Gérard Nery(1922-2010)

Born in 1922 in Hamburg (Germany), Gérard Néry had a very peripatetic youth in the company of his older sister Hélène, following his parents across Europe (Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Holland). When Hélène was eighteen and he was fifteen, the two young people decided to settle down in Paris. Gérard was not a very good student, so he did not really know what to do of his life but a had a knack for doing the right thing. Having been hired as a stage manager by the Théâtre des Célestins' in Lyon, he took part in the rehearsal of Roger Ferdinand's "LesJ-3". When the main actor of the play, François Périer proved unable to reach Lyon owing to the advance of the American army (the year was 1944) he brashly offered his services to replace the famous actor. As "Les J-3" was going to become the emblematic success of the Liberation period, the young inexperienced actor instantly became a juvenile star. But this success was also a mixed blessing, as Gérard Néry was hopelessly reduced to same type of role in the years that followed. Despite his determination to play against type, he proved unable to unchain himself from the shallow cheerful youth stereotype. He was of course in the film adaptation of "Les J-3" and played about the same role in two films directed by André Berthomieu, "J'ai 17 ans" (1945) and "Amour, délices et orgues" (1947). Fortunately, Gérard Néry had more than one string to his bow. He was fond of writing and soon converted himself into a playwright, a script writer and mostly into a successful novelist (the "Julie Crèvecoeur" series, "Les nuits d'Hollywood", "Chasse aux cerveaux" ...)