Romain Gary
Biography
Romain Gary (21 May [O.S. 8 May] 1914 – 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew, and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar), was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two names. He is considered a major writer of French literature of the second half of the 20th century. He was married to Lesley Blanch, then Jean Seberg. Gary was born Roman Kacew (Yiddish: רומן קצב Roman Katsev, Russian: Рома́н Ле́йбович Ка́цев, Roman Leibovich Katsev) in Vilnius (at that time in the Russian Empire). In his books and interviews, he presented many different versions of his parents' origins, ancestry, occupation and his own childhood. His mother, Mina Owczyńska (1879—1941), was a Jewish actress from Švenčionys (Svintsyán) and his father was a businessman named Arieh-Leib Kacew (1883—1942) from Trakai (Trok), also a Lithuanian Jew. The couple broke in 1925 and Arieh-Leib remarried. Gary later claimed that his actual father was the celebrated actor and film star Ivan Mosjoukine, with whom his actress mother had worked and to whom he bore a striking resemblance. Mosjoukine appears in his memoir Promise at Dawn. Deported to central Russia in 1915, they stayed in Moscow until 1920. They later returned to Vilnius, then moved on to Warsaw. When Gary was fourteen, he and his mother emigrated illegally to Nice, France. Converted to Catholicism by his mother, Gary studied law, first in Aix-en-Provence and then in Paris. He learned to pilot an aircraft in the French Air Force in Salon-de-Provence and in Avord Air Base, near Bourges. ... Source: Article "Romain Gary" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For & Full Filmography7 Titles
Drama Series - 1975, 16 episodes • as Self
Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.
Drama Series - 1972, 16 episodes • as Self
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 2015, 2h 15m • as Self (archive footage)
A struggling writer finds a shortcut to fame, but a blackmailer threatens to ruin his perfect life.
Movie - 1964, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
A greedy gold smuggler hires a handsome hero to transport a stolen fortune to a new hideout accompanied by the smuggler's sexy girlfriend.
Movie - 1967, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
The widow of a murdered undercover NATO officer in Greece is the prime suspect in his killing. She finds herself embroiled in a bigger conspiracy about the sabotage of U.S. radar installations while trying to prove her innocence.
Movie - 1936, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
A commander suspects his wife of infidelity, when she turns to a subordinate officer to help her against someone threatening to blackmail her about her troubled past.
Movie - 2022, 2h 15m • as Himself (archive)
Within a few years, France has witnessed the emergence of a new perspective on society, identity, and race, leading to the creation of an unprecedented lexicon that contradicts the principles of French-style universalism. These days, terms such as "white privilege", "intersectionality", "cancel culture", and the adjective "racialised" are defining a new relationship between minorities, differences, and society, especially among the younger generation. What is the origin of this vocabulary? What does 'wokism' mean? What is the origin of its adoption in France? Is it an opportunity? Or a threat? Is this an unfortunate implementation of a model not our own? This documentary delves into the origins and consequences of a phenomenon that is no longer trivial through archive footage and insights from prestigious contributors, analysts, and witnesses.