Hervé VILLECHAIZE (1943-1993) - Lot 515

Hervé VILLECHAIZE (1943-1993) The Old Port of Marseille in the early 19th century Four-leaf oil-painted screen, signed, located and dated "61" lower right Sheet size: 150x44 cm Famous for his film roles, notably in the James Bond films "The Man with the Golden Gun" and "Fantasy Island", Hervé Villechaize's true passion was painting, as evidenced by our screen and his biography by his brother, Philippe Villechaize. BIOGRAPHY OF HERVE VILLECHAIZE "Hervé VILLECHAIZE was born in Montauban on April 23, 1943, the second of four sons. His father André was a surgeon in Toulon, and his mother Evelyne, born in England, was the daughter of Emidio Reccchioni, an Italian anarchist who had emigrated to England and was known for having been one of the instigators of the attack on Mussolini in 1932. In 1950, Hervé travelled to the United States for the first time, to undergo examinations at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He underwent tyroid surgery there in 1954. At the age of 8, he measured 93 cms and would not grow much taller. As he would later say, "I'm a man trapped in a child's body. If I accept it, I don't have to like it. Hervé, who had no predisposition for classroom work, declared to his father at the age of 7: "What's the point of school! When I grow up, I'll be rich and I'll have a secretary! In fact, he had already found his true calling. It was painting. His parents encouraged him from an early age to take up a discipline in which he would soon excel. In 1955, he took painting lessons with Georges and Isabelle Rouault, then in 56-57, drawing lessons with Bertrand Py, engraver and sculptor. With his family settled in Toulon, Hervé attended art classes there, where he met Palmieri, Ambrogiani and Jaccobazzi, and struck up a close friendship with Eugène Baboulène. His favorite subjects were still lifes, of course, but also the sea and the Provencal hills surrounding Toulon, where azure blue blends with the white of limestone and the green of olive and pine trees. His first exhibition there was at the age of 16. In 1960 and 1961, he joined the Grande Chaumière academy run by Yves Brayer. The master passed on to him his passion for the Camargue, from which would emerge some of his finest paintings. In April 1962, he held a second exhibition in Toulon, and was acquired by the city of Paris for "Quai de seine". He then exhibited for two years at the Ror Volmar gallery in Vichy, where his career as a painter really took off. Fascinated by the artistic scene in the United States, he obtained a scholarship and enrolled at the Art Student League in New York. At the same time, he was drawn to the theater, appearing for the first time on the off-Broadway café-theater stage in "Mama" and "Moondreamer". In August 1965, he had his first exhibition at the Ruth Leon Gallery in Lictchfield (Connecticut). 1965 was a wonderful year for Hervé, as he married Ann. The following year, he won a leading role in Chappaqua, a film by Conrad Rooks, which won the Special Jury Prize at Venice. He continued to appear in "Rigoletto" at the New York City Opera, "Pagliacci", and in 1968 "the honest to god Shcnozzola", a play by Israel Horowitz. In 1969, he starred in Norman Mailer's "Maidstone", an anti-establishment, libertarian writer and journalist. His next film was James Goldstone's "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight", starring Robert de Niro. In 1974, he starred in "Seizure", the first film by Oliver Stone, director of Platoon, JFK and Wall Street l'argent ne dors jamais. The same year, he landed the 4th role in a James Bond film, "The Man with the Golden Gun", alongside Roger Moore and Christopher Lee. Propelled onto the international stage by the film's success, Hervé was well on the way to becoming a star. After a final play in New York (Ubu Roi) directed by Paul Weidner, Hervé and Ann spent a year in Paris. In 1977, he returned to the U.S. and settled in Los Angeles, where he began a new life in the TV series that would become a cult favorite, Fantasy Island. Playing the role of Tatoo, Hervé shot 6 seasons and 143 episodes. Hervé, who discovered television when he arrived in the USA in 1964, was passionate about his profession, even if the pace of filming made him very tired. In 1974, during the shooting of L'homme au pistolet d'or, towards the end of the film, he jumped from the ceiling on his own.