Patrick Sébastien

Standup and singer Patrick Sébastien parlayed his uncommon skills as an impressionist and physical comedian to emerge as one of the most popular French entertainers of his generation. Born Patrick Boutot on November 14, 1953, in Corrèze, he was still in his teens when he fathered his first son, Sébastien, whose name he later assumed as his professional surname. Upon relocating to Paris in 1970, he launched his career in local nightclubs and cabarets, eventually landing work under television producer Guy Lux. With Lux at the helm, Sébastien went on to host his own popular television specials including Carnaval and Sébastien C'Est Fou, and spent the years to follow as an institution of French comedy, headlining numerous live performances, cutting a series of LPs and making countless television appearance. Sébastien rose to even greater fame in 1992 as star of the television showcase Le Grand Bluff, which drew in audiences of more than 17.5 million; two years later, he resurfaced in another ratings bonanza, Etonnant et Drôle, and also published the bestseller Au Bonheur des Dames. While starring in the top-rated Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde, which began airing in 1998, Sébastien also wrote, directed, and starred in the 2000 feature film T'Aime, une Très Belle Histoire d'Amour. The following year he published Carnet de Notes, a collection of aphorisms, and in 2005 completed the memoir Vitriol Menthe. Putain d'Audience hit bookstores a year later.