Thursday, September 15, 2011

Who are Those Guys? - Gérard Barray


Gérard Marcel Louis Baraillé was born on November 2, 1931 in Toulouse, France. His father, originally from Mazamet, was an engineer of arts and crafts and ran a factory in Toulouse. His mother was born at Montauban and was a graduate in French, Latin and Greek language with a BA. His parents divorced shortly after Gérard’s birth and his mother decided to return to Montauban with her son. She studied to become a midwife and then managed a maternity hospital. Around the age of 15 Gérard discovered jazz and developed a deep passion for the music that has never faded away. He participated in a few nightclub shows while pursuing his studies and received a bachelor’s degree at the Faculty of Toulouse. He then studied medicine wanting to become a physician and obstetrician. He had hoped to succeed his mother as head of the maternity clinic but was not motivated enough to follow through. His tastes drifted more towards drama and comedy. He took the advice of actress Camille Ricard who had become a professor at the Conservatory of Toulouse and advised him to go to Paris with a letter of recommendation for one of her friends, Noël Roquevert who put him in a few scenes on the Roquevert theatrical tour. Afterwards he was accepted at the Cours Simon and four years later won the Jury Prize. He became a leading man succeeding Jean Marais and became famous for his role as D’Artagnan in "The Three Musketeers" (1961) and as Commissaire San Antonio in 1968's "Sale temps pour les mouches". Now known as Gérard Barray he married actress Theresa Lorca [1943- ] in 1965 when the couple met and appeared in Barray’s only Euro-westerns "Pyramid of the Sun Gods" and "The Treasure of the Aztecs". Still active, Barray last appeared on TV in the 2006 series "El comisario". He was appointed an Office in the French Order of Arts and Letters in January 2010.

BARRAY, Gérard (aka G. Barray) (Gérard Marcel Louis Baraillé) [11/2/1931, Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees, France - ] - stage, TV actor awarded Officer in Order of Arts and Letters [2010].Pyramid of the Sun Gods - 1965 (Count Alfonso di Rodriganda y Sevilla)
The Treasure of the Aztecs - 1965 (Count Alfonso di Rodriganda y Sevilla)

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