View source for Jean-Claude Pascal

{{short description|French actor and singer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Jean-Claude Pascal
| image              = Jean-Claude Pascal 1945.pdf
| caption            = Pascal in 1945
| birth_name         = Jean-Claude Villeminot
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1927|10|24|df=y}}
| birth_place        = Paris, France
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1992|5|5|1927|10|24|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine|Clichy]], France
}}
[[Image:Jean-Claude Pascal - Tombe - Cimetière du Montparnasse.jpg|thumb|200px|Grave of Jean-Claude Pascal's family in the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris.]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv N 1603 Bild-344, Horst Grund und Jean Claude Pascal.jpg|thumb|Jean-Claude Pascal, 1968]]

'''Jean-Claude Villeminot''' (24 October 1927 &ndash; 5 May 1992), better known as '''Jean-Claude Pascal''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒɑ̃ klod paskal}}), was a French comedian, actor, singer and writer.

==Early life==
He was born in Paris into a family of wealthy textile manufacturers. His mother, Arlette Lemoine, was the great-granddaughter of English fashion designer [[Charles Frederick Worth]]. His father, Roger Villeminot, died the year of his birth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pointdevue.fr/histoire/grands-destins/charles-frederick-worth-le-pere-de-la-haute-couture|title=Charles Frederick Worth, le "père de la haute couture"|work=Jean-Claude Pascal, Portrait|date=25 December 2017|access-date=23 December 2021|language=fr}}</ref>

He began his secondary education in 1938 at the Collège Annel, in [[Compiègne]], and concluded it at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Paris. In 1944, at the age of 17, he enlisted in the [[2nd Armored Division (France)|2nd Armored Division]] of [[Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque|General Leclerc]]. He was the first French soldier to enter [[Strasbourg]] in November 1944, while the [[German Army (1935–1945)|German Army]] was still in the process of evacuating the city. For this, he received the ''[[Croix de Guerre 1939–1945|Croix de Guerre]]'' in 1945.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hexagonegay.com/Jean-Claude_Pascal.html|title=Charles Frederick Worth, le "père de la haute couture"|work=Point de Vue|first=François|last=Billaut|date=2020|access-date=23 December 2021|language=fr}}</ref>

==Career==
After surviving [[World War II]] in [[Strasbourg]], Pascal studied at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] before turning to fashion-designing for [[Christian Dior]]. While working on costumes for the theater production of the play ''Don Juan,'' he was exposed to acting. His first acting role was in the film ''Le jugement de Dieu'' (1949, released in 1952) and afterwards in "Le rideau cramoisi", 1951, opposite [[Anouk Aimée]], followed by several films including  ''Die schöne Lügnerin'' (''La Belle et l'empereur'' 1959, 'Beautiful Liar') with [[Romy Schneider]], and ''[[Angelique and the Sultan]]'' (''Angélique et le sultan'', 1968) with [[Michèle Mercier]].

Pascal won the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1961|1961]] [[Eurovision Song Contest]] for [[Luxembourg]] with the song "[[Nous les amoureux]]" ('We the lovers'), with music composed by [[Jacques Datin]] and lyrics by [[Maurice Vidalin]]. The song tells the story of a thwarted love between the singer and his lover ("they would like to separate us, they would like to hinder us / from being happy"). The lyrics go on about how the relationship is rejected by others but will finally be possible ("but the time will come. [...] and I will be able to love you without anybody in town talking about it. [...] [God] gave us the right to happiness and joy."). Later, Pascal explained that the song was about a homosexual relationship and the difficulties it faced. As this topic would have been considered controversial in the early 1960s, the lyrics are ambiguous and do not refer to the lovers' [[gender]]. This allowed hiding the song's actual message, which was not understood in this way by the general public at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|title=" Nous les amoureux " de Jean-Claude Pascal, une chanson qui annonce la révolution du mouvement gay...|url=https://www.rtbf.be/lapremiere/article/detail_nous-les-amoureux-de-jean-claude-pascal-une-chanson-qui-annonce-la-revolution-du-mouvement-gay?id=10221083|date=16 May 2019|website=La Première|language=fr|access-date=2020-05-03}}</ref> Pascal was himself gay, although he never came out during his life.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rtbf.be/lapremiere/emissions/detail_entrez-sans-frapper/accueil/article_nous-les-amoureux-de-jean-claude-pascal-une-chanson-qui-annonce-la-revolution-du-mouvement-gay?id=10221083&programId=8521 |title="Nous les amoureux" de Jean-Claude Pascal, une chanson qui annonce la révolution du mouvement gay... |work=[[RTBF]] |date=16 May 2019 |first=Sébastien |last=Minsitru |access-date=23 December 2021|language=fr}}</ref>

He later represented Luxembourg again in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1981|1981 contest]] and finished 11th of 20 with the song "[[C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique]]" ('It may not be America'), with words and music he composed together with [[Sophie Makhno]] and [[Jean-Claude Petit]]. Pascal died in [[Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine]] in 1992, aged 64, of stomach cancer.

== Discography ==
*"[[Lili Marleen]]" (French and German)
*"Nous les amoureux"
*"C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique"

== Filmography ==
*''[[Great Man (film)|Great Man]]'' (1951), as L'interne Marcillac <!--28 November 1951-->
* ''[[They Were Five (1952 film)|They Were Five]]'' (1952), as Philippe<!--23 January 1952-->
* ''[[Four Red Roses]]'' (1951), as Pietro Leandri<!--censura: 28 January 1952 (http://www.archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it/index.php/scheda.html?codice=DC5930)-->
*''{{Interlanguage link multi|La Forêt de l'adieu|fr}}'' (1952), as Jean-Pierre<!--30 juillet 1952-->
*''[[Judgement of God]]'' (1952), as [[Albert III, Duke of Bavaria]]<!--20 August 1952-->
* ''[[The Happiest of Men]]'' (1952), as Michel Brissac<!--26 November 1952-->
*''[[The Crimson Curtain (1953 film)|The Crimson Curtain]]'' (1953), as The officer<!--6 March 1953-->
* ''[[A Caprice of Darling Caroline]]'' (1953), as Livio<!--6 March 1953-->
* ''[[Children of Love]]'' (1953), as Doctor Jacques Baurain<!--10 November 1953-->
* ''[[Alarm in Morocco]]'' (1953), as Jean Pasqier<!--15 November 1953-->
*''[[Le Chevalier de la nuit]]'' (1953), as Chevalier Georges de Ségar<!--22 November 1953-->
*''[[Tempest in the Flesh]]'' (1954), as Gino<!--5 February 1954-->
*''[[Royal Affairs in Versailles]]'' (1954), as [[Axel von Fersen the Younger|Axel von Fersen]]<!--9 March 1954-->
*''[[Flesh and the Woman]]'' (1954), as Pierre Martel<!--12 April 1954-->
*''[[The Three Thieves]]'' (1954), as Gastone Cascarilla<!--27 September 1954-->
*''[[Caroline and the Rebels]]'' (1955), as Juan d'Aranda / de Sallanches<!--11 March 1955-->
*''[[Bad Liaisons]]'' (1955), as Blaise Walter<!--21 October 1955-->
* ''[[Lord Rogue]]'' (1955), as Lord Henry Seymour<!--27 December 1955-->
* ''[[The Wages of Sin (1956 film)|The Wages of Sin]]'' (1956), as Jean de Charvin<!--20 April 1956-->
*''[[The Lebanese Mission]]'' (1956), as Jean Domèvre<!--12 September 1956-->
*''[[Les Lavandières du Portugal]]'' (1957), as Jean-François Aubray<!--23 August 1957-->
*''Guinguette'' (1959), as Marco<!--4 March 1959-->
*''[[Island Fishermen (1959 film)|Island Fishermen]]'' (1959), as Guillaume Floury<!--24 June 1959-->
*''{{Interlanguage link multi|Le Fric|fr}}'' (1959), as Jacques Moulin<!--1 July 1959-->
*''{{Interlanguage link multi|Die schöne Lügnerin|de}}'' (1959), as [[Alexander I of Russia|Tsar Alexander I]]<!--10 September 1959-->
*''[[The Crossroads (1959 film)|The Crossroads]]'' (1959), as Javier 
*''[[The Opportunists (1960 film)|The Opportunists]]'' (1960), as Philippe Brideau<!--8 April 1960-->
*''Préméditation'' (1960), as Bernard Sommet<!--8 April 1960-->
*''Le Rendez-vous'' (1961), as Pierre<!--4 October 1961-->
*''{{Interlanguage link multi|La Salamandre d'or|fr}}'' (1962), as Antoine de Montpezat<!--31 December 1962-->
*''{{Interlanguage link multi|Sans merveille|fr}}'' (TV film, 1964), as Franck<!--14 April 1964-->
*''Vol 272'' (TV miniseries, 1964), as Marc<!--3 May 1964-->
*''{{Interlanguage link multi|Le Faux Pas|fr}}'' (TV film, 1965), as Robert
*''[[The Poppy Is Also a Flower]]'' (1966), as Galam Khan<!--22 April 1966-->
*''{{Interlanguage link multi|Comment ne pas épouser un milliardaire|fr}}'' (TV series, 1966), as Commandant Jean Leroy-Dantec<!--10 October 1966-->
*''[[Las cuatro bodas de Marisol]]'' (1967), as Frank Moore<!--28 August 1967-->
*''[[Untamable Angelique]]'' (1967), as Osman Ferradji<!--27 October 1967-->
*''[[Angelique and the Sultan]]'' (1968), as Osman Ferradji
* ''[[Under the Roofs of St. Pauli]]'' (1970), as Doctor Pasucha
*''Au théâtre ce soir: Les Français à Moscou'' (TV play, 1972), as Blanchet
*''Le Temps de vivre, le temps d'aimer'' (TV series, 1973), as Jean Moser 
*''Le Chirurgien de Saint-Chad'' (TV series, 1976), as Doctor Patrick Villaresi
*''Liebe läßt alle Blumen blühen'' (TV film, 1984), as Marquis de Formentière
*''Au théâtre ce soir: Adieu Prudence'' (TV play, 1985), as Fred Russel

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Jean-Claude Pascal}}
*Jean-Claude Pascal Myspace Page : https://www.myspace.com/jeanclaudepascal
* {{IMDb name|name=Jean-Claude Pascal|id=0664270}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach}}
{{succession box
| before={{flagicon|France}} [[Jacqueline Boyer]]<br>with "[[Tom Pillibi]]"
| title=[[List of Eurovision Song Contest winners|Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest]]
| years=[[Eurovision Song Contest 1961|1961]]
| after={{flagicon|France}} [[Isabelle Aubret]]<br>with "[[Un premier amour]]"
}}
{{succession box
| before=[[Camillo Felgen]]<br>with "[[So laang we's du do bast]]"
| title=[[Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest]]
| years=[[Eurovision Song Contest 1961|1961]]
| after=[[Camillo Felgen]]<br>with "[[Petit bonhomme]]"
}}
{{succession box 
| before=[[Sophie & Magaly]]<br>with "[[Papa Pingouin]]"
| title=[[Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest]]
| years=[[Eurovision Song Contest 1981|1981]]
| after=[[Svetlana (singer)|Svetlana]]<br>with "[[Cours après le temps]]"
}}
{{s-end}}

{{List of Eurovision Song Contest winners}}
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1961|state=collapsed}}
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1981|state=collapsed}}
{{Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest|state=collapsed}}
{{Songs of Europe (Eurovision)|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascal, Jean-Claude}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:French male film actors]]
[[Category:French gay actors]]
[[Category:French LGBTQ singers]]
[[Category:Eurovision Song Contest winners]]
[[Category:Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery]]
[[Category:20th-century French male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century French male singers]]
[[Category:French Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)]]
[[Category:Male actors from Paris]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in France]]
[[Category:French male comedians]]
[[Category:Comedians from Paris]]
[[Category:French LGBTQ comedians]]
[[Category:Gay comedians]]
[[Category:German-language singers of France]]