Bruno Cremer, best known for his portrayal of Georges Simenon’s Inspector Jules Maigret in the long-running (1991–2005) French television series Maigret, died in a Paris hospital on Saturday, Aug. 7. Cremer, who had been fighting cancer for a number of years, was 80.
Cremer’s acting career spanned half a century. He began appearing in bit parts in films in the 1950s; following a slow ascent, he landed several major roles in French productions of the 1970s.
Most notable among those was Claude Sautet’s Academy Award-nominated drama A Simple Story (1979), co-starring Romy Schneider and Claude Brasseur.
Cremer kept himself busy in the 1980s, but from the early 1990s on his film/TV work was almost exclusively restricted to playing the pipe-smoking Maigret.
3 comments
Totally magnificent role and magnificent actor combination with Mr. Cremer in the role of Jules Maigret. I found Mr. Cremer thru my love of the French language, ever seeking to gain fluency — via MHZnetworks.org. I now am delighted to find the postings of his incredible shows on YouTube. Today was the first I saw a picture of the young Mr. Cremer — how splendidly handsome he was.
He was to acting what Johnny Carson was to late-night entertainment. Truly my world has been enriched by such a wonderful talent, and Mr. Cremer lives on thru those of us touched by his work.
very very saddened reading the news of bruno cremer passing away on 7 /8/2010,sorry to be so late in finding out,to add my comment on this fine actor, i absolulty hooked on this fine actor as “maigret” i have the 42 dvd set plus a few of his earlier films.he will indeed be missed,my
condolence,s to madame cremer and family
I am deeply saddened by the recent death of the great actor Bruno Cremer. His portrayal of Inspector Jules Maigret is perfection and the whole series — is one of the rare jewels in the film/tv world. The subtlety and authenticity displayed in the screenplay adaptation of Simmeon’s novels is reminiscent of those done for LeCarre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley’s People. Every aspect of the Inspector Maigret Series’ direction, production, cinematography, music, art direction and acting is flawlessly conceived and portrayed. The care and crafting of this series is one of the most outstanding–ever– and a must for any film collection!