Biography

Marc Camoletti (16 November 1923 – 18 July 2003) was a French playwright best known for the farce Boeing-Boeing. Camoletti was born a French citizen in Geneva, Switzerland, though his family had Italian origins. His theatrical career began in 1958 when three of his plays were presented simultaneously in Paris, the first, La Bonne Anna, running for 1,300 performances and going on to be performed throughout the world. Boeing-Boeing (1960) was an even greater success, and remains Camoletti's signature hit. The original 1962 London production, in an adaptation by Beverley Cross, opened at the Apollo Theatre, transferred to the Duchess, and ran for seven years, racking up more than 2,000 performances. A later play, Don't Dress for Dinner, also ran for seven years in London, again transferring from the Apollo to the Duchess. Camoletti's plays have been performed in numerous languages in 55 countries. In Paris alone, 18 of his plays have totalled around 20,000 performances in all. Ten of his plays have also been shown on television, including Sexe et Jalousie. In 1979, he directed his only feature film, Duos sur canapé, based on one of his plays. Camoletti was an Associate of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. He was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, one of France's highest honours. He died in Deauville on the Normandy coast in 2003. The wife of the writer Germaine Camoletti (1924-1994) was one of the directors of the Paris Theater "Michel" since the 1970s, being a prominent figure in the theatrical world of that time. Source: Article "Marc Camoletti (playwright)" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.