Gad Elmaleh
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Gad Elmaleh (born April 19, 1971, Casablanca, Morocco) is a Moroccan one man show humorist and actor who lives in France. His latest show is called Papa est en haut (Papa is upstairs).
[edit] Biography
Gad Elmaleh was born in Casablanca, Morocco. Of Moroccan-Jewish descent, he was brought up in a mixed cultural background, speaking Moroccan Arabic, French, and Hebrew. Just 17 years old, Gad--a name adopted by his fans--left Morocco for Quebec, Canada. He spent four years in Montreal where he studied political science and was invited into theatre.
In 1992, at 22 years old, he decided to go to Paris. He studied with Isabelle Nanty with whom he did his first one-man show "Décalages" in 1995. Performed in the famous "Palais des glaces", the show is an autobiography of Gad.
Elmaleh then devoted himself to cinema and acted in his first full-length film, "Salut cousin!" by Merzak Allouache, as well as "L'homme est une femme comme les autres" and "Train de Vie."
In 2001, Elmaleh married Anne Brochet, but subsequently got a divorce. Since then, he has lived with the dancer Aurélie Dupont.
His fame further increased with the success of his second one-man show, "La Vie Normale," and the film "La Vérité si je mens ! 2" (2000) in which he played the role of Dov, the seducer. The character of "Chouchou" in "La Vie Normale" was reproduced in the comedy Chouchou (2002), directed by Merzak Allouache and also starring Alain Chabat; the film drew large audiences.
In contrast to his first two one-man shows, his "L’autre c’est moi"(2005) contains more improvisation and interaction with the public. In an interview, Gad Elmaleh said that this one-man show is more in the tradition of stand up.[citation needed]
In 2004, he starred in Olé! with Gérard Depardieu.
In 2005, he starred François Pignon in La Doublure (English title "The Valet"), by Francis Veber.
In 2006, he starred with Audrey Tautou in Hors de prix (English title "Priceless"), by Pierre Salvadori.
Elmaleh was awarded the "Chevalier des Arts et des lettres" medal by French culture minister Renaud DonneDieu de Vabres, in March 2006.
He was elected as "la personnalité la plus drôle de France" (The Funniest Person in France), beating out 49 other humorists, in January 2007.
He came back to the stage with "L'autre, c'est moi" in September 2006 in Canada (Montreal) and in the U.S. (for example, on Broadway, at the Beacon Theater in front of 3000 spectators); it was performed also in Morocco. Between April and August 2007 he is playing his successful show in France, Belgium, and Switzerland.
On July 15th 2007, Elmaleh premiered his latest show, "Papa est en haut", in Montreal, Canada as part of the Just for Laughs festival.
[edit] Filmography
- Hors de prix with Audrey Tautou - (2006) (English title: Priceless)
- La Doublure with Alice Taglioni, Daniel Auteuil, Dany Boon, Virginie Ledoyen, Kristin Scott Thomas - (2005) (English title: The Valet)
