Castel Béranger
14 Rue Jean de la Fontaine, 75016 Paris, France

The Castel Béranger is a residential building with thirty-six apartments located at 14 rue de la Fontaine in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It was designed by the architect Hector Guimard, and built between 1895 and 1898. It was the first residence in Paris built in the style known as Art Nouveau.

Municipal Conservatory Francis Poulenc
11 Rue Jean de la Fontaine, 75016 Paris, France

Francis Poulenc was a French composer and pianist.
The Municipal Conservatory of the 16th arrondissement – Francis Poulenc is one of the 17 artistic education establishments specialising in dance, music and dramatic art in the city of Paris.
Located in the 16th arrondissement, close to the Maison de Radio France, the building was constructed by the architect Roger Taillibert and inaugurated in April 1988. A privileged place for learning, expression and artistic life, it welcomes 1000 students between 5 and 25 years old each year, and has nearly 100 teachers.

Square Henri Collet
18 Rue Gros, 75016 Paris, France

This garden pays tribute to the Spanish-inspired French composer and musicologist Henri Collet (1885-1951), who spent much of his life in the 16th arrondissement. In 1920, he launched the “Groupe des Six”, composed of young musicians Milhaud, Poulenc, Honnegger, Auric, Durey, and Germaine Tailleferre. The fountain with six horse heads from which water springs, was sculptured by Andras Beck in homage to Béla Bartok.

Paul Guers (COMEDIENS)
22 Rue Jean de la Fontaine 16e, 75016 Paris, France

Actor Paul Guers studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique (class of 1953). He was a resident of the Comédie-Française from 1953 to 1956, and would continue to regularly appear on the stage until 1986. In the cinema he played the male lead in La Fille aux yeux d’or, alongside Marie Laforêt. The 1961 film was inspired by Honoré de Balzac’s 1835 short novel The Girl with the Golden Eyes. Balzac’s former home at 47, rue Raynouard is only just a short walk away. As Guers worked steadily during the 1970s and 80s his film work grew more sporadic and he would increasingly appear on TV, including the crime series The Octopus (1984-87). In 2016, he was found dead alongside his wife, the writer Marie-Josèphe Guers, at their home in Montsoreau. Paul Guers had been receiving cancer treatment at the time.

Maïténa (CHANTEURS ET CHANTEUSES)
2 Av. Théophile Gautier, 75016 Paris, France

Maïténa had a short lived career as a singer, with a 1961 album Je Ne Viens Pas Pour Affaires, and a couple of singles. As a songwriter her influence would ebb deeper into the decade with her songs being recorded by Annie Fratellini, Sophie Darel and Bernard Stéphane.

Jacques R. Villa (REALISATEURS DE TELEVISION)
35 Rue Gros, 75016 Paris, France

Jacques Villa was a film and TV director who started as an assistant to François Chalais before directing his controversial debut, Les petits chats (Wild Roots of Love ) in 1960. It was banned by the censors and is now largely forgotten despite featuring Catherine Deneuve in one of her first major roles. While Villa waited for the ban to be lifted he directed the French nudist spectacular film Her Bikini Never Got Wet. He would soon move into television, taking control of a number of series including Alerte à Orly and D’hier et d’aujourd’hui.

Pierre Landreau (CHEFS D’ORCHESTRES)
28 Rue Jean de la Fontaine, 75016 Paris, France

Jean-Pierre Landreau was a pianist, composer, arranger and conductor who worked with such greats as Henri Betti, Henri Salvador, Eddie Barclay, Jacques Helian and Eddie Constantine. He was the accompanist for the German singing duo The Kessler Twins. In the mid 1950s he worked closely with Boris Vian and Alain Goraguer, creating songs for the dance company fronted by the American dancer George Reich at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens. Perhaps he will be best remembered for the spectaculars he created with Henri Betti for the Moulin Rouge, these included the legendary shows Fascination (1967), Fantastic (1970), Festival (1973) and Follement (1976).

Jacques Bernard – COMEDIENS
28 Rue Jean de la Fontaine, 75016 Paris, France
And
2 Av. Léopold II, 75016 Paris, France

Born in the 16th arrondissement Jacques Bernard’s mother was the actress Josyane, star of silent films in the 1920s and 30s. Bernard studied at the Conservatoire alongside fellow thespians Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bruno Cremer. He enjoyed a 50 year career in cinema, theatre, television and also as a dubbing artist. He made his film debut in Jean-Pierre Melville’s Les Enfants terribles (1950). The film was shot on location in Paris, at the Société nationale des entreprises de presse and the Théâtre Pigalle. He was known to a generation of action film audiences as the voice of Jackie Chan, dubbing 12 movies from 1976 to 1985.

Jean Bernard – piano
28 Rue Jean de la Fontaine, 75016 Paris, France

Born in 1923, Jean Bernard studied piano, harmony, counterpoint and composition at the Conservatoire de Marseille. Although he did release a number of records in his own name it’s his writing and arrangements that have made a lasting impact on the French music scene. In the 1960s his compositions were recorded by a number of female singers including Gloria Lasso, Anny Gould, Audrey Arno, Mick Micheyl, Virginie Morgan, Colette Deréal, Pascale Montcler, Nancy Holloway, Christine Nerac, Claire Chevalier, Christine Delaroche Ema Damia, Monique Leyrac, Liliane Saint Pierre, and some of the greats, Patachou, France Gall, Mireille Mathieu, and Juliette Gréco. Toward the end of the decade his songs were recorded by a youthful Johnny Hallyday. Later Bernard was the Musical Director for Mouloudji.

Colette Castel – COMEDIENNES
28 Rue Jean de la Fontaine, 75016 Paris, France

Actress Colette Castel lived here in the 1960s with her daughter Sophie and her pet dog, a black dachshund. She had already been lured away from the Le Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique by the magic of the movies. Although she made her cinematic debut in 1954 it was under the direction of René Clair in Tout l’or du monde (1961) that she caught the public attention opposite Bourvil and Philippe Noiret. Alongside her cinematic work she was a regular on television, working until 1995. She played her namesake Colette in the 1965 TV series Le bonheur conjugal. She was married to José Artur, and is the mother of actress Sophie Artur.

Pascale Roberts – COMEDIENNES
28 Rue Jean de la Fontaine, 75016 Paris, France

Pascale Roberts made her film debut after working for a year for American television while living in London in the early 1950s. A few films later (Le Fric, Dans la gueule du loup, Les loups dans la bergerie …), she played the role of a victim in Costa-Gavras’ film Compartiment tueurs. In the 1990s, she starred in Robert Guédiguian ‘s Marius et Jeannette, which earned her a César nomination. Throughout her acting career she rubbed shoulders with some of the French greats – Isabelle Huppert, Alain Delon, Michel Serrault and Fernandel. Throughout her working life she balanced cinema, television and the stage, alternating from humour to drama, and successful films to popular soap operas.

Gilbert Larriaga (REALISATEURS DE TELEVISION)
54 Rue Jean de la Fontaine, 75016 Paris, France

Television director Gilbert Larriaga began as a clandestine news reporter during WW2. Considered a spy by the Germans, in 1944 he was imprisoned and sentenced to death in Pont-l’Évêque but ultimately freed by the British army. He then worked for France Libre Actualités, filming General de Gaulle’s parade along the Champs-Élysées and the liberation of Paris. In the early 1950s, he joined the television news as a reporter, notably covering the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the events in Suez in 1956. He worked on the Tour de France from 1953 to 1981, first on a motorbike with a camera, and then many years as a director. He was also the director of programs such as Cinq Colonnes à la une and Les Dossiers de l’écran. Gilbert Larriaga is buried in the Batignolles cemetery, in Paris.

Jean Pignol (COMÉDIENS)
8 Rue François Millet, 75016 Paris, France

Jean Pignol first hit the cinema screens as a teenager, making his debut in Jean Delannoy’s Fièvres (1942). Despite enjoying regular work on the French film scene in the 1940s, he went back to school to study at the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique. It was a successful venture, earning him prizes in both 1949 and 1950. It would spark a short lived career in the theatre but he would return to his first love, film. Pignol enjoyed a 50 year career in the cinema and on TV, bowing out in 1990. From 1960 onwards he was popular director for television, taking control of multiple series: La joie de vivre (1969-1970), Aubrac City (1971-1972), Chéri-Bibi (1974), La famille Cigale (1977), Marion (1982) and Maguy (1985-86).

Georges Arvanitas (Orgue)
20 Av. Théophile Gautier, 75016 Paris, France

Jazz pianist and organist Georges Arvanitas was famous for his collaborations with American jazzmen passing through France (Mezz Mezzrow, Bill Coleman, Don Byas, Buck Clayton, James Moody, etc). Born in Marseille, he initially trained as a classical pianist, switching to jazz during his teens. He moved to Paris, and worked with Jimmy Archey, Bill Coleman, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Donald Byrd and several others during the 1950s and 60’s, when he lived here. He performed in mythical Parisian clubs such as Tabou, Club Saint-Germain and the Blue Note before starting to release records under his own name. Georges Arvanitas played the organ on Gainsbourg’s famous “Je T’Aime, Moi Non Plus”. Michel Legrand who loved his style called upon him for several original soundtracks.