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 comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

'' Boeing-Boeing''.

Early life

Camoletti was born a French citizen in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, 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'', 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 Alan Beverley Cross (13 April 1931 – 20 March 1998) was an English playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Early life Born in London into a theatrical family, and educated at the Nautical College Pangbourne, Cross started off by wri ...

, opened at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in 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 above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

, and ran for seven years, racking up more than 2,000 performances. A later play, '' Don't Dress for Dinner'', 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 communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...

on the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

coast in 2003.

Distinctions

* Associate of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts *

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Private life

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

References

External links

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