Marc Camoletti (16 November 1923 – 18 July 2003) was a French playwright best known for the

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or ...

'' Boeing-Boeing''.

Early life

Camoletti was born a French citizen in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

, Switzerland, though his family had Italian origins. His grandfather was the architect who designed the concert venue Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Musée d'art et d'histoire and the Hôtel des postes du Mont-Blanc. Marc Camoletti was a painter before starting a theatrical career.

Career

Camoletti's theatrical career began in 1958 when three of his plays were presented simultaneously in Paris, the first, ''

La Bonne Anna LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'', running for 1,300 performances and going on to be performed throughout the world. '' Boeing-Boeing'' (1960) was an even greater success, and remains Camoletti's signature hit. The original 1962 London production, in an adaptation by Beverley Cross, opened at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

, transferred to the

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

, and ran for seven years, racking up more than 2,000 performances. A later play, ''

Don't Dress for Dinner ''Don't Dress for Dinner'' is an adaptation of a two-act play titled ''Pyjama Pour Six'' by French playwright Marc Camoletti, who wrote '' Boeing-Boeing.'' It ran in London for six years and opened on Broadway in 2012. Productions After a succes ...

'', also ran for seven years in London, again transferring from the Apollo to the Duchess. Camoletti's plays have been performed in numerous languages in 55 countries. In Paris alone, 18 of his plays have totalled around 20,000 performances in all. Ten of his plays have also been shown on television, including ''Sexe et Jalousie''. In 1979, he directed his only feature film, ''Duos sur canapé'', based on one of his plays.

Death

Marc Camoletti died in

Deauville Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film F ...

on the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

coast in 2003.

Distinctions

* Associate of the

Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; en, National Society of Fine Arts) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions. 1862 Es ...

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

Private life

The wife of the writer, Germaine Camoletti (1924-1994), was one of the directors of the Paris Theater "Michel" since the 1970s, being a prominent figure in the theatrical world of that time.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Camoletti, Marc 1923 births 2003 deaths 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights Writers from Geneva