Jean-Pierre Crochon, better known as Jean-Pierre Cassel (October 27, 1932 - April 19, 2007) was a French actor and dancer.
He started his career as a tap dancer in The '50s, a skill that contributed to making him a stalwart in the comedies of director Philippe de Broca, in which he nearly always played latter-day variations of the ingenuous Candide, whom he played on film in 1958. He was also often cast by Claude Chabrol, and he's been the screen lover of some of the most famous actresses of his generation like Jean Seberg, Brigitte Bardot, Claude Jade, Catherine Deneuve, Stéphane Audran, Marie Dubois or Jacqueline Bisset.
Since Gene Kelly invited him for a small part in The Happy Road (1957), he was also frequently cast from small parts to supporting roles in Hollywoodian productions when a "French face" was needed, such as Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or 1973's The Three Musketeers.
He's had four children — Vincent (who followed in his footsteps and became an actor), Olivia (who died of sudden infant death syndrome), Mathias (aka Rockin' Squat, the frontman of the Hip-Hop band Assassin) and Cécile (an actress and singer).
Works on TV Tropes:
- Candide (1958) as Candide
- Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) as Pierre Dubois
- Is Paris Burning? (1966) as Lieutenant Henri Karcher
- Army of Shadows (1969) as Jean-François Jardie
- Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) as the French officer
- The Bear and the Doll (1970) as Gaspard
- Malpertuis (1971) as Lampernisse
- The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) as Mr. Sénéchal
- The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) as King Louis XIII
- The Return of the Musketeers (1989) as Cyrano de Bergerac
- Murder on the Orient Express (1974) as Pierre Paul Michel
- Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978) as Louis Kohner
- Superman II (1980) as the French officer at the White House
- La Cérémonie (1995) as Georges Lelièvre
- The Crimson Rivers (2000) as Dr. Bernard Chernezé
- Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008) as Getafix
