Philippe Léotard
Born 28 August 1940 · Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France · Died 25 August 2001Philippe Léotard (his full name was Ange Philippe Paul André Léotard-Tomasi; 28 August 1940 – 25 August 2001) was a French actor, poet and singer. He was born in Nice, one of seven children - four girls, then three boys, of which he was the oldest - and was the brother of politician François Léotard. His childhood was normal except for an illness (rheumatic fever) which struck him and forced him to spend days in bed during which time he read a great many books. He was particularly fond of the poets - Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Lautréamont, Blaise Cendrars. He met Ariane Mnouchkine at the Sorbonne and in 1964. Together with students of the L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, they formed the Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble, Théâtre du Soleil. He played Philippe, the tormented son of a woman with terminal illness in the 1974 drama film La Gueule ouverte by the controversial director Maurice Pialat. He won a César Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1982 movie La Balance.
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