Corinne Benizio ("Shirley", born 1962) and Gilles Benizio ("Dino", born 1957), are a French comic duo known by their stagename Shirley et Dino.

Biographies and debut

Gilles was born on June 1, 1957, in

Villerupt Villerupt (; ) is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. It is located on the departmental border with Moselle, not far from the France–Luxembourg border. A festival takes place in the ...

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a '' département'' in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. Its prefecture and largest city is Nancy and it borders the departments of Meuse to the west, Vosges to the south, ...

and Corinne on February 12, 1962, in

Dugny Dugny () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. About a third of Le Bourget airport lies on the territory of the commune of Dugny, including its main terminal and the '' Musée de l' ...

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobi ...

. The couple met at university in 1982, married in 1985, and made their debut the same year with the stage name "Achilles Tonic". In several of their shows, the duo depicted touching stories about unsuccessful naïve clowns.Philippe Rège - Encyclopedia of French Film Directors - Volume 1 2009 081086939X- Page 77 In 2002 they released a partially autobiographical movie ' Cabaret Paradis'. In 2009 they have played the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

King Arthur (opera) ''King Arthur, or The British Worthy'' (Z. 628), is a semi-opera in five acts with music by Henry Purcell and a libretto by John Dryden. It was first performed at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden, London, in late May or early June 1691. The ...

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

, and in 2015 they played

Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse ''Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse'' (''Don Quixote at the Duchess'') is a "comic ballet" ('' comédie lyrique'') by the French baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. Although it is described as a ballet, it is sung throughout with a libretto ...

, a comic

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

by the French Baroque writer

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (23 December 1689 – 28 October 1755) was a French baroque composer of instrumental music, cantatas, opéra-ballets, and vocal music. Boismortier was one of the first composers to have no patrons: having obtained a ...

The Shirley et Dino show

Corinne and Gilles created the characters "Shirley and Dino" during an improvisation internship with

Ariane Mnouchkine Ariane Mnouchkine (; born 3 March 1939) is a French stage director. She founded the Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble '' Théâtre du Soleil'' in 1964. She wrote and directed ''1789'' (1974) and ''Molière'' (1978), and directed ''La Nuit Mira ...

in 2002, and their frequent skits on Patrick Sébastien's TV show "Le plus grand Cabaret du Monde" (The Greatest Cabaret Show of the World) made them famous in France. The release of clips from that show on YouTube in 2011 made them famous around the world, with more than 2.5 million views (as of September 2018). As 'Shirley and Dino' they played magic tricks that don't work or magic tricks that were "mistakenly" revealed, and sang well-known

Chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

style songs off-tune, with the wrong words or misinterpreted lyrics in foreign languages. ''Shirley'', dressed in a 1960s style

gingham Gingham, also called Vichy check, is a medium-weight balanced plain weave, plain-woven textile, fabric typically with Tartan, tartan (plaid), striped, or Check (pattern), check duotone patterns, in bright colour and in white made from dyed cotton o ...

dress would explain what they are about to do, with outbursts of awkward laughter, and standing in a childish silly posture, while ''Dino'', dressed in a white suit, pants a bit too short, and a wig with two curls on his forehead, constantly interrupts her, mocking her and talking to the crowd. In 2003 they received the Mulier prize for their "Le Duo" show, as the "Best Sketch Show of the year". According to the official website, Their DVD was sold in more than 1 million copies.Corinne and Gilles' official website
(in French)

Theater

Filmography

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley and Dino 21st-century French comedians 1957 births 1962 births Living people 20th-century French comedians