Comedian, humorist and musician Robert Castel, known as the father of “
pied-noir
”
humor
, died Saturday, December 5 in Paris at the age of 87, his family told AFP.
He "
died today at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital
" (AP-HP), in Paris, following a "
long illness
", she said.
Born on May 21, 1933 in the Algiers district of Bab El Oued, Robert Moyal, whose real name was, was made known with the play
La famille Hernandez
, staged in 1957 with the actresses Lucette Sahuquet and Marthe Villalonga.
The play, which is a huge success in Algeria and then in Paris, allows the metropolis to discover folklore and the typical expressions of the Pieds-Noirs.
In 1962, he left the newly independent Algeria for good and moved to Paris with Lucette Sahuquet, whom he married.
The latter died in 1987 at the age of 60.
Robert Castel then remarried.
He did not have any children.
He then continued sketches on stages and on television, and supporting roles in the cinema, until the early 2000s.
He returned to the stage in 2007 with the musical project "
El Gusto
", an orchestra of Algerian Blackfoot Jewish and Arab musicians, before a last one-man-show in 2013, "
Nostalgérie
".