henry charriere

Henri CharrièreFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Henri Charrière [[File: |frameless|alt=]] Henri Charrière with butterfly tattoo Born Henri Charrière (1906-11-16)16 November 1906 Saint-Étienne-de-Lugdarès, Ardèche, France Died 29 July 1973(1973-07-29) (aged 66) Madrid, Spain Cause of death Throat cancer Nationality French later Venezuelan Other names Papillon Occupation Memoirist Known for Papillon Henri Charrière (16 November 1906, Saint-Étienne-de-Lugdarès, Ardèche – 29 July 1973) was convicted as a murderer by the French courts, and was chiefly known as the author of Papillon, a hugely successful memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a penal colony in French Guiana. To his final days Charrière strenuously denied his murder conviction, however he freely admitted to having committed various other petty crimes prior to his incarceration. Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Imprisonment 3 Later life 4 Papillon 5 References 6 External links [edit] Early lifeCharrière was a native of Ardèche, France. He had two older sisters; his mother died when he was 10 years old. In 1923, at the age of 17, he enlisted in the French Navy and served for two years. After leaving the Navy, Charrière became a member of the Paris underworld, and later married and had a daughter. [edit] ImprisonmentMain article: Papillon (autobiography) According to his autobiography, Papillon, on 26 October 1931, Charrière was convicted of the murder of a pimp named Roland Le Petit, a charge that he strenuously denied. He was sentenced to life in prison and ten years of hard labour. After a brief imprisonment at the transit prison of Beaulieu in Caen, France, he was transported in 1933 to the prison of St-Laurent-du-Maroni on the Maroni River, in the penal settlement of mainland French Guiana. According to the autobiography, he made his first escape 42 days later, subsequently, he was adopted by an Indian tribe in Colombia before being recaptured and put into solitary confinement for the next 2 years. While in French Guiana he spent 11 years in prison,[1] including the two years in solitary confinement, and confinement on Devil's Island itself. During that time he made 7 more escape attempts before his final escape in 1941, when he sailed for miles on a bag of coconuts. He arrived in Venezuela, where he was imprisoned for one year.[2] [edit] Later lifeAfter Charriere's final release in 1945, he settled in Venezuela where he married a Venezuelan woman identified only as Rita, with whom he had children. He opened restaurants in Caracas and Maracaibo. He was subsequently treated as a minor celebrity, even being invited frequently to appear on local television programs. He finally returned to France, visiting Paris in conjunction with the publication of his memoir Papillon (1969). The book sold over 1.5 million copies in France,[3] prompting a French minister to attribute "the moral decline of France" to mini-skirts and Papillon.[4] Papillon was first published in the United Kingdom in 1970, in a translation by the novelist Patrick O'Brian. Charrière played the part of a jewel thief in a 1970 film called The Butterfly Affair. He also wrote a sequel to Papillon entitled Banco, in which he describes his life subsequent to his release from prison. In 1973, his book Papillon was made into a film directed by Franklin Schaffner, in which the actor Steve McQueen takes the title role (Charrière). Dalton Trumbo was the screenwriter, and Charrière himself acted as consultant on location. An interview with Henri Charrière is included in the documentary, Magnificent Rebel, which describes the making of the film. There are scenes in the film that were not mentioned in the book, an example of which is when Papillon and friends were forced by the guards to catch a crocodile. On 29 July 1973, Charrière died of throat cancer in Madrid, Spain.[5] [edit] PapillonCharrière's 1970 best-selling book Papillon details his alleged numerous escapes, attempted escapes, adventures and recaptures, from his imprisonment in 1932 to his final escape to Venezuela. The book's title is Charrière's nickname, derived from a butterfly tattoo on his chest (papillon being French for butterfly). Although the veracity of his account has been questioned, Charrière always maintained that, apart from minor lapses in memory, it was true. [edit] References^ "Papillon alive and well in a Paris retirement home": Mail & Guardian Online ^ Henri Charriere at everything2.com ^ Foote, Timothy (1979-09-14). "Travels with Papi". TIME, 14 September 1979. ^ O'Brian, Patrick (2005). "Introduction" to Papillon. London: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-00-717996-0. ^ Obituary, The Times July 31, 1973 p14 web|url=http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1973-07-31-14-021&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1973-07-31-14 |accessdate=2011-3-13 [edit] External linksCharrière, H. & O'Brian, P. (trans.) (2005) Papillon London: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-00-717996-0 Schofield, H. "Papillon alive and well in a Paris retirement home" "Mail & Guardian Online", 26 June 2005. Accessed 10 October 2007. (Portuguese) Platão Arantes: A Grande Farsa Article discussing the veracity of Henri Charrière's autobiography (French) Histoire du Bagne de Guyane Site documenting the history of the bagne of French Guiana, including the Iles du Salut (French) Histoire: Scènes du bagne de Cayenne, en Guyane française Paintings of the bagne by a prisoner named Lagrange Persondata Name Charriere, Henri Alternative names Short description Date of birth 16 November 1906 Place of birth Saint-Étienne-de-Lugdarès, Ardèche, France Date of death 29 July 1973 Place of death Madrid, Spain Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henri_Charrière&oldid=493455133" Categories: 1906 births1973 deathsPeople from ArdècheDeaths from esophageal cancerEscapees from French detentionFrench escapeesFrench memoiristsCancer deaths in SpainFrench people convicted of murderPeople convicted of murder by FranceFrench prisoners sentenced to life imprisonmentPrisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by FranceDevil's Island inmatesHidden categories: Articles with hCardsArticles with Portuguese language external linksArticles with French language external linksPersondata templates without short description parameter Personal toolsLog in / create account NamespacesArticle Talk VariantsViewsRead Edit View history ActionsSearch NavigationMain page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia InteractionHelp About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia ToolboxWhat links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Cite this page Print/exportCreate a bookDownload as PDFPrintable versionLanguagesČesky Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français Italiano עברית Magyar മലയാളം مازِرونی Nederlands 日本語 ‪Norsk (bokmål)‬ Polski Português Română Русский Slovenščina Suomi Svenska Türkçe Tiếng Việt This page was last modified on 20 May 2012 at 07:11. 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