Albert Uderzo (1927-2020)
French postcard by Franceco, Paris, no. 0963013. Image: Editions Albert Rene / Goscinny / Uderzo, 1984. Caption: Goscinny-Uderzo, Le chaudron vide. (The empty cauldron).
Today, 24 March 2020, Albert Uderzo, the French comic book artist and scriptwriter best known for his work on Astérix, has died at the age of 92. He died in his sleep at his home in Neuilly from a heart attack unrelated to the coronavirus. Astérix has also become a major film franchise, both in animated and live-action form. Most notable is the feature Astérix & Obélix contre César/Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (Claude Zidi, 1999), starring Christian Clavier, Gerard Depardieu, and Roberto Benigni.
In 1927, Albert Uderzo was born in the town of Fismes, in the Marne department of north-eastern France. In the 1930s, Albert developed a fascination for American comic and animated cartoons and was particularly impressed with the works of Walt Disney. He was a poor student at school but received good grades in sketching and art-related lessons. By the 1950s, Albert had become a professional artist, and he met his partner René Goscinny in 1951. During the 1950s, Uderzo provided the artwork for moderately successful series such as the historical fiction series 'Oumpah-pah' and 'Jehan Pistolet' (both written by Goscinny) and the aviation comic series 'Tanguy et Laverdure' (written by Jean-Michel Charlier). Astérix debuted in October 1959 in the French magazine Pilote, created by René Goscinny and Uderzo. In 1961, the first stand-alone effort, 'Astérix le Gaulois' (Astérix the Gaul), was released. It was turned into an animation film, Astérix le Gaulois/Astérix the Gaul (Ray Goossens, 1965). The comic book series centers around the titular Asterix, the bravest warrior in a small town in the middle of Roman-occupied Gaul in the year 50 B.C. — and the one burg that has not surrendered to the occupation. Instead, with the help of a magic potion that gives him super-strength (and his best friend Obélix, who fell into a cauldron of the potion as a child, and as such is permanently superhumanly strong), he spends each installment fighting and defeating the Roman army and keeping his village safe from harm. Astérix became one of the most successful European comic book series. There were many film adaptations, including the animation films Astérix et Cléopâtre/Asterix & Cleopatra (René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo, 1968), and Les 12 travaux d'Astérix/The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (René Goscinny, Henri Gruel, Albert Uderzo, Pierre Watrin, 1976). After the success of Astérix & Obélix contre César/Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (Claude Zidi, 1999) with Gérard Dépardieu as Obélix, followed more live-action adaptations including Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre/Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (Alain Chabat, 2002) with Monica Bellucci as Cleopatra, and Astérix aux jeux olympiques/Asterix at the Olympic Games (Frédéric Forestier, Thomas Langmann, 2008) with Alain Delon as Julius Caesar.
Astérix last year celebrated its 60th anniversary. The series has gone on to sell more than 380 million copies, translated into more than 100 languages internationally. René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo collaborated on the comic until the death of Goscinny in 1977. Uderzo then took over the writing until 2009. Since 1951, Uderzo was married to Ada Milani, with whom he had a daughter Sylvie Uderzo. He sold his shares of the company Editions Albert René (which owns the rights to Asterix) to the publishing company Hachette in 2007. He had a public falling out with daughter Sylvie who also owned shares of the original company and disagreed with her father's decision. After a few years of mostly working on short-stories and comic strips, Uderzo announced his retirement in 2011. Since Uderzo's retirement, the work on Astérix has been handled by writer Jean-Yves Ferri and artist Didier Conrad under a deal that allows Lagardere-owned publisher Hachette to continue producing the series. The most recent book, 'Astérix and the Chieftain's Daughter', was released in October 2019. Parc Astérix, a French theme park based on the property, has brought in 50 million visitors since opening outside Paris in 1989.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
Albert Uderzo (1927-2020)
French postcard by Franceco, Paris, no. 0963013. Image: Editions Albert Rene / Goscinny / Uderzo, 1984. Caption: Goscinny-Uderzo, Le chaudron vide. (The empty cauldron).
Today, 24 March 2020, Albert Uderzo, the French comic book artist and scriptwriter best known for his work on Astérix, has died at the age of 92. He died in his sleep at his home in Neuilly from a heart attack unrelated to the coronavirus. Astérix has also become a major film franchise, both in animated and live-action form. Most notable is the feature Astérix & Obélix contre César/Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (Claude Zidi, 1999), starring Christian Clavier, Gerard Depardieu, and Roberto Benigni.
In 1927, Albert Uderzo was born in the town of Fismes, in the Marne department of north-eastern France. In the 1930s, Albert developed a fascination for American comic and animated cartoons and was particularly impressed with the works of Walt Disney. He was a poor student at school but received good grades in sketching and art-related lessons. By the 1950s, Albert had become a professional artist, and he met his partner René Goscinny in 1951. During the 1950s, Uderzo provided the artwork for moderately successful series such as the historical fiction series 'Oumpah-pah' and 'Jehan Pistolet' (both written by Goscinny) and the aviation comic series 'Tanguy et Laverdure' (written by Jean-Michel Charlier). Astérix debuted in October 1959 in the French magazine Pilote, created by René Goscinny and Uderzo. In 1961, the first stand-alone effort, 'Astérix le Gaulois' (Astérix the Gaul), was released. It was turned into an animation film, Astérix le Gaulois/Astérix the Gaul (Ray Goossens, 1965). The comic book series centers around the titular Asterix, the bravest warrior in a small town in the middle of Roman-occupied Gaul in the year 50 B.C. — and the one burg that has not surrendered to the occupation. Instead, with the help of a magic potion that gives him super-strength (and his best friend Obélix, who fell into a cauldron of the potion as a child, and as such is permanently superhumanly strong), he spends each installment fighting and defeating the Roman army and keeping his village safe from harm. Astérix became one of the most successful European comic book series. There were many film adaptations, including the animation films Astérix et Cléopâtre/Asterix & Cleopatra (René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo, 1968), and Les 12 travaux d'Astérix/The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (René Goscinny, Henri Gruel, Albert Uderzo, Pierre Watrin, 1976). After the success of Astérix & Obélix contre César/Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (Claude Zidi, 1999) with Gérard Dépardieu as Obélix, followed more live-action adaptations including Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre/Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (Alain Chabat, 2002) with Monica Bellucci as Cleopatra, and Astérix aux jeux olympiques/Asterix at the Olympic Games (Frédéric Forestier, Thomas Langmann, 2008) with Alain Delon as Julius Caesar.
Astérix last year celebrated its 60th anniversary. The series has gone on to sell more than 380 million copies, translated into more than 100 languages internationally. René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo collaborated on the comic until the death of Goscinny in 1977. Uderzo then took over the writing until 2009. Since 1951, Uderzo was married to Ada Milani, with whom he had a daughter Sylvie Uderzo. He sold his shares of the company Editions Albert René (which owns the rights to Asterix) to the publishing company Hachette in 2007. He had a public falling out with daughter Sylvie who also owned shares of the original company and disagreed with her father's decision. After a few years of mostly working on short-stories and comic strips, Uderzo announced his retirement in 2011. Since Uderzo's retirement, the work on Astérix has been handled by writer Jean-Yves Ferri and artist Didier Conrad under a deal that allows Lagardere-owned publisher Hachette to continue producing the series. The most recent book, 'Astérix and the Chieftain's Daughter', was released in October 2019. Parc Astérix, a French theme park based on the property, has brought in 50 million visitors since opening outside Paris in 1989.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Wikipedia, and IMDb.