Romain Gary
| Romain Gary | |
|---|---|
| Born | Roman Kacew 21 May 1914 Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Died |
2 December 1980 (aged 66) Paris, France |
| Pen name | Romain Gary, Émile Ajar, etc. |
| Occupation | diplomat, pilot, writer |
| Nationality | French |
| Citizenship | France |
| Education | Law |
| Alma mater | Aix-en-Provence |
| Genre | Novel |
| Notable works | Les racines du ciel La vie devant soi (as Émile Ajar) |
| Notable awards | Prix Goncourt (1956 and 1975) |
| Spouse |
Lesley Blanch (1944–1961) Jean Seberg (1962–1970) |
| Children | 1 |
|
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Romain Gary (French: [gaʁi]; 21 May [O.S. 8 May] 1914 – 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew and also known by pen names such as Émile Ajar, was a French diplomat, novelist, film director and World War II aviator of Lithuanian Jewish origin. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two different names.
Gary was born Roman Kacew (Yiddish: קצב, Russian: Рома́н Ка́цев) in Vilnius, Lithuania. In his books and interviews, he presented many different versions of his parents' origins, ancestry, occupation and his own childhood. His mother, Mina Owczyńska (1879—?), was a Litvak actress from Švenčionys and his father was a businessman Arieh-Leib Kacew (1883—1942) from Trakai, also a Lithuanian Jew. Arieh Leib abandoned the family in 1925 and remarried. Gary later claimed that his actual father was the celebrated actor and film star Ivan Mozzhukhin, with whom his actress mother had worked and to whom he bore a striking resemblance. Mozzhukhin appears in his memoir Promise at Dawn. When Gary was fourteen, he and his mother moved to Nice, France. Converted to Catholicism by his mother, Gary studied law, first in Aix-en-Provence and then in Paris. He learned to pilot an aircraft in the French Air Force in Salon-de-Provence and in Avord Air Base, near Bourges.
Following the Nazi occupation of France in World War II, he fled to England and under Charles de Gaulle served with the Free French Forces in Europe and North Africa. As a bombardier-observer, he took part in over 25 successful sorties, logging over 65 hours of air time. During this time, he changed his name to Romain Gary. He was decorated for his bravery in the war, receiving many medals and honours, including Compagnon de la Libération and commander of the Légion d'honneur. In 1945 he published his first novel, Education européenne. Immediately following his service in the war, he worked in the French diplomatic service in Bulgaria and Switzerland. In 1952 he became the secretary of the French Delegation to the United Nations. In 1956, he became Consul General in Los Angeles and became acquainted with Hollywood.
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