Maïse Ploquin-Caunan (poete)
8 Rue Nicolas Charlet, 75015 Paris, France

Poet Maïse Ploquin-Caunan was the winner of the Prix Broquette-Gonin in 1982, the annual prize rewards a philosophical, political or literary work, deemed likely to inspire a love of truth, beauty and goodness. In 1985 a prize was established to celebrate the work of Ploquin-Caunan by the Académie Française, it is biennially awarded to the author of a collection of poetry, in classical or free verse, of romantic expression.

Vincent Kaldor (COMEDIENS)
10 Rue Dalou, 75015 Paris, France

In 1965 Vincent Kaldor made his stage debut in Pierre Corneille’s tragedy Cinna (The Clemency of Caesar Augustus) at the Théâtre Récamier. In the same year he appeared in Alexandre Astruc’s Évariste Galois, the short film about the last hours of the life of the brilliant mathematician who died in a duel at the age of 20. In 1977 Kaldor directed Viole d’amour at the Aire Libre-Montparnasse Theatre, situated on the edge of the Cimetière du Montparnasse (3 impasse de la Gaité).

Thérèse Beaujouan (ARTISTES LYRIQUES)
6 Rue Dalou, 75015 Paris, France

In the 1950s, soprano Thérèse Beaujouan was a popular voice on Paris Inter, the predecessor of France Inter, and the most popular radio station in France.

François Chevais – CHANSONNIERS
167 Rue de Vaugirard, 75015 Paris, France

Despite naming himself “the worst actor in Paris”, chansonnier and actor François Chevais performed regularly on the stages of the Caveau de la République, Tabou, and Trois Baudets. In the 1940s he was the host of the 14th arrondissement literary circle Le Pentacle. They held their meetings at the Akademia Duncan, the artistic, social, and educational Parisian commune established by Raymond Duncan (brother of Isadora Duncan). The Pentacle group blended surreal bursts of humor with automatic writing, seeking a path through the titillations of eclecticism.

María Casares (COMÉDIENNES)
148 Rue de Vaugirard, 75015 Paris, France

Maria Casares was the most outstanding French tragic actress of her generation. In 1942, she played the lead role on stage in Deirdre of the Sorrows by J. M. Synge and soon after launched her film career. Her first film role was in Marcel Carné’s Les Enfants du paradis (1945), one of the great classics of French cinema. She went on to star in Robert Bresson’s Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne and gave perhaps her most memorable performance, as Death, in Jean Cocteau’s Orphée (1950). From 1952 onward, although she continued to appear in occasional films, she devoted herself mainly to the stage. She joined the Festival d’Avignon, the Comédie-Française and the Théâtre National Populaire under the leadership of Jean Vilar. Casares had a stormy 16-year affair with Albert Camus, and starred in a number of his plays.

Fred Goldbeck (PRODUCTEURS ET PRESENTATEURS DE L’O.R.T.F.)
8 Impasse Ronsin, 75015 Paris, France

Dutch-born French-Jewish critic, conductor and musicologist Fred Goldbeck was an Adviser for Music at the Radiotélévision Française, he was married to the pianist Yvonne Lefébure. As a conductor, he was first of all a disciple of Mengelberg and Furtwängler. Thus he wrote an important first book: Le parfait chef d’orchestre.

Robert Lombard – COMEDIENS
21 Bd Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France

Actor Robert Lombard had a prolific career in both TV movies and series, spanning over four decades with more than 120 credits. He made his stage debut in N.C. Hunter’s comedy All Rights Reserved in 1947, and that same year appeared in his first film, Voyage Surprise. He appeared in an impressive number of films, usually as a supporting actor, playing characters such as receptionists, jewellers, bankers, gendarmes, motorists, innkeepers, merchants. Regular readers of this website will be pleased to know he did appear in an episode of Les cinq dernières minutes during the 1960s. A badge of honour for all jobbing Parisian actors.

Gérard Doulsanne (CHANTEURS ET CHANTEUSES)
16 Bd Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France

Singer songwriter Gérard Doulsanne released a string of self penned EPs in the 1960s. As the decade wore on his songs were interpreted by several French singers, including Jacqueline Dulac, Pierre Castel, Jacques & Dorothée, Félix Marten, Stéphane Varègues and even Bernard Tapie. In the 1970s he worked as an arranger and director on a number of vinyl releases for children, and also for more adult audiences with the Les Pornographes series.

Pierre Testas (poete)
16 Bd Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France

Born in the 15th arrondissement, Pierre Testas was a poet, trade union activist of the Syndicat des professeurs de collège, and a history and geography teacher. He worked here at the Lycée Buffon, which was his official address, from 1949 until his retirement in 1958.