Pierre-Marc Blaise (11 June 1955 – 31 August 1975) was a French film actor. He is best known for the role of Lucien Lacombe in Louis Malle's 1974 film '' Lacombe, Lucien''. An amateur selected for Malle's film, Blaise went on to act in three additional films, '' The Big Delirium'', ''The Porcelain Anniversary'' and '' Per le antiche scale,'' all released in 1975. His career was cut short when he was killed in a car crash in 1975.

Life and career

Blaise was born in

Moissac Moissac () is a Commune of France, commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the riv ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Blaise made his acting debut in Louis Malle's 1974 film '' Lacombe, Lucien''. Malle had been looking for a non-actor to play the titular character in ''Lacombe, Lucien'' and was convinced that Blaise, then working as a woodcutter, would bring great authenticity to the role. (Writing of the film in 1977, '' Current Biography'' referred to Blaise as a "real-life Provençal farm boy.") In winning the role, Blaise was chosen over 1,000 other actors. Following his appearance in Malle's film, Blaise acted in three films, '' The Big Delirium'', ''The Porcelain Anniversary'' and '' Per le antiche scale,'' all released in 1975. A year after ''Lacombe, Lucien'' was released, Blaise was killed at the age of 20 in a car crash. Following a party, he was driving a car, a Renault 15 TL he had purchased with funds from his acting work. Accompanied by two friends he had brought along for company, Blaise lost control and crashed against a plane tree on the ''route de Laujol'' between Moissac and Durfort-Lacapelette, where he lived with his parents. His friends were also killed. According to ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', the accident took place after the vehicle "skidded around a curve in pouring rain".''Newsweek'', "Pierre Blaise," September 15, 1975 Blaise is buried in the cemetery of Durfort-Lacapelette in

Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn (river), Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its n ...

Filmography

*1974, '' Lacombe, Lucien''. Directed by Louis Malle. *1975, '' The Big Delirium''. Directed by Dennis Berry. *1975, ''The Porcelain Anniversary''. Directed by Roger Coggio. *1975, ''Per le antiche scale''. Directed by Mauro Bolognini.

Bibliography

*Malle, Louis. ''Malle on Malle''. London: Faber, 1993.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaise, Pierre 1955 births 1975 deaths People from Tarn-et-Garonne Male actors from Occitania (administrative region) French male film actors Road incident deaths in France 20th-century French male actors