Roger Blin
Roger Blin (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 22 March 1907 – Évecquemont, France, 21 January 1984) was a French actor and director. He staged world premieres of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot in 1953 and Endgame in 1957.
Blin was the son of a doctor; however, despite his father's wishes, Blin forged a career in the theatre. As a teenager he was 'fascinated' by the Surrealists and their conception of revolutionary art.
He was initially part of the left-wing theatre collectives The Company of Five and The October Group. In 1935 Blin served as Antonin Artaud's assistant director for his production of Les Cenci [The Cenci] at the Folies-Wagrams theatre in 1935. Following his work with Artaud, Blin focused on 'political street-theatre.'
During the war, Blin was a liaison between the Resistance and the French Army.
His extensive career as both director and actor in both film and theatre has been largely defined by his work and relationship with Artaud, Samuel Beckett and Jean Genet. In addition to being a close friend and confidant of Artaud during the latter's nine years of internment, he directed the first performances of Beckett's Waiting For Godot, Happy Days and Endgame as well as directing the initial performance of Genet's The Blacks and the controversial The Screens. Genet's key correspondences to Blin have been published by Editions Gallimard.
The 1986 Faber and Faber publication, "Samuel Beckett: The Complete Dramatic Works" carries only three dedications from Beckett: "Endgame" is dedicated to Blin, while "Come and Go" is for John Calder, and "Catastrophe" is for Václav Havel.
Source: Article "Roger Blin" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known for
The Adolescent
Romain
Unusual Tales
Guillaume
A Taste for Women
Larsen
Adieu Léonard
Bohemian leader
Marie Soleil
Karl / Boss
Louise
(uncredited)
Street Without a Name
The Curtain Rises
Dominique, le gardien du château de la famille de Cécilia
Le Corbeau
François
The Convict
Convict
First in Line
Paul Moury
Orpheus
The Poet
Qui donc a rêvé?
Alibi
Kretz, Winckler's henchman
The Life and Loves of Beethoven
De Ries
The Invitation to the Waltz
Guillaume l'égorgeur
Pasha's Wives
Mair
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Mathias Hungadi
The Citadel of Silence
Officer (uncredited)
The Devil's Tricks
Monsieur de Beaurepaire
The King and the Mockingbird
L’aveugle (voice)
Too Small My Friend
Boris
The World Will Shake
Le Condamné
The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird
Blind Man (Voice)
Adrienne Lecouvreur
The Bohemian Life
Man of the puppet
The Shadow Line
Burns
Checkerboard
Slim, le guide
Aloïse
Le professeur de chant
Douce
Man of the theater (uncredited)
Law of Survival
Pao
Captain Fracasse
Fagotin
Under Western Eyes
Unnamed Character
Torticola versus Frankensberg
Doctor Frankenstein
The Star Ship
Curtway
The Hospital of Leningrad
Nestor
Colonel Chabert
Cleric
Le Colisée
The Crowd
Little Claus and Big Claus
Le grand Claus
Nevermore, Forever
Daniel
Paris Blues
Fausto the Moor (uncredited)
Adventures of Captain Fabian
The Trump Card
Aspirant
One Must Live Dangerously
Murdoc
The Devil's Envoys
The Monster Showman
Wicked City
Emilio
That Most Important Thing: Love
Servais' Father
Vendredi ou la vie sauvage
Le Fantôme de Laurent Terzieff
Self (archive footage)
Life Is Ours
Un métallo
The Amazing Mr. Callaghan
Wladimir
La Plaie et le Couteau, Charles Baudelaire
Stars at Noon
Self
Five and the Skin
Récitant (voice)
The Old Country Where Rimbaud Died
Jeanne's father
L'illusion comique
Alcandre
The Knight of the Night
le valet
The Sunday of Life
Jean Sans-Tête
Quatrevingt-treize
Tellmarc’h
Beating Heart
(credit only)
Piédalu fait des miracles
The Ideal Couple
The sleepwalker
The Last Judgment
Jenny
le malade solitaire
The Time of the Cherries
Dupuis son
L'âge d'or
The Companions of Baal
Dominique Marchesini
Volpone
Un vénitien
Passionnelle
Julien
Les Trois Sœurs
Verchinine
Calligraphie Japonaise
Narrator
Vagabonds imaginaires
Narrator (segment 'Les amours jaunes') (voice)
Egypt, oh Egypt: Images of Heaven
Narrator (voice)