https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11811293
(with photos)

He was the cool rebel of the new wave of French cinema typified in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film classic, A Bout de Souffle.
His moody performance as a doomed thief and Humphrey Bogart fan struck a chord and saw him dubbed the Gallic James Dean.
Later, he forsook arts cinema to become a highly bankable commercial actor, as at home in comedy as in drama.
Jean-Paul Belmondo was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris on 9 Apr 1933, the son of Paul Belmondo, a sculptor whose statues grace many a Parisian park.
The intensely Bohemian atmosphere of his upbringing had a formative effect on him.
He failed at school and became an amateur boxer. In his short-lived career, he won 15 of his 23 bouts before giving up to concentrate on acting.

His trademark bumpy nose, however, was a result of a fight in the school playground rather than the ring.
After performing on stage in provincial theatres, his movie break came with the role of Laszlo in Claude Chabrol's 1958 film Les Tricheurs.
On the strength of his forceful portrayal, he was given his first starring role in A Bout de Souffle.
One critic described him as "a bewitchingly ugly man."
His cult image carried him through several action films such as Les Distractions and La Novice.

Determined not to be stereotyped, Belmondo also accepted more demanding roles such as the idealistic intellectual of Vittorio de Sica's La Ciocara in 1961, and as the young country priest in Philippe de Broca's swashbuckling Cartouche the following year.
He also enjoyed comic roles, in Godard's Une Femme est une Femme, and, particularly, in De Broca's L'Homme de Rio, in which he played a suave, unflappable secret agent.
By the mid-60s, he had switched completely to the commercial mainstream and formed his own production company, Cerito.

He even performed his own stunts in such films as Les Tribulations d'Un Chinois en Chine in 1965, though he gave this practice up after an accident in the 1985 film Hold-up.
He brightened many an all-star cast in international productions such as Is Paris Burning? (1966), the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967) and with Alain Delon in the gangster movie Borsalino (1970),
He moved away from action movies claiming that "I don't want to be a flying grandpa of the French cinema."

In 1987 Belmondo returned to the stage for the first time for nearly 30 years and divided his work between theatre and film for the rest of his career.
Two years later he won a Cesar, the French equivalent of an Oscar, for his performance in Itineraire d'un Enfant Gate.
He branched out creatively as part of the ensemble in Varda's homage to international cinema Les Cent et une Nuits de Samon Cinema in 1995 and as the Jean Valjean figure in Claude Lelouche's re-working of Les Miserables in the same year.
Jean-Paul Belmondo was divorced from his first wife Elodie in 1965. His second marriage to Constantin also failed. He later had long relationships with actresses Ursula Andress and Laura Antonelli.
Cinema audiences at home and abroad were drawn to his charm and seeming disregard for whatever absurdities were taking place on screen. He was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history.

Well, I've yet to watch more than two or three (subtitled) scenes of "Breathless", and I seldom like foreign films as much as good ol' American filmmaking anyway. But I distinctly remember the first time I heard Belmondo's name while in middle school. I had already recently watched Jean-Claude Killy dominate the Winter Olympics at Grenoble, and now was puzzled by this other Frenchman's name too.

That is, what is it with The French and all those hyphenated double-first names?!? I mean, Belmondo, Killy, Jean-Paul Sartre, et al. Anyone herein know the cultural roots of this double-name annoyance?

And while not nearly as widespread in America, the practice is still (way too) common and aurally obnoxious here in the old Confederacy. That is, it's hugely bothersome and self-centered that people like Ally Beth Stuckey and Jim Bob Duggar expect everyone to utter these extra, superfluous syllable(s), and I can't imagine why anyone wants more than a single first name.

And thanks in advance to anyone who can explain this!

BRYAN STYBLE/Florida

On Monday, September 6, 2021 at 8:41:11 PM UTC-4, radioacti...@gmail.com wrote:
> Well, I've yet to watch more than two or three (subtitled) scenes of "Breathless", and I seldom like foreign films as much as good ol' American filmmaking anyway. But I distinctly remember the first time I heard Belmondo's name while in middle school. I had already recently watched Jean-Claude Killy dominate the Winter Olympics at Grenoble, and now was puzzled by this other Frenchman's name too.
>
> That is, what is it with The French and all those hyphenated double-first names?!? I mean, Belmondo, Killy, Jean-Paul Sartre, et al. Anyone herein know the cultural roots of this double-name annoyance?
>
> And while not nearly as widespread in America, the practice is still (way too) common and aurally obnoxious here in the old Confederacy. That is, it's hugely bothersome and self-centered that people like Ally Beth Stuckey and Jim Bob Duggar expect everyone to utter these extra, superfluous syllable(s), and I can't imagine why anyone wants more than a single first name.
>
> And thanks in advance to anyone who can explain this!
>
> BRYAN STYBLE/Florida

Hello Bryan, long time no see.

Sorry to hear about Belmondo, a big star yet unknown to most Americans.

Much appreciate the shout-out, Will.

I've not been away; rather, I long ago merely quit posting to--and soon enough even ever READING anymore--that newsgroup regarding the idiosyncratic guy with the funny nose, the funnier hair and the funniest voice, aka something to the effect of rec.music.What'sHisName.

Meanwhile, I've been posting here to alt.obits all along, and in fact, this is the ONLY place on the Internet I ever post anything anymore, so severely allergic to this Brave New Cyberworld I am.

Now, while I always enjoyed YOUR postings, Will, there were a bunch of types thereon regularly posting (and downright contaminating!) the before-alluded newsgroup to the point of my just trying to forget it existed! That is, I actually prefer to naively believe that this particular recording artist not attract such clearly disturbed folk as even casual fans, much less hardcore devotees.

(And as you might imagine, actually ENCOUNTERING in various circumstances a lot of the previous generation of them during the period I published Zimmerman Blues magazine [1975-79] soured me on some of these aspects of the sub-cult.)

Meanwhile, Will: can you explain to me why "Breathless" is considered such a brilliant achievement? (The parts I watched didn't compel me to take the trouble to screen the entire thing.)

STYBLE/Florida

On Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at 8:53:34 AM UTC-4, radioacti...@gmail.com wrote:
> Much appreciate the shout-out, Will.
>
> I've not been away; rather, I long ago merely quit posting to--and soon enough even ever READING anymore--that newsgroup regarding the idiosyncratic guy with the funny nose, the funnier hair and the funniest voice, aka something to the effect of rec.music.What'sHisName.
>
> Meanwhile, I've been posting here to alt.obits all along, and in fact, this is the ONLY place on the Internet I ever post anything anymore, so severely allergic to this Brave New Cyberworld I am.
>
> Now, while I always enjoyed YOUR postings, Will, there were a bunch of types thereon regularly posting (and downright contaminating!) the before-alluded newsgroup to the point of my just trying to forget it existed! That is, I actually prefer to naively believe that this particular recording artist not attract such clearly disturbed folk as even casual fans, much less hardcore devotees.
>
> (And as you might imagine, actually ENCOUNTERING in various circumstances a lot of the previous generation of them during the period I published Zimmerman Blues magazine [1975-79] soured me on some of these aspects of the sub-cult.)
>
> Meanwhile, Will: can you explain to me why "Breathless" is considered such a brilliant achievement? (The parts I watched didn't compel me to take the trouble to screen the entire thing.)
>
> STYBLE/Florida

Hi Will, I occasionally read some of the posts on the newsgroup you mentioned above, but I haven't posted on the newsgroup devoted to four British band members in about 4 yrs...it's all gossip and people hating one of the band's widow. The newsgroup about TV has become the bastion of #45's supporters and virulent anti-semitism. Alt.obituaries is one of the few sane ones left as dying will never go out of fashion.

Hey Marc:

I've been curious about this for long time, and you as a Fab Four expert just might know the answer:

Are there any alternate takes of the novelty song "You Know My Name (Look Up My Number)", or was that one just a one-off between serious recording of this or that? And were all four principals of the band in the studio when it was recorded, or was it done somewhat (or even entirely) piecemeal?

Thanks in advance!

STYBLE/Florida

"radioacti...@gmail.com" <radioactiveseattle@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:b061990a-c71a-4e20-8451-f92c7769b24bn@googlegroups.com...
Hey Marc:

I've been curious about this for long time, and you as a Fab Four expert just
might know the answer:

Are there any alternate takes of the novelty song "You Know My Name (Look Up My
Number)", or was that one just a one-off between serious recording of this or
that? And were all four principals of the band in the studio when it was
recorded, or was it done somewhat (or even entirely) piecemeal?

Thanks in advance!

STYBLE/Florida

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Know_My_Name_(Look_Up_the_Number)

On Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 12:21:50 AM UTC-4, radioacti...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hey Marc:
>
> I've been curious about this for long time, and you as a Fab Four expert just might know the answer:
>
> Are there any alternate takes of the novelty song "You Know My Name (Look Up My Number)", or was that one just a one-off between serious recording of this or that? And were all four principals of the band in the studio when it was recorded, or was it done somewhat (or even entirely) piecemeal?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> STYBLE/Florida
Firstly, I would never call myself a Beatles expert (maybe I was 40 yrs ago). There are people now in their 20s and 30s who know more about their recordings than I do. However, I am unaware of any alternate takes on "You Know My Name (Look Up My Number)". The only variation of the song is on the Beatles Anthology where a ska/reggae version is included within the song. Why that was left off the official release (it was the B side of the "Let It Be" single) I don't know...I like it. The song was recorded originally in 1967 and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones plays the sax on it.