Trivia

Father of Madeleine Besson with Coline Serreau.

One of Europe's most respected theater directors and progenitor of an acting dynasty.

Father of Katharina Thalbach (with Sabine Thalbach).

Father of Pierre Besson and Philippe Besson.

Was part of the French resistance in Lyon working politically and on stage (1942).

Born as son of a French teacher working in Switzerland, he studied roman languages and English in Zurich and Neuenburg from 1942 to 1946.

Grandfather of Anna Thalbach and Pierre Besson's daughter with actress Muriel Baumeister, Frieda, who was born one month after his death.

After meeting Bertolt Brecht in Zurich, he went to East Berlin, where he worked as actor and director at the Berliner Ensemble until 1958.

Left East Germany for private reasons and went to Paris to rediscover his French roots (1978).

Winner of the French Molière Award as "Best Director" in 1994.

Became a member of the French Legion of Honor in 2004.