Olivier Hussenot founded in 1946, with Jean-Pierre Grenier, a company Yves Robert nicknamed the freedom troupe, because there one staged what one wanted, with whom one wanted. It lasted eleven years, and it saw the debuts of Rochefort, Rosy Varte, the Frères Jacques. In the cinema, his figure earned him the roles of quiet authority, Maigret's inspector among others. A single name is engraved, and it is not quite his.
The story
Born in Paris in 1913, Olivier Hussenot learnt the theatre with the Comédiens routiers, the troupe born out of the scout movement, where actors were trained in mime and improvisation rather than declamation.
In 1946 he founded with Jean-Pierre Grenier the Grenier-Hussenot company, which lasted eleven years and gave Rosy Varte, Jean Rochefort and the Frères Jacques their start. Yves Robert called it “la troupe-liberté”, the freedom troupe.
The company broke up in 1957. Those who came out of it would hold the French stage and screen for the next thirty years; Hussenot himself went in front of the camera.
On screen his build earned him the parts of quiet authority: the inspector in Maigret tend un piège, “Maigret Sets a Trap”, the inspector in Nina, and a great many films besides. He also adapted Raymond Queneau's Le Dimanche de la vie for the stage.
He died at Boulogne-Billancourt on 25 August 1978 and lies in Division 92, avenue Carette, first row, under a plain stone that carries a single name — “Marcel HUSSENOT – DESENONGES” — and not his own.
The grave
A sober stone, whose interest is in what it does not say: it bears “Marcel HUSSENOT – DESENONGES”, the name of the family grave, and not the actor's. Nothing there recalls the Grenier-Hussenot company or the eleven years of the “freedom troupe”. One must know the location — avenue Carette, first row — to know what one is standing before.
On site, do not miss
Read the inscription: “Marcel HUSSENOT – DESENONGES”. The actor who launched Jean Rochefort and the Frères Jacques rests under a name that is not his own.
Visitors' questions
Where is Olivier Hussenot's grave?
In Division 92, avenue Carette, first row, beneath a plain stone bearing the inscription “Marcel HUSSENOT – DESENONGES”: the actor's name does not appear on it. The Division is also that of Victor Noir.
Victor NoirWhat was the Grenier-Hussenot company?
A troupe founded in 1946 with Jean-Pierre Grenier, active until 1957. Yves Robert called it “la troupe-liberté” — the freedom troupe. It launched Jean Rochefort, Rosy Varte and the Frères Jacques — a good share of the theatre of the thirty years that followed.
Pierre BrasseurIn which films can Olivier Hussenot be seen?
Often as a figure of quiet authority: the inspector in Maigret tend un piège, the one in Nina, and a long string of roles in the French cinema of the 1950s and 1960s. He also adapted Queneau for the stage.
Jules BerryWhy is his name not on the grave?
The stone reads “Marcel HUSSENOT – DESENONGES”, the name of the family grave in which the actor was buried. The case is not unique at Père-Lachaise, where several performers rest under a surname that is not their stage name.
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