| Jean-Claude Deret | |
| Birth Name: | Claude Breitman |
| Birth Date: | July 11, 1921 |
| Birth Place: | Paris, France |
| Death Place: | Paris, France |
| Resting Place: | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Occupation: | Television writer, songwriter, actor, playwright, detective novelist, children's author |
| Spouse: | Céline Léger |
| Children: | 3 |
Jean-Claude Deret, born Claude Breitman, (July 11, 1921 – December 12, 2016) was a French television writer, songwriter, actor, playwright and author of children's books and detective novels.
Jean-Claude Deret was born as Claude Breitman on July 11, 1921.[1] [2] [3] His family were secular Jews from Russia.[1] One of his great-grandfathers was a psychiatrist.[1] He lost a relative in The Holocaust.[1]
Deret started his career as a songwriter and singer in Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the late 1940s.[1] By 1950, he emigrated to Quebec, where he became a theatre and television actor.[1] Nine years later, in 1959, he returned to France and within a few years he created Thierry la Fronde, a television series.[2] Between 1963 and 1966, he wrote 52 episodes.[1]
Deret founded Le Théâtre du cercle, a theatre company in Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt.[1] Additionally, he authored children's books and detective novels.[1] He also wrote plays, including Samuel dans l'île, which was nominated for a Molière Award in 2006.[1] [3] Meanwhile, he continued to act, for example starring in Beautiful Memories in 2001.[3] He wrote 50 songs over the course of his career, and performed at the Théâtre de Poche Montparnasse in April 2014.[1] [3] In 2016, he directed Salauds de pauvres, a short film about poor people in France.[3]
Deret had three children, including actress Zabou Breitman with Céline Léger.[1] [3]
Deret died in Paris on December 12, 2016, age 95.[1] [2] He was cremated at the Père Lachaise Cemetery on December 17.[1]