Sim (actor)
Introduction '''Sim''' (born '''Simon Jacques Eugène Berryer'''; 21 July 1926 – 6 September 2009) was a French comedian, actor and writer. He was part of the team on ''Les Grosses Têtes'', a radio and TV programme. He also played the part of Geriatrix in the films Asterix and Obelix vs Caesar and Astérix at the Olympic Games.
Biography Simon Jacques Eugène was born on 21 July 1926 to engineer Henri Berryer and his wife Marie-Thérèse (née Bonnemazou). At the time of his birth, Henri was an electrician for the director Abel Gance and grip on the film ''Napoléon''.=== Childhood ===The family lived in a small flat in the Rue du Fer-à-Moulin, a cinema district in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, where  Simon spent the most part of his earliest years at flats 26, then 28.Very early on, his Russian uncle working at  Synchro-Standard took Berryer to see the first talking pictures, which he would remember all his life.In 1936, the family moved to Nantes when Berryer senior found work as a technician at ''Le Majestic'' cinema (later ''L'Olympic'', then ''La Fabrique'').=== Adolescence ===At the age of eleven, Barryer founded a comedy group called "Sim-Art". (age fourteen, according to other sources). In 1939, with his friend Jojo, Sim got his first award in a funny face competition organised on 15 August at  Saint-Julien-de-Concelles. Age fourteen, they played truant and performed sketches in a cellar, with fake letters to their school justifying their absence. Simon later studied at De Launey technical college in Nantes.In 1941 his parents took over a cinema, ''L'Éden'', in the small town of Ancenis (between Nantes and Angers). The family moved from Nantes to Ancenis en 1942 and reopened the cinema. Sim continued his studies at the Joubert d'Ancenis lycée and worked as projectionist in the family business.=== Theatre ===In 1946, the Berryer family stopped working at the  Ancenis to start a film distribution company at Rennes, without success. The Berryer parents returned to Ancenis but Sim – now married – stayed in Rennes as a projectionist at ''Le Royal''. This venue also staged musical performances, so Sim saw performances from Edith Piaf, Yves Montand, Henri Salvador, Maurice Chevalier, among others. He practiced his comedy, alone, after the performances. He won a contract as a humorous singer in a ballroom. He was spotted by Étienne Perrin, with whom he performed a comic clown act ''Etty et Balta''.At the end of 1953, he toured as a comic song act in the Paris cabaret clubs, often in drag, as at Madame Arthur in Montmartre. He also worked at the Crazy Horse Saloon as a dresser. This stage of his career would be resurrected in ''Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais... elle cause !'' by  Michel Audiard, where he plays a schoolteacher who has a spare-time drag act.=== Television and cinema ===In the 1960s, he was part of Jean Nohain's team producing animated children's television, and performed the ''Baronne de la Tronche-en-Biais'' in a Guy Lux production.In the 1970s he was part of many televised sketch shows. He also performed comic sketches and songs with humourist  on RTBF's ''''. In France, he was a regular performer in short comic sketches, often in costume, on Guy Lux's programmes.The 1970s saw his best cinema work. Sim also took part in the radio (and later television) programme ''Les Grosses Têtes'', from its start in 1977, and was a regular panellist on the television game show ''''.He took part in directing the television series '''', in which he played the role of Théodore in many episodes, as well as other roles.=== Death ===Sim died of a pulmonary embolism on 6 September 2009, aged 83, at the Bonnet community hospital in Fréjus, Var where he was being treated for pneumonia.His funeral took place on 11 September 2009 at the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Roquebrune-sur-Argens, where he had lived for nine years. His wife Marie-Claude and daughter Laurence were accompanied by many famous performers, including Victor Lanoux, Jacques Balutin, Évelyne Buyle, Philippe Bouvard and . The celebrant was Father Jérôme Renard. He was cremated at Vidauban (Var) and his ashes scattered in the crematorium's garden of remembrance.
Filmography  Year Title Role Notes1958 ''Les gaités de l'escadrille''  1969 ''A Golden Widow''  Il Vecchio - un tueur sur le retour 1970 ''Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais... elle cause !'' Phalempin 1971 ''The Married Couple of the Year Two''  Lucas - le comptable de Gosselin 1971 ''La grande maffia...''  Balempier, le chef de service 1973 ''La brigade en folie''  Commissaire Grospèze 1974 ''La grande nouba''  Alexandre Ladislas Ladretsky, le pianiste / Le poissonnier 1976 ''Andréa''  Mehmet 1977 ''Le roi des bricoleurs''  Malju 1977 ''Drôles de zèbres''  Napoléon Simfrid / La baronne de la Tronchembiais 1980 ''Sacrés gendarmes''  Le gendarme légionnaire 1980 ''Touch' pas à mon biniou''  Gaëtan 1984 ''Pinot simple flic''  Vénus, le photographe 1990 ''The Voice of the Moon''  Flute player 1999 ''Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar'' Agecanonix 2008 ''Asterix at the Olympic Games''
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