Serge Gainsbourg
Acting
Serge Gainsbourg (born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative releases which caused uproar in France, dividing public opinion. His artistic output ranged from his early work in jazz, chanson, and yé-yé to later efforts in rock, zouk, funk, reggae, and electronica. Gainsbourg's varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorise, although his legacy has been firmly established and he is often regarded as one of the world's most influential popular musicians. Gainsbourg wrote over 550 songs, which have been covered more than 1,000 times by diverse artists. His lyrical works incorporated wordplay, with humorous, bizarre, provocative, sexual, satirical or subversive overtones. Since his death from a second heart attack in 1991, Gainsbourg's music has reached legendary stature in France. While controversial in his lifetime, he has become one of France's best-loved public figures. He has also gained a cult following across the world with chart success in the United Kingdom and Belgium with "Je t'aime... moi non plus" and "Bonnie and Clyde", respectively. Serge Gainsbourg was born in Paris on 2 April 1928, in the maternity ward of the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris on the Île de la Cité. He was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Joseph and Olga Ginsburg. Born Brucha Goda Besman (nicknamed Olia/Olga) in Feodosiya in 1894, Serge's mother was a mezzo-soprano singer. Serge's father Joseph was born in Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire of Ukrainian Jewish heritage in 1896. Originally interested in painting, he entered the Petrograd Conservatory and then the Moscow Conservatory to study music, becoming a classically trained pianist. He came to Crimea, where he met and married Olga in 1918. The couple fled Odessa for Paris via Georgia and then Istanbul in the years following the Russian Revolution. The couple arrived in Marseille in 1921, settling in Paris near Olga's brother, who worked for the Louis Dreyfus Bank. Joseph became a piano performer at bars, casinos, and cabarets, while Olga sang at the Conservatoire Rachmaninoff. Serge and his twin sister Liliane had an elder brother Marcel, born in 1922, who died at sixteen months of pneumonia. They also had an older sister Jacqueline, born in 1926. The family lived in the working-class districts of Paris, first at 35 Rue de la Chine in the 20th arrondissement, and then at 11 Rue Chaptal in the 9th arrondissement. They obtained French nationality in 1932. Joseph taught Serge and Liliane to play the piano. At age 12, Serge enrolled at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. Gainsbourg's childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Germany during World War II. The identifying yellow star that Jews were required to wear haunted Gainsbourg; in later years he was able to transmute this memory into creative inspiration. Early in the summer of 1941, the family temporarily sought refuge in the commune of Courgenard in the Sarthe department, at a place called "La Bassetière," with Baptiste and Irma Dumur. ... Source: Article "Serge Gainsbourg" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye
as Police Inspector
Age 45 (now 62)
The Unknown Man of Shandigor
as le chef des Chauves
Age 39 (now 62)
Choral Music, from Dutilleux to Poulenc Featuring Birds on a Wire and the Théâtre de Chaillot
Music
Age 98 (now 62)
Deneuve, la reine Catherine
as Self (archive footage)
Age 93 (now 62)
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
as Self (archive footage)
Age 93 (now 62)
Serge Gainsbourg, les meilleures chansons
as Self (archive footage)
Age 93 (now 62)
La Story de Serge Gainsbourg : Le Punchliner
as Self (archive footage)
Age 92 (now 62)
Anna Karina, Remember
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Age 92 (now 62)
Jane Birkin: Simply an Icon
as Self - Singer (archive footage)
Age 91 (now 62)
Alain Delon, l'ombre au tableau
as Self (archive footage)
Age 91 (now 62)
Serge Gainsbourg, entre les murs
as Self (archive footage)
Age 90 (now 62)Gainsbourg, art(s) et essai(s)
as Self (archive footage)
Age 89 (now 62)
Jane Birkin - Alcaline le Concert
as Self
Age 89 (now 62)
Whitney: Can I Be Me
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Age 89 (now 62)
The Discreet Françoise Hardy
as Self (archive footage)
Age 88 (now 62)
Les Enfants de la Pop 80's
as Self (archive footage)
Age 84 (now 62)
Gainsbourg by Gainsbourg: An Intimate Self Portrait
as Self (archive footage)
Age 83 (now 62)
Catherine Deneuve, belle et bien là
as Self (archive footage)
Age 82 (now 62)
Gainsbourg and His Girls
as Self (archive footage)
Age 81 (now 62)
The World of Gaston Rébuffat
as Self (archive footage)
Age 80 (now 62)
Serge Gainsbourg – D'autres nouvelles des étoiles
Songs
Age 77 (now 62) Serge Gainsbourg – D'autres nouvelles des étoiles
as Self (archive footage)
Age 77 (now 62) Serge Gainsbourg – D'autres nouvelles des étoiles
Compositor
Age 77 (now 62)
Jane Birkin... Mother of All Babes
as Self (archive footage)
Age 74 (now 62)
De Serge Gainsbourg à Gainsbarre 1958-1991
as Self (archive footage)
Age 72 (now 62)
Belle & Sebastian: The Black Sessions
Lyricist
Age 70 (now 62) Belle & Sebastian: The Black Sessions
Music
Age 70 (now 62)
Gainsbourg... Casino de Paris 1986
as Self
Age 58 (now 62) Gainsbourg... Casino de Paris 1986
Music
Age 58 (now 62)
Egon Schiele: Excess and Punishment
as Self
Age 52 (now 62)
Aurais dû faire gaffe... le choc est terrible
Original Music Composer
Age 49 (now 62)
Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye
as Police Inspector
Age 45 (now 62)
The Marriage Came Tumbling Down
Original Music Composer
Age 40 (now 62)
The Unknown Man of Shandigor
as le chef des Chauves
Age 39 (now 62)
The Gardener of Argenteuil
Original Music Composer
Age 38 (now 62)
Four Queens for an Ace
as Man Asking for a Lighter (uncredited)
Age 38 (now 62)
The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers
Theme Song Performance
Age 36 (now 62) The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers
Main Title Theme Composer
Age 36 (now 62) The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers
Original Music Composer
Age 36 (now 62)
How Do You Like My Sister?
Original Music Composer
Age 35 (now 62)
The Wolves in the Sheepfold
Original Music Composer
Age 31 (now 62)
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
as Self (archive footage)
Age 94 (now 62)
La semaine des 4 Julie
as Self - Guest (archive footage)
Age 91 (now 62)
Le Trésor des treize maisons
as Le chanteur
Age 33 (now 62)
Gathering insights...
Also Known As
Lucien Ginsburg
IMDB
nm0006092