Jean Tissier

Biography: life and films

One of France's most prolific screen actors, Jean Tissier was born in Paris, France, on 1st April 1896, and was brought up by a single mother, Jeanne Tissier. He started out as a journalist but decided to throw this and instead embark on a career in acting. He was in his early twenties when he first took to the stage, in such distinguished company as the renowned actress Gabrielle Réjane. He had his first credited screen role in the mid-1930s, appearing with his wife Louise Georgette Lalire in Jean de Limur's Le Voyage imprévu (1935), although he had appeared (in an uncredited role) in one film made eight years previously - Abel Gance's Napoléon (1927).

Over the next four decades, Tissier had an incredibly productive career, appearing in around 250 roles for film and television. He was never a major star but he became a hugely popular supporting actor, working with some of the most respected French film directors of his day - Sacha Guitry, H.G. Clouzot, Claude-Autant Lara, Christian-Jaque, Marcel Carné, André Cayatte, to name just a few. His odd mannerisms and distinctive vocal delivery, which made him resemble a harmless country verger with quaint psychopathic tendencies, were his trade mark. These could make him appear a naive innocent, a likeable fool or a sinister-looking rogue, depending on the nature of the role he was playing and the tone of the film. Tissier started out in minor roles but graduated to bigger parts as his popularity with the cinema-going public increased. In the 1940s, he seemed to be omnipresent in French cinema, and this is the decade in which he assumed his most memorable roles - including the creepy turban-wearing stage magician in H.G. Clouzot's popular whodunit, L'Assassin habite au 21 (1942).

Jean Tissier is one of those ubiquitous screen actors you instantly warm to, like a friendly face in a foreign land. During the Occupation, he was at his busiest and even took the lead in a number of films - playing opposite Arletty in René Le Hénaff's L'Amant de Bornéo (1942) and alongside in Suzanne Dehelly in À vos ordres, Madame (1942). He appeared with Fernandel in the popular comedy Adrien (1943) and provided some welcome comic relief in Richard Pottier's noirish Maigret offering Picpus (1943). In Jacqueline Audry's Gigi (1949) he brought depth and humanity to the role that would later be made famous by Maurice Chavalier in the subsequent Hollywood version. In 1945, he somehow found the time to publish a book of his memories, Sans maquillage.

It was partly because of Tissier's involvement with the German-run company Continental during the Nazi Occupation that he became tainted with the slur of collaboration after the Liberation. His reputation damaged, after the war the actor had difficulty finding good parts and he would have to make do with small roles, often in films of low quality. In the 1960s, he started making regular appearances on television, in series such as Le Bonheur conjugal (1965) and Les Jeunes années (1965). His final television appearance was in the TV movie La Visite de la vieille dame (1971). He was still incredibly active on the big screen, and made his last film appearance in Claude Berri's Le Sex Shop (1972).

By the end of his career, Tissier was well into his seventies and in a wretched state. His wife Georgette had died thirteen years previously and, now completely destitute and half-paralysed, he had difficulty fending for himself. Through the benevolent society La Roue Tourne he was found a place in a retirement home in Granville on the Normandy coast. It was here that he died, on 31st March 1973, aged 76. Now, thanks to his incredibly long and varied filmography, he is still appreciated by French film enthusiasts around the world. Not only did he brighten many films that would otherwise have next to no appeal, he also added lustre to worthier cinematic gems that have become much-loved classics.

Filmography

Click here to view complete list of films...