Philippe de Chérisey: Movies & Box Office

Philippe Louis Henri Marie de Chérisey, 9th Marquess of Chérisey, was a multifaceted French intellectual whose life straddled the worlds of literature, cinema, and esoteric intrigue. Born on 13 February 1923 in Paris into a wealthy Lorraine family, he famously defied familial expectations by pursuing a career in acting, enrolling at the René Simon drama school in 1946. His most notable silver screen appearance came in the 1952 film Jeux interdits, where he performed under the stage name Amédée. Known as a bon viveur who relished fine wine and frequented public libraries out of boundless curiosity, de Chérisey cultivated a persona that blended aristocratic flair with bohemian mischief. His professional trajectory as a radio humorist flourished alongside his writing, producing works such as Un mauvais quart d'heure à passer in collaboration with Pierre Billard and Pierre Tchernia.

A devoted follower of the surrealist movement, de Chérisey also claimed acquaintance with playwright Eugene Ionesco and was associated with institutions such as the College of Pataphysics and Oulipo. His desire to subvert cultural norms found its ultimate expression in the Priory of Sion hoax between 1962 and 1983, a sprawling fabrication he orchestrated with Pierre Plantard. De Chérisey famously forged two ancient-looking parchments in the early 1960s, which were subsequently published in Gérard de Sède's 1967 book L'Or de Rennes. These documents purported to validate Plantard's claim of descent from the Frankish king Dagobert II and the existence of a millennium-old secret society. The forged parchments later became crucial source material for the 1982 bestseller The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, which in turn inspired Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code. De Chérisey openly confessed to the forgeries, both in correspondence with French author Pierre Jarnac and in his own unpublished 1978 document L'Énigme de Rennes, embracing his self-described role as a prankster with characteristic wit. He passed away in Paris on 17 July 1985 while working on an encyclopedia of trema, leaving behind a legacy of literary subversion that continues to captivate researchers and conspiracy enthusiasts alike.