Trivia

He married his companion Simone Valère after 48 years of living together.

He was awarded the prestigious Moliere acting prize in 2002.

From 1968 to 2001, he created with his wife Simone Valère the "compagnie Valère-Desailly" and was successively the director of three important Parisian theaters "Hébertot", "Edouard-VII", "la Madeleine".

With Simone Valère, he was part of "Compagnie Renaud-Barrault" from 1946 to 1968.

He became part of the Comédie-Française in 1942. In 1943, he created Paul Claudel's "Soulier de satin" with Madeleine Renaud under the direction of Jean-Louis Barrault.

French leading man, a graduate of the École des Beaux Arts. Achieved his greatest popularity in the 1940's and 50's. He had been a member of the Comédie-Française (1942-1946) and the Renaud-Barrault company (from 1952).

In 1946 he became a leading member of the Jean-Louis Barrault-Madeleine Renaud company at the Théâtre Marigny, playing in a wide repertoire from Les Fausses Confidences, Bérénice and Le Songe d'une nuit d'été. With the Renaud-Barrault at the Odéon-Théâtre de France he played both leading roles in le Mariage de Figaro: Figaro on tour in the provinces and Count Almaviva in Paris.

Desailly studied at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and the Conservatoire de Paris winning first prize, joining the Comédie-Française in 1942.

Jean Desailly was a French actor and a member of the Comédie-Française from 1942 to 1946.

In music he was the narrator on the 1965 recording of Stravinsky's Oedipus rex conducted by Karel Ancerl for Supraphon and on the 1971 recording of Honegger's Le roi David under Charles Dutoit for Erato (with Simone Valère as the prophetess).