Jean Duceppe

Jean Duceppe

Jean Hotte-Duceppe, CQ (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɑ̃ ɔt dysɛp]; October 25, 1923 – December 7, 1990) was a stage and television actor from Montreal, Quebec. Born to a family of local shopkeepers in working-class Montréal, Jean Duceppe came to the theatre with no formal training and was completely self-taught. He was popular from the late 1940s until his death at the age of 67 in 1990. His career debut was at the Arcade, performing seven days a week. Between 1941 and 1947, he performed in 34 different plays. He appeared in more than 160 plays on radio, television and in films. In 1971, he won an Etrog from the Canadian Film Awards for best performance by lead actor for his role in the film Mon oncle Antoine. He hosted radio shows and collaborated on numerous radio and TV series, including the very first one broadcast on August 3, 1952 on SRC, Le Seigneur de Brinqueville. Some of his greatest successes were his portrayals of Willy Loman in La Mort d'un commis-voyageur (Death of a Salesman) and Premier Maurice Duplessis in Charbonneau et le chef (Charbonneau and the Chief). He founded the Compagnie de théâtre Jean Duceppe in 1973. Actor Michel Dumont and Louise Duceppe, one of his daughters, now direct his theatre company.

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