{{short description|Belgian comedian}} {{Infobox person | name = Raymond Devos | image = Strasbourg-1980-05-11 (3758268551).jpg | alt = | caption = Raymond Devos in 1980 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|11|9|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Mouscron]], [[Belgium]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|6|15|1922|11|9|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse]], [[France]] | other_names = | occupation = comic | education = Étienne Ducroux School | years_active = 1948–1999 | known_for = | awards = [[Legion of Honor]] | notable_works = }} '''Raymond Devos''' ({{IPA|fr|dəvɔs|lang}}; 9 November 1922 – 15 June 2006) was a French [[humorist]], [[stand-up comedian]] and [[clown]]. He is best known for his sophisticated [[pun]]s and [[surreal humour]].
== Early life ==
Devos was born in [[Mouscron]], [[Belgium]], close to the French border. Both his parents were French and he moved to [[Tourcoing]], [[France]], at the age of two. Seven years later, his family moved to [[Paris]]. During the [[Second World War]] he was sent, like many young men of his generation, to [[Germany]] to work. On his return to France, he took acting and [[mime artist|mime]] lessons at the Étienne Ducroux school, where he met [[Marcel Marceau]]. In 1948, he was part of a [[burlesque|burlesque trio]] (in the older sense of the word ''burlesque'').
== Career == Devos's career took off in the 1950s when he began writing his own [[one man shows]] and was the opening act for [[Maurice Chevalier]]. Although his act still involved elements of his early years as a clown (such as [[juggling]]) he was mostly recognized because of his mastery of the French language. His unique brand of surreal humour and sophisticated puns garnered him much respect throughout the Francophone world. Devos is a leading character in [[Alejandro Jodorowsky|Alejandro Jodorowsky's]] [[surrealist]] [[1957 in film|1957]] debut [[short film]] ''[[Les têtes interverties]]'' (a [[mime]] adaptation of [[Thomas Mann]]'s 1940 play ''The Transposed Heads''). Perhaps his best-known international appearance is a cameo in [[Jean-Luc Godard]]'s ''[[Pierrot le Fou]]'' [[1965 in film|1965]] as a man sitting on a harbourside who is obsessed with the memory of a mysterious love song.
He performed for the last time in 1999 in Paris's [[Paris Olympia|Olympia Theater]]. He died in [[Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse]], [[Yvelines]], [[France]].<ref>AFP, [http://www.afp.com/francais/news/stories/060615095849.5wyf9qae.html ''Raymond Devos est mort'']{{Dead link|date=September 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, June 15, 2006</ref>
== Nationality == Because he was born in Belgium, the nationality of Devos was often, and still is, a source of confusion. Some media reported his death by referring to "Belgian comic Devos"<ref name="BBCobituar">[[BBC News]], [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5084600.stm ''Belgian comic Raymond Devos dies''], June 15, 2006</ref> or "French and Belgian comic Devos".<ref>"[http://www.tdg.ch/tghome/toute_l_info_test/l_evenement/devos1__16_06_.html? ''Raymond Devos a fini de jongler avec les mots'']{{Dead link|date=September 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[Tribune de Genève]] en ligne'', June 16, 2006, retrieved on June 19, 2006</ref> He also has a Dutch/Flemish family name. Devos was born of French parents and raised in France, but was always respectful of his country of birth and once quipped that he was still, after all, a "fake Belgian".<ref>Louis-Bernard Robitaille, [https://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20060616/CPARTS04/606160700/5156/CPARTS ''La France est émue par la disparition de Raymond Devos''], [[La Presse (Canada)|La Presse]], June 16, 2006</ref>
== Filmography == {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1957|| ''Ce joli monde'' || L'abbé || |- |1958|| ''Le Sicilien'' || Henri || |- |1959|| ''Vous n'avez rien à déclarer?'' || Le peintre, prix de Rome || |- |1959|| ''Le travail c'est la liberté'' || Émile Dumoulin || |- |1962|| ''[[Tartarin of Tarascon (1962 film)|Tartarin of Tarascon]]''|| Un automobiliste || |- |1965|| ''[[Pierrot le Fou]]'' || L'homme du port || Uncredited |- |1973|| ''La raison du plus fou'' || Le surveillant de la maison de repos || |}
== Awards and distinctions == *In 1986 he was awarded the [[Grand prix du théâtre (Académie française)|Grand Prix du Théâtre de l’Académie française]]. *He was awarded the [[Legion of Honor]] and the [[Académie française]]'s ''Grand Prix du Théâtre''.<ref name="BBCobituar"/>
== References == <!--This article uses the Cite.php citation mechanism. If you would like more information on how to add references to this article, please see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cite/Cite.php --> {{reflist}}
== External links == *[http://www.raymonddevos.com RaymondDevos.com] {{in lang|fr}} *{{IMDb name|0222930|Raymond Devos}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Devos, Raymond}} [[Category:1922 births]] [[Category:2006 deaths]] [[Category:People from Mouscron]] [[Category:Surreal comedians]] [[Category:20th-century French comedians]] [[Category:French World War II forced labourers]] [[Category:French humorists]] [[Category:French stand-up comedians]] [[Category:French surrealist artists]] [[Category:French male comedians]] [[Category:Comedians from Paris]]