Pierre Barillet (1923 – 2019) & Jean-Pierre Grédy, (1920 – 2022)
Pierre Barillet wrote his first play, Les Héritiers, in 1945 after being a law student. It was followed by Les Amants de Noël, performed at the Théâtre de Poche. He also worked as a radio broadcaster, reading novels and plays with Agnès Capri.
After studying literature and law, Jean-Pierre Grédy entered IDHEC because he wanted to write screenplays. He wrote the screenplay for the film Julie de Carneilhan, based on a 1941 novel by the French writer Colette, directed by Jacques Manuel and starring Edwige Feuillère.
Grédy then met Pierre Barillet with whom he wrote “for fun” Le Don d’Adèle, which was an unexpected success, exceeding a thousand performances and receiving the Tristan-Bernard prize. Over the next several decades, Grédy and Barillet wrote more than 20 plays together. Certain of their plays were adapted to Broadway, including Fleur de cactus (Cactus Flower, written by Abe Burrows) and Quarante carats (Forty Carats).
Barillet was an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and a Knight of the Legion of Honor.
Barillet was married to comedian Roland Oberlin.