Paul Hébert, OC, CQ (May 28, 1924 – April 20, 2017) was a French Canadian television and stage
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
and director, and the founder of six theatres in Quebec. He is best known for his role as Siméon Desrosiers in '' Le Temps d’une paix'', a Canadian
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
.
Life
Hébert was born on May 28, 1924, in
Thetford Mines
Thetford Mines (Canada 2021 Census population 26,072) is a city in south-central Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality.
The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains, 141 miles northeast of Montreal and ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, where he was raised by his mother and aunts. He attended high school at the Collège de Lévis in Lévis and university at
Université Laval
Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montm ...
in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
.
He died on April 20, 2017, in Quebec City.
Career
Hébert appeared on many Canadian
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
including '' 14, rue de Galais'' and ''Nos étés''. He also notable for portraying the French judge
Henri Donnedieu de Vabres
Henri Donnedieu de Vabres (8 July 1880 – 14 February 1952) was a French jurist who took part in the Nuremberg trials after World War II. He was the primary French judge during the proceedings, with Robert Falco as his alternate.
Donnedieu was ...
in the Canadian–American drama film ''Nuremberg''.
He spent the first two years of his career managing Les Comédiens de Québec, a theater company in Quebec City. In 1949, on scholarship from the Arts Council of Great Britain, he traveled to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to study at
The Old Vic
The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...
theatre. He returned to Canada in 1952. Between 1954 and 1964, he founded three theatre houses to train actors. In 1982, he opened another theatre house, Théâtre Paul-Hébert in
Île d'Orléans
Île d'Orléans (; en, Island of Orleans) is an island located in the Saint Lawrence River about east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage ...
. In 1965, he appeared in the
Gilles Carle
Gilles Carle, (July 31, 1928As fully funny, Carle had pleasure to always give himself one year less, and to let people think wrongly that he was born in 1929, "The Year of the Big World Crash": see on the Quebec French newspapers that many writer ...
National Theatre School
The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants aw ...
that year. During the 1970s, he was the artistic director for Trident Theatre, another house he founded.
He was made an
Officer of the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with ...
on June 29, 1987, for his services to French Canadian entertainment and was made a Knight of the
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...
in 1994. In 1984, the
Université du Québec
The University of Quebec (French: ''Université du Québec'') is a system of ten provincially run public universities in Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters are in Quebec City. The university coordinates 300 programs for over 87,000 students. The ...
awarded him an honorary doctorate, as did Université Laval in 2000. In 2007, he earned the Denise-Pelletier Award for Performing Arts, a Governor General's Award, the Academy of Quebec Theatre's Hommage Award and the Victor-Morin Theatre Award.
It Isn't Jacques Cartier's Fault
''It Isn't Jacques Cartier's Fault'' () is a Canadian comedy film, directed by Clément Perron and Georges Dufaux and released in 1968. Yves Lever, ''Histoire générale du cinéma au Québec''. Éditions du Boréal, 1988. . p. 165. The film cent ...
(C'est pas la faute à Jacques Cartier)'' (1968)
*''
My Side of the Mountain
''My Side of the Mountain'' is a middle-grade adventure novel written and illustrated by American writer Jean Craighead George published by E. P. Dutton in 1959. It features a boy who learns courage, independence, and the need for companionshi ...
'' (1969) - Hunter
*''
The Christmas Martian
''The Christmas Martian'' (french: Le Martien de Noël) is a Canadian children's Christmas comedy film, directed by Bernard Gosselin and released in 1971.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 42. The film stars ...
(Le martien de Noël)'' (1971) - Le père / Father
*''Les jours gris'' (1974) - Un pensionnaire
*''
Pardon Mon Affaire
''Pardon Mon Affaire'' (French title: Un éléphant ça trompe énormément, in English literally ''An Elephant Can Be Extremely Deceptive''), is a 1976 French comedy film co-written and directed by Yves Robert. It was remade as the 1984 American ...
'' (1976) - (uncredited)
*''
Happy Memories
''Happy Memories'' (french: Les Beaux Souvenirs) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Francis Mankiewicz and released in 1981.In the Shadow of the Wind (Les Fous de Bassan)'' (1987) - Timothé Brown
*''
The Mills of Power
''The Mills of Power'' (french: Les Tisserands du pouvoir) is a Canadian television miniseries, directed by Claude Fournier. A historical drama, the film centres on the historical phenomenon of French Canadians who emigrated to New England for w ...
(Les tisserands du pouvoir II: La Révolte)'' (1988)
*''La nuit avec Hortense'' (1988)
*''
The Confessional
''The Confessional'' (french: Le Confessionnal) is a 1995 mystery-drama film directed by Robert Lepage.
The film is set in Quebec City, in two distinct time periods. In the present day, Pierre Lamontagne (Lothaire Bluteau) searches for his estran ...
(Le Confessionnal)'' (1995) - The Parish Priest (1989)
*''The Ear of a Deaf Man (L'oreille d'un sourd)'' (1996) - Emile
*'' The Long Winter'' (1999) - Grand-père Bouchard
*''
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
'' (2000, TV Mini-Series) - Henri Donnedieu de Vabres
*''The Book of Eve'' (2002) - Mr Cooper
*''
The Novena
''The Novena'' (french: La Neuvaine) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Bernard Émond and released in 2005.
An exploration of faith, the film centres on the interaction between Jeanne ( Élise Guilbault), an atheist doctor who is suffering fro ...
(La Neuvaine)'' (2005) - Prêtre qui bénit
*'' Route 132'' (2010) - Monsieur Crète (final film role)