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Richard Bohringer

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Richard Bohringer
Richard Bohringer in March 2013
BornJanuary 16, 1942[1] (age 82)
Moulins, France
CitizenshipFrench, Senegalese
Occupation(s)Actor, singer, author, film director, screenwriter
Years activeLate 1960s–present
Websiterichardbohringer.com

Richard Bohringer (French pronunciation: [ʁiʃaʁ boʁɛ̃ʒe])[2] is a French actor, singer, writer, and film director. He is the father of actresses Romane Bohringer and Lou Bohringer [fr].

Early life

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Bohringer was born in Moulins, Allier, France, to a French mother, Huguette Foucault[3] and a German father. [citation needed] His parents met during World War II, making him a child of war.

At his birth, his parents left him with his maternal grandmother who lived in an HLM in Deuil-La Barre [fr], his mother leaving to live in Germany. His father, dispatched to the Russian front, was taken prisoner for five years. Despite these difficulties, Bohringer describes his childhood with his grandmother as a happy one[4]. During his life, he was able to see his father only three times[5].

He made his stage debut near the end of the 1960s. His first play, Les Girafes, was produced by Claude Lelouch. He entered the world of film with his first feature, Gérard Brach's La Maison, in 1970.

Career

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In 1972, Richard Bohringer landed a significant role in L'Italien des Roses [fr]. It took until the beginning of the 1980s, however, for the actor, already in his forties, to truly make an impact, becoming one of the most notable French actors of this period. Beginning in 1981 with the film Diva by Jean-Jacques Beineix, he followed with numerous other roles, winning two César Awards for L'Addition [fr] (1984) and The Grand Highway (1987).

Richard Bohringer at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival

Other notable performances include his work in Luc Besson's Subway (1985) and Gérard Jugnot's Une époque formidable... (1991). He also became a favored actor for Jean-Loup Hubert, playing the flighty husband in J'ai épousé une ombre [fr] (1983), and a collaborator with Jean-Pierre Mocky and his friend Bernard Giraudeau. In 1992, Bohringer and his daughter, Romane, were brought together on-screen by Claude Miller for The Accompanist.

In the 1990s, he became the presenter for Mission Appolo, a French-language variety show on Antenne 2, followed by the film Tango (1993), after which he worked more sparingly. Bohringer would then turn again to television with the series Un homme en colère [fr] (1997-2002).

Well before Bohringer began writing novels, he also attempted to write poetry set to music, himself a fan of slam poetry. He released a series of such albums between 1980 and 2002.

In 2010, at The European Theatre [fr] in Paris, France, he staged a one-man show adapted from his book Traîne pas sous la pluie [fr]. This began a tour of more than two years, with Bohringer regaling the public with stories of alcohol, travel, Africa, women, and more. In July 2011, he performed the show during The "Off" Festival of Avignon.

In January 2013, he created the play J'avais un beau ballon rouge [fr], where he shared the stage with his daughter Romane for the first time. The play went on to great success on tour, and in Paris, at the Théâtre du Rond-Point.

A lover of literature, in April 2017, he read from the texts of Jack London and writer and war correspondent Olivier Weber during the opening night of festival of Literature and Journalism in Metz[6].

In 2018, he guest-starred in the television series À votre service [fr].

In 2023, his daughter Romane put him onstage at the Théâtre de l'Atelier in Quinze rounds, a solo performance derived from his work of the same title.

Awards and recognition

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Bohringer won the César Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1985,[7][8] and the César Award for Best Actor in 1988.[9][10][11]

He was the special guest at the 25th edition of the Festival Polar de Cognac in 2020.[12]

Selected filmography

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Richard Bohringer in 2006
Year Title Role Director
1977 Animal An assistant of Sergio Claude Zidi
1980 The Last Metro a Gestapo officer François Truffaut
Inspector Blunder fingerprint analyst Claude Zidi
La Boum a friend of François Claude Pinoteau
1981 Diva Gorodish Jean-Jacques Beineix
Les Uns et les Autres Richard Claude Lelouch
1982 Le Grand Pardon [fr] Le Sacristain Alexandre Arcady
1984 L'Addition [fr] Albert Lorca Denis Amar [fr]
1985 Death in a French Garden Daniel Forest Michel Deville
Subway the florist Luc Besson
1986 Kamikaze Romain Pascot Didier Grousset
1987 The Grand Highway Pelo Jean-Loup Hubert
Agent trouble Alex Jean-Pierre Mocky
Flag [fr] Inspecteur Simon Jacques Santi
1988 Door on the Left as You Leave the Elevator Boris Édouard Molinaro
1989 The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover Richard Boarst Peter Greenaway
1990 Dames galantes [fr] Brantôme Jean-Charles Tacchella
1992 Confessions d'un Barjo Charles Jérôme Boivin
The Accompanist Chares Brice Claude Miller
1993 Tango Vincent Baraduc Patrice Leconte
1994 The Heart's Cry Paulo Idrissa Ouedraogo
1997 La Vérité si je mens ! Victor Benzakhem Thomas Gilou
Wild Animals the boss Kim Ki-duk
1999 Méditerranées [fr] Ramirez Philippe Bérenger [fr]
2001 The Cat's Meow the film director Peter Bogdanovich
2003 Crime Spree Laurent Bastaldi Brad Mirman
The Overeater Émile Lachaume Thierry Binisti
2006 A City Is Beautiful at Night Richard Richard Bohringer
2008 Admiral General Janin Andreï Kravtchouk
2015 By the Sea Patrice Angelina Jolie Pitt

References

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  1. ^ "Extrait de naissance n° 17/1942". Les gens du cinema (in French).
  2. ^ Pronunciation in French transcribed according to IPA standard. Listen on Forvo.
  3. ^ Who's Who in France: dictionnaire biographique (in French). Éditions Jacques Lafitte. 1992.
  4. ^ Interview with Journal de 20 heures (France 2) on 1 May, 2016
  5. ^ Paris Match number 1868, 15 March 1985, page 53, section « Mes Gens » by Philippe Bouvard:

    Je l'ai vu trois fois seulement dans ma vie. Cela n'a pas été très loin. Il parle allemand et pas moi.

    I saw him only three times during my life. We didn't get very far. He spoke German and I didn't.

  6. ^ Bitzer, Michel (7 April 2017). "Jack London ouvre la voie pour un trentième rugissant" [Jack London Leads the Way for a Roaring Thirtieth]. Le Républicain lorrain (in French).
  7. ^ Bourdain, G. S. (19 February 1988). "New Face:; France's Softhearted Tough Guy: Richard Bohringer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  8. ^ Oscherwitz, Dayna; Higgins, MaryEllen (2 September 2009). The A to Z of French Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7038-3.
  9. ^ "French actor Richard Bohringer holds up his Cesar Award as he walks..." Getty Images. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Rouans. 32 ans après le Grand chemin, Richard Bohringer revient dans la commune". nantes.maville.com (in French). Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  11. ^ Média, Prisma. "Richard Bohringer - La biographie de Richard Bohringer avec Voici.fr". Voici.fr (in French). Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  12. ^ Bec, Bernard (9 August 2021). "A Brief History of Cognac's POLAR Festival". CrimeReads. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
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