jean Martin, very convincing in this role of division commander (historically, the commander is General Massu, but the character is inspired by Colonel Bigeard), is the only professional actor in the film. His large stature, his strong personality and his imperious face predispose him to notable roles generally showing authority: chief doctor, police commissioner, high-ranking military officer, ecclesiastical dignitary...; one of the most impressive will undoubtedly be that of a doctor vehemently expelling from his hospital a judge Fayard, Patrick Dewaere, a bit of a cavalier in "Le Juge Fayard Dit Le Shérif" (1976). Claude Zidi mocks these roles in his comedies: principal in “La moutarde monte au nose” (1974), bank director in “La Course À L'Échalote” (1975), chief doctor in “L'aile ou la thigh” (1976), principal inspector in “Bête mais disciplined” (1979) and examiner in “Inspecteur la Bavure” (1980). Alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo, he is… cardinal in “L’Hériter” (1972) and… divisional commissioner in “Peur Sur La ville” (1975)! But also alongside Terence Hill in “My Name is Nobody” (1973) in the role of Sullivan, or “One Genius, Two Associates, One Bell (1975).
After devoting a large part of his career to the theater, appearing in around fifty films, Jean Martin died on February 2, 2009, in Paris.
Known For

Marxist Poetry: The Making of The Battle of Algiers
Self
2004

Lucie Aubrac
Paul Lardanchet
1997
Les Jupons de la révolution
Marquis de persan · (1 episode)
1989

The Crime of Ovide Plouffe
Sculpteur
1984

La Puce et le privé
Gérard Le Tizou, head waiter
1981

Inspector Blunder
Examination policeman (uncredited)
1980

The King and the Mockingbird
L’oiseau (voice)
1980

La Femme flic
Le colonel Morange
1980

The Associate
M. Bastias
1979

Dossier 51
Vénus
1978

The Cat
Legrand
1977
Rendez-vous en noir
Le commissaire · (6 episodes)
1977

Judge Fayard Called the Sheriff
Surgeon
1977

The Carpathian Castle
Orfanik, the Inventor
1976

A Woman at Her Window
Drieu La Rochelle (uncredited)
1976

Le Gentleman des Antipodes
Sainte-Rose
1976

The Wing or the Thigh?
Duchemin's Doctor at Clinic
1976

Police Commissioner Moulin
Larsen · (1 episode)
1976

A Genius, Two Friends, and an Idiot
Colonel Pembroke
1975

The Messiah
Pontius Pilate
1975

The Wild Goose Chase
Le directeur de la banque
1975

Alouqa or the Comedy of the Dead
Jean Croix
1975

The Night Caller
Divisional commissioner Sabin
1975

An Invitation to the Hunt
Marquis of La Rocherie
1974

The Time of the Beginning
Direttore clinica / Sottocapo
1974

I'm Losing My Temper
Headmaster
1974

Cry of the Heart
M. Bunkermann
1974

Successive Slidings of Pleasure
The Priest
1974

My Name Is Nobody
Sullivan
1973

The Day of the Jackal
Victor Wolenski
1973

The Inheritor
Mgr. Schneider
1973

The Beguines
René
1972

Mandrin
Robert de Cazes · (6 episodes)
1972

La nuit bulgare
1972

HPW ou Anatomie d'un faussaire
Bjorn
1971

Troubleshooters
Homme de Varèse
1971

Promise at Dawn
Igor Igorevitch
1970

The Companions of Baal
Mauvouloir
1970

Safety Catch
1970

Don't Take God's Children for Wild Geese
A henchman of Charles (uncredited)
1968

Baal's Companions
M. De Plassans · (7 episodes)
1968

Je T'Aime, Je T'Aime
Un responsable d'édition
1968

The Invention of Morel
Stoewer
1967

Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre
Gaston · (1 episode)
1967
Les filous
1967

Soldier Martin
Monnier
1966

The Battle of Algiers
Colonel Philippe Mathieu
1966

The Nun
Monsieur Hébert
1966

Your Turn, Darling
1963

Les Culottes rouges
Un homme de la troupe (uncredited)
1962

Gustave Moreau
Narrator
1962

Paris Belongs to Us
1961

Fortunate
faux croque-mort
1960

Forgotten Stones
1952

Cecile Is Dead
Le garçon d'étage (uncredited)
1944