Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau
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Jean Cocteau directed Beauty and the Beast 1946 and Orpheus 1949. He began writing at age 10 and published his first poetry by 16. He collaborated with composer Igor Stravinsky on Oedipus rex in 1927. Cocteau was elected to the Académie Française in 1955. He died in 1963 at age 74.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Jean Cocteau — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Jean Cocteau by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Jean Cocteau — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
At age 10, Jean Cocteau began writing. After publishing his first volume of poems, Aladdin’s Lamp, at nineteen, he attended Lycée Condorcet from 1900 to 1904, where he met Pierre Dargelos, who appeared throughout his work.
Eugénie Cocteau, his mother, raised him. His father is not recorded. Paris’s bohemian artistic circles attracted him early in life.
Cocteau made his first film The Blood of a Poet in 1930, publicly shown in 1932. He directed Beauty and the Beast 1946, Les Parents terribles 1948, and Orpheus 1949. He wrote the libretto for Igor Stravinsky’s Oedipus rex in 1927, performed at the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt.
In theater, his 1934 play La Machine infernale is his greatest stage work. He wrote the play Le Bel Indifférent for Édith Piaf in 1940; it became a success.
Cocteau was openly bisexual and never hid his sexuality. Actor Jean Marais, his longtime companion, appeared in almost all of his films. Cocteau also had a rumored brief affair with Princess Natalie Paley in the 1930s.
He was close to his mother Eugénie. His semi-autobiographical book Le Livre blanc, published anonymously in 1928, contained homoerotic themes.
In 1955, Cocteau was elected to the Académie Française and the Royal Academy of Belgium. He influenced the group of composers known as Les Six. His final film, Testament of Orpheus 1960, featured Pablo Picasso and Yul Brynner.
The 1995 Tony Awards posthumously nominated Cocteau for Best Play for Indiscretions. Surrealist and avant-garde art still celebrates Cocteau as a leading figure.
The complete filmography of Jean Cocteau — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Jean Cocteau — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Jean Cocteau's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Jean Cocteau — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Film Will Only Become an Art When Its Materials Are as Inexpensive as Pencil and Paper.
I Love Cats Because I Enjoy My Home; and Little by Little, They Become Its Visible Soul.
History Consists of Truths Which in the End Turn into Lies, While Myth Consists of Lies Which Finally Turn into Truths.
A Film Is a Petrified Fountain of Thought.
What’s a Frenchman? an Italian in a Bad Mood.
In Paris, Everybody Wants to Be an Actor; Nobody Is Content to Be a Spectator.
Little-known facts about Jean Cocteau — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
During World War I, Cocteau served as an ambulance driver.
Cocteau was the longtime companion of actor Jean Marais.
When asked about his greatest influence, Cocteau cited comedian Harry Langdon.
Cocteau served as president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1954.
He was honorary president of the Cannes Film Festival jury in 1957.
In 1953, Cocteau was president of the Cannes Film Festival jury.
Cocteau received a posthumous 1995 Tony Award nomination for Best Play for his work on Indiscretions.
A biography of Cocteau appears in John Wakeman’s World Film Directors, Volume One 1987.
Cocteau classified his diverse works as various forms of poetry, including poésie de roman and poésie cinématographique.
Cocteau’s final film Testament of Orpheus 1960 featured cameos by Picasso and Yul Brynner, who also helped fund it.
Cocteau painted murals in the Chapelle Saint-Pierre in Villefranche-sur-Mer in 1956, and in 1957 decorated the marriage hall at the Hôtel de Ville in Menton.
Cocteau’s 1940 play Le Bel Indifférent, written for Édith Piaf, was a huge success. Piaf died the day before Cocteau in 1963.
In the 1930s, Cocteau allegedly had a brief affair with Princess Natalie Paley, a Romanov descendant and actress.
Cocteau’s 1934 play La Machine infernale, his stage adaptation of the Oedipus myth, is regarded as his theatrical masterpiece.
Cocteau was a key figure in surrealism and Dada. The National Observer called him the closest to a Renaissance man of his artistic generation.
Cocteau’s first film The Blood of a Poet 1930 was rejected by surrealists despite its style. His 1930s success came from plays like La Voix humaine and Les Parents terribles.
During Nazi occupation, Cocteau participated in a round-table of intellectuals at the Georges V Hotel in Paris, including Ernst Jünger and Gaston Gallimard.
Cocteau wrote the libretto for Stravinsky’s Oedipus rex, premiered at the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt on May 30, 1927.
Cocteau directed several films including Beauty and the Beast 1946, Les Parents terribles 1948, and Orpheus 1949.
Cocteau was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist, and critic.
Cocteau influenced the composers known as Les Six. He helped name the popular bar Le Boeuf sur le Toit, which became a gathering spot for the group in the 1920s.
Cocteau’s celebrated novel Les Enfants terribles was published in 1929.
In 1955, Cocteau was elected to the Académie Française and the Royal Academy of Belgium.
Cocteau published Aladdin’s Lamp at age 19 and became known as The Frivolous Prince after a volume at 22.
At Lycée Condorcet, Cocteau began a relationship with Pierre Dargelos, who reappeared in his work.
Cocteau was open about his bisexuality. His semi-autobiographical Le Livre blanc was published anonymously in 1928.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Jean Cocteau.
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