Roland Topor

Roland Topor (7 January 1938 - 16 April 1997) was a French illustrator, cartoonist, comics artist, painter, novelist, playwright, film and tv writer, filmmaker and actor, who was known for the surreal nature of his work. He was of Polish-Jewish origin. His parents were Jewish refugees from Warsaw. He was born in Paris and died there aged 59. He spent the early years of his life in Savoy, where his family hid him from the Gestapo. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His artworks have appeared in books, newspapers, posters, and film animations. Roland Topor wrote two songs for Megumi Satsu, "Je m'aime" and "Monte dans mon Ambulance". With René Laloux, Topor made The Dead Times (Les Temps morts, 1964), The Snails (Les Escargots, 1965) and their most famous work, the feature length La Planète Sauvage (1973). Topor variously wrote, directed and designed a number of theatre works, and also worked as an actor, his most famous part being Renfield in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979). In the same year, he also performed the surrealistic paralyzed boss in the movie Ratataplan by Maurizio Nichetti. The night before he died of a cerebral hemorrhage, it is reported that he couldn't sleep, and instead spent the night visiting Parisian cafes, enjoying Cuban cigars, and drinking Bordeaux wine. When he arrived at the Café de Flore, he recounted a nightmarish dream he experienced. It was a dream that he thought might inspire his next novel.