Smaïn (born Smaïn Fairouze, on January 3, 1958 in

Constantine, Algeria Constantine (), also spelled Qacentina or Kasantina, is the capital of Constantine Province in northeastern Algeria. During Roman times it was called Cirta and was renamed "Constantina" in honour of Emperor Constantine the Great. Located somewh ...

) is a French comedian, humorist, writer, actor and director of Algerian descent.

Biography

Childhood

Born in 1958 in Constantine,

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, to an unknown father and mother, Smaïn Fairouze was taken in by the children's ward of the civil hospital. In 1960, brought back to France by an administrative assistant, he joined his foster family. His adoptive father, a street sweeper at the Régie immobilière de la ville de Paris, was Algerian and his adoptive mother, a cleaning lady, was Moroccan. He attended the Notre-Dame school in

Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé (; named for Saint Maudez) is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France, in the high-end eastern inner suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, cent ...

and then the Saint-Michel high school in St Mandé. During his childhood, he practiced choral singing for many years. Smaïn, to break into the world of

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

, counted on the limitless support of his adoptive parents: .

Professional career

Smaïn began with a long career in café-théâtre in the , performing in small Parisian cabarets. Later, he met

Philippe Bouvard Philippe Bouvard (; born 6 December 1929 in Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne, Coulommiers) is a French television and radio presenter. From 1977 to 2014 he hosted the French radio program ''Les Grosses Têtes'' on Radio Luxemburg RTL (French radio), ...

who offered him a place in his Théâtre de Bouvard. It was there that he expanded his circle of friends by meeting

Didier Bourdon Didier Bourdon (; born 23 January 1959) is a French actor, screenwriter, and film director.

Bernard Campan Bernard Campan (born 4 April 1958) is a French actor, film director and writer. He is a member of Les Inconnus trio of humorists. He won a César Award for Best Debut for ''Les Trois Frères'', and was nominated for best actor for his role in '' ...

Pascal Légitimus Pascal Légitimus (born 13 March 1959) is a French actor, comedian and theatre director. He is a member of the well-known French comedy band Les Inconnus. Personal life He is the son of an Armenian theater seamstress, Madeleine Kambourian, and ...

and Seymour Brussel. With these four companions, he formed a small comedy group, Les Cinq, which toured for a few years. Smaïn ended up choosing the solo show. Little by little, with the help of his pianist

Alain Bernard Alain Bernard (; born 1 May 1983) is a former French swimmer from Aubagne, Bouches-du-Rhône. Bernard won a total of four medals (two golds, one silver, and one bronze) at two Olympic Games (2008 and 2012). He also won numerous medals at the W ...

, he found success and performed in shows over the years: '' beur'' in 1986 broadcast on (version filmed at the International Festival of Actors' Performance of June 1987) on

La Cinq La Cinq (, ) was a French free-to-air television channel. Created by politician Jérôme Seydoux and Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, it existed from 1986 to 1992. The contract for France's fifth terrestrial network, which was suppos ...

, ''T'en veux ?'' in 1989, and ''Comme ça se prononce'' in 1996, a show for which he won the

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

for best , a Victoire de la musique as well as a Grand Prix Sacem. At the same time, Smaïn was offered more and more roles in the cinema, notably in '' L'Œil au beur(re) noir'', a film which received the César for best first film in 1988. He also participated in several shows by Enfoirés in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1998. In 2008, he recorded with the

Orchestre de la Suisse romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History ...

, '' Le Carnaval des animaux'' by

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

, for which he wrote the libretto. This will be followed by a collaboration with the Pau Pays de Béarn Orchestra who commissioned several musical tales for orchestra, ''Rayane and the Maestro'', ''The Disappeared of the '' and most recently ''The Fabulous Journey of the Traveling Music Stand''. In 2009, he was part of the jury of the show '' France has incredible talent'', during the fourth season, replacing Patrick Dupond, and collaborates with

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to ma ...

on the production of his album ''Délit de fa dièse''. In 2012, Smaïn returned to the stage of the Théâtre Rive Gauche in the play ''Réactions en chaîne'', which he performed from January to March. In 2014, he participated in a video clip in support of the Algerian head of state

Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika (; ; 2 March 1937 – 17 September 2021) was an Algerian politician and diplomat who served as the seventh president of Algeria from 1999 to his resignation in 2019. Before his stint as an Algerian politician, Bouteflika s ...

as part of the

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

. Like other artists, he then indicates that this recovery was done without his knowledge, and that it was initially only a piece paying tribute to Algeria. In 2019, he participated in the first season of the show '' The Masked Singer'', in the costume of the monster and he was eliminated during the third show and finished tenth.

Distinctions

* Officier de l'ordre national du Mérite (2024)

Filmography

Actor

Cinema

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

: '' Don't laugh... it's a joke!'' by Jacques Besnard: A worker * 1982: '' Le Grand Frère'' by

Francis Girod Francis Girod (9 October 1944 – 19 November 2006) was a French film director, actor, and screenwriter. He directed 20 films between 1974 and 2006. His film ''L'enfance de l'art'' was entered into the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. In 1994 he w ...

: Abdel *

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

: '' La Smala'' by Jean-Loup Hubert: a young Maghrebian * 1984: '' Femmes de personne'' by Christopher Frank: a radiologist assistant *

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

: '' The Phone Always Rings Twice'' by Jean-Pierre Vergne: Momo *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

: '' The Pétard Brothers'' by Hervé Palud: a drug smuggler * 1986: '' Happiness Strikes Again'' by Jean-Luc Trotignon: the deputy *

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

: ''

Flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

'' by Jacques Santi: Abdel * 1987: '' The Black Eye'' by Serge Meynard: Rachid *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

: '' I Should Never Have Met His look'' by Jean-Marc Longval: Bambi *

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

: '' On peut toujours rêver'' by and with

Pierre Richard Pierre Richard (born Pierre-Richard Maurice Charles Léopold Defays; 16 August 1934) is a France, French actor, film director and screenwriter, best known for the roles of a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films. Richard is considered by some, such a ...

: Rachid Merzahoui *

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

: '' Siméon'' by Euzhan Palcy *

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

: '' Parano'', sketch film: Jimmy *

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

: '' Tom is all alone'' by Fabien Onteniente: the street musician ( cameo) * 1995: '' Three Lives and One Death'' by Raoul Ruiz : Luca *

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

: '' Les Deux Papas et la Maman'' by Jean-Marc Longval: Salim *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

: '' Charité biz'ness'' by Thierry Barthes: Sam * 1998: '' Bingo !'' by Maurice Ilouz: Vincent *

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

: '' Recto/Verso'' by Jean-Marc Longval (with Michel Muller): Fred * 1999: '' Le Schpountz'' by

Gérard Oury Gérard Oury (; born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. Life and career Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish or ...

: Irénée *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

: '' '' by Karim Abbou: M. Fonblard *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

: '' Rien que du bonheur'' by Denis Parent: himself * 2003: '' Les Clefs de bagnole'' by Laurent Baffie: an actor who refuses to shoot with Laurent *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

: '' Pauvre Richard'' by Malik Chibane: Farid *

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

: '' A Little Guy from Ménilmontant'' by Alain Minier: Maklouf *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

: '' The Bag of Flour'' by (Kadija Leclere): Sarah's Father * 2014: '' Certified halal'' by Mahmoud Zemmouri: Aziz *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

: '' The Doors of the Sun'' by Jean-Marc Minéo: Slimane *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

: '' Placed'' by Nessim Chikhaoui: Elias' father * 2022: '' The Imaginary Doctor'' by Ahmed Hamidi: Inspector Bachir *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

: '' The Little Blond of the Casbah'' by

Alexandre Arcady Alexandre Arcady (born 17 March 1947) is a French actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Alexandre Arcady was born in Algiers, Algeria. He emigrated to France at the age of fifteen. His son is filmmaker Alexandre Aja. ...

: M. Farès

Short film

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

: ' by Pascal Lastrajoli: Luc *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

: ''You'll go to paradise'' by Rost and Thomas Keumurian: Nabil

Television

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

: '' Dorothée: The Show'' *

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

: '' Commissariat Bastille'' by Gilles Béhat : Captain Mo Toumani **''The Red Jacket'' (2001) **''Crossfire'' (2001) *

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

: '' Commissariat Bastille'' by Jean-Marc Seban ** ''The Most Beautiful Age'' (2002) ** ''Countdown'' (2002) ** ''Hunting License'' (2002) ** ''Cast in Concrete'' (2002) *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

: '' A cooking teacher'' by Christiane Lehérissey: Adam Touami *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

: ''For the love of God'' by Zakia Tahri-Bouchaâla: Kevin's father * 2006: '' Harkis'' by Alain Tasma: Saïd *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

: ''Tomboy'' (TV film for ) by David Delrieux: Amrani *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

: '' Camping Paradis'' (TV series - , ''A Ghost in Paradise''): Christian Dissaut *

: '' Brothers in Arms'',

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

Rachid Bouchareb Rachid Bouchareb (born 1 September 1953) is a French film director and producer. His films are based on the complex history of France and its relationship with its former colony, Algeria. His films also examine racial discrimination and conflict ...

and Pascal Blanchard: presentation by Saiaeng Wahena * 2016: '' At your service'' (TV series - ) by Florian Hessique: the bailiff *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

: '' Sam'' (TV series - , ): Moscow

Director

: ''À quoi ça rime'' (short film) *

: '' Les Deux Papas et la Maman'' (co-directed with Jean-Marc Longval)

Dubbing

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

: '' Le Mystère de la troisième planète'': Professeur Newton *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

: '' Franky Snow'' (animated series): Franky Snow

Narrator

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

: ''

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...

'' by

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

, direction

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

Fayçal Karoui Fayçal Karoui (born 1971), is a conductor of Tunisian descent. He won a prize at the 1991 Besançon International Young Conductors Competition and first prize in conducting at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris in 1997. The Aïda sc ...

* 2008: '' The Story of the Little Tailor'' by Tibor Harsányi and ''

The Carnival of the Animals ''The Carnival of the Animals'' () is a humorous musical suite of 14 movements, including " The Swan", by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. About 25 minutes in duration, it was written for private performance by two pianos and chambe ...

'' by

, orchestral direction Yannis Pouspourikas, pianists Caroline Sageman and Lidija Bizjak (Lyrinx) *

: ''

'' by Prokofiev and ''The Carnival of the Animals'' by Camille Saint-Saëns, orchestral direction Raphaël Brunon at the Théâtre du Puy-en-Velay (

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, Lozère, Canta ...

)

Theatre

* 1986: '' beur'' * 1988: ''Prise de tête'' * 1989: ''T'en veux ?'' * 1992: ''Zizi Rider'' * 1996: ''Comme ça se prononce'' * 1998: ''En attendant le soleil'' * 2004: ''Rebelote'' * 2013: ''Mon dernier... avant le prochain''

Actor

: ''Tous aux abris'' by J.-J. Burat, directed by Philippe Ogouz, Théâtre Saint Martin *

: ''Les Fourberies de Scapin'' by

, directed by Jean-Luc Moreau, Théâtre du Gymnase *

: ''Les Fourberies de Scapin'' by

, directed by Jean-Luc Moreau, tour *

: ''Réactions en chaîne'' by Smaïn and Jean-Marc Longval, directed by

, tour *

: ''Réactions en chaîne'' by Smaïn and Jean-Marc Longval, directed by Marion Sarraut, Théâtre Rive Left *

: ''La Ménagère improvisée'' by Smaïn, Éric Carrière and Jean-Marc Longval, directed by Gil Galliot, Théâtre L'Archipel

Director

* 2001: ''We said we'd meet up in '', play by Vincent Azé, Théâtre Rive Gauche * 2003: Sandrine Alexi: ''Prise de têtes'',

Comédie-Caumartin The Comédie-Caumartin () is a 380-seat capacity theatre located at 25 rue de Caumartin in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Histoire Inaugurated in 1901 under the name Comédie-Royale, the venue is dedicated to humour and particularly to Play ...

* 2007: ''Les Glandeurs nature'', Théâtre du Gymnase Marie-Bell * 2018: ' by Jeff Freza, Théâtre du Marais.

TV shows

* 2002: ''

Who wants to be a millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Televis ...

'' with Évelyne Dhéliat (earnings ) * 2003: ' on

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

* 2009: '' France has incredible talent'' on M6 *

: '' '' on

Publication

* .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smain 1958 births Living people People from Constantine, Algeria French people of Algerian descent French humorists French male stage actors French male film actors French male television actors French male voice actors French male writers La France a un incroyable talent Algerian stand-up comedians African comedians French male comedians