Élie and Dieudonné (), was a French comedic duo composed of
Élie Semoun and
Dieudonné M'bala M'bala. The duo was productive from 1990 until their dissolution in 1997, after which each has continued to perform separately.
A recurring theme of the comedic duo was based on the African background of Dieudonné and the Jewish background of Élie Semoun, which they used to denounce and combat racism in their two communities.
The two comedians had certain recurring qualities to the characters they played, with Dieudonné playing a person who was imposing and unstable, while Élie played a man who was small and hysterical.
They separated in 1997 due to artistic and financial disputes, shortly after filming their only feature film together, ''
Le Clone'', and shortly before it was released. They had a brief reunion in late 2002 in
Thierry Ardisson's ''
Tout le monde en parle''. However, many controversies pitted the two former friends against one another after 2005. After several reconciliations, Semoun eventually halted any possibility of a reconciliation and reformation of the duo when he learned that Dieudonné had chosen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
to be the godfather of one of his daughters.
Performances
Theater
* 1991–1993: ''Élie et Dieudonné''
[(]Le Quotidien de Paris
''Le Quotidien de Paris'' (; The Daily of Paris) was a French newspaper founded in 1974 by Philippe Tesson. Along with ' and ', ''Le Quotidien de Paris'' made up the (Daily Press Group) which employed over 550 individuals," Philippe Tesson : « ...
)
* 1996: ''Élie et Dieudonné en garde à vue''
Television
* 1993: ''L'Avis des bêtes. Une certaine idée de la France''
Film
*1998: ''
Le Clone'', directed by
Fabio Conversi
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elie et dieudonne
20th-century French comedians