Mouloudji, son of a Kabyle mason and a Breton mother, was spotted as a child by the bohemians of Belleville and was acting in films before he was twenty. He mixed with Sartre, wrote, painted seriously. In 1954, he recorded the first Le Déserteur, by Boris Vian: the Indochina war was still on, and the song was censored, banned from the airwaves for years.
The story
Marcel Mouloudji was born in Paris on 16 September 1922, to a Kabyle bricklayer father and a Breton mother. A child of Belleville, he was spotted very young by the Paris bohemia and acted in films before he was twenty, with a disarming naturalness that directors did not know how to manufacture.
He kept company with Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, wrote, painted — he exhibited regularly all his life, and the painting was not an actor's pastime.
In 1954 he recorded “Un jour tu verras”, which became a standard. That same year he cut “Le Déserteur” by Boris Vian, the first version ever released: with the Indochina war still on, the song was banned at once and kept off the air for years.
He went on singing and acting without ever quite fitting a category — too much an actor for the singers, too much a singer for the actors, and a painter into the bargain.
He died at Neuilly-sur-Seine on 14 June 1994. He lies in Division 42 with his grandson Paul Hostachi, who died on 28 March 2001. His son Martin is an actor.
On site, do not miss
Two names on the stone, seven years apart: the singer, and the grandson who died in 2001.
Visitors' questions
Where is Marcel Mouloudji's grave?
In Division 42, chemin des Anglais, first row, on the eastern slope of the cemetery — the same path as the grave of the writer Georges Auclair. His grandson Paul Hostachi rests there with him.
Georges AuclairWas he the first to sing “Le Déserteur”?
Yes, in 1954: his was the first version to be released. In the middle of the Indochina War, Boris Vian's song was censored at once and banned from the airwaves for years.
Jacques HigelinWas he also an actor?
He was one before he was a singer: a child of Belleville spotted by the Paris bohème, he was acting in films before he was twenty, with a disarming naturalness. He was also a painter, and exhibited regularly.
Michel PetruccianiWhere did he come from?
From Belleville, the son of a Kabyle builder and a Breton mother. As a child he was spotted by the Paris bohème and kept company with Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir; his son Martin Mouloudji is an actor.
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