Jean Duceppe

A man of remarkable creative intuition, Jean Duceppe made his mark as an administrator when he established the Compagnie théâtrale Jean-Duceppe in 1973. The only theatre company to have shown a profit for a number of years running, this small business is one of the Quebec cultural industry’s greatest achievements. Its numerous tours made a major contribution to the popularity of theatre in Quebec.

Born in Montréal in 1923, Jean Duceppe studied at the École supérieure Chomedey de Maisonneuve and at the Externat classique Ste-Croix. His career debut was at the Arcade, performing seven days a week. Between 1941 and 1947, he performed in 34 different plays. He later spent several years at Théâtre du Rideau Vert. In 1952, he played his first film role in Gratien Gélinas’ Tit-Coq. Twenty years later, he had his greatest film success with his performance in the title role of Claude Jutra’s Mon oncle Antoine. From 1953 to 1959, he appeared in the well-known television series La famille Plouffe. It would be the first in a long line of television series for Jean Duceppe.

In 1955 and 1956, Jean Duceppe began his career as a radio and television host. From 1957 to 1959, he was President of the Union des artistes. Fascinated by news and politics, he founded the weekly newspaper Le miroir du Québec in 1965. He then went on to pursue his career in theatre administration. From 1966 to 1968, he directed Le Théâtre populaire Molson and, in 1973, he founded La Compagnie théâtrale Jean-Duceppe.

His outstanding contribution to the arts has been widely recognized. He was named performer of the year in 1957 and received the Prix Victor-Morin from the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste in 1968. In 1978, he was awarded the Molson Prize from the Canada Council for his outstanding contribution to theatre that year and, in 1979, he won the Prix Marc-Lescarbot. That same year, Jean Duceppe was presented with the Prix Denise-Pelletier, awarded by the Minister of Cultural Affairs in recognition of outstanding talent shown by a performing artist.

Jean Duceppe died in 1990. He was inducted into the Academy of Great Montrealers in the Cultural category in 1987 and was named a Commander of the Ordre de Montréal in 2016.