Michael Sarrazin

Jacques Michel André Sarrazin (May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011),^[1] known as Michael Sarrazin, was a Canadian actor. He gained prominence with a number of leading roles in Hollywood films from the late 1960s through the 1970s, with a breakout part in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969).^[2][3] According to one obituary, "Sarrazin fit the anti-hero ethos of the era, often playing rootless characters."^[4] He was a BAFTA Award, Golden Globe, and Gemini Award nominee.

Sarrazin was born Jacques Michel André Sarrazin in Quebec City, Quebec, and moved to Montreal as a child. After acting in school plays, he landed his first professional role at age 17.^[5] He trained at the Actors Studio in New York City.^[6]

Sarrazin worked on television productions in Toronto such as Festival and Wojeck,^[5] appeared in a taped production of Romeo and Juliet opposite Geneviève Bujold, and appeared in National Film Board shorts.^[4] He then gained a contract with MCA Universal, moving to Los Angeles. His early appearances include episodes of The Virginian (1965) and Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre as well as the TV film The Doomsday Flight (1966) and the feature Gunfight in Abilene (1967).

20th Century Fox borrowed him for the lead role in The Flim-Flam Man (1967), co-starring George C. Scott and Sue Lyon. Universal then cast him with Anthony Franciosa in A Man Called Gannon (1968) and with James Caan in Journey to Shiloh (1968). Fox asked him back to star in The Sweet Ride (1968) alongside Jacqueline Bisset, who became his real-life girlfriend for the next several years.

Sarrazin appeared in some thrillers for Universal such as Eye of the Cat (1969) with Gayle Hunnicutt and Eleanor Parker and In Search of Gregory (1969) with Julie Christie and John Hurt. He was originally cast to play Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy (1969), but he was unable to gain release from a prior contract and the part went to Jon Voight.^[7] He was announced for the male lead in Cover Me Babe, but was replaced by Robert Forster.^[8]

Sarrazin's breakthrough role was in the dark Great Depression drama They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). The Sydney Pollack film earned nine Oscar nominations. Sarrazin starred alongside Jane Fonda, Susannah York, Gig Young, Red Buttons, Bonnie Bedelia and Bruce Dern. Of his role, Sarrazin recalled "You could have paid me a dollar a week to work on that film. It hits you bolt upright. I still get really intense when I watch it. We stayed up around the clock for three or four days. Pollack said we should work until we showed signs of exhaustion."^[4]

He starred in the youth dramas The Pursuit of Happiness (1971) with Barbara Hershey and Believe in Me (1971) with Bisset. He supported Henry Fonda and Paul Newman in Sometimes a Great Notion (1970), then co-starred with George Peppard in The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972) at Universal.

Sarrazin supported James Coburn and Walter Pidgeon in Harry in Your Pocket (1973) and received excellent reviews for the television film Frankenstein: The True Story (1973). He appeared as Barbra Streisand's husband in the screwball comedy For Pete's Sake (1974).

He then starred with Margot Kidder and Jennifer O'Neill in The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975), about a man doomed to die the same kind of death twice. That film was a critical and box office failure and damaged his Hollywood career.^[9] Sarrazin went to Europe to star opposite Ursula Andress in the sex comedy The Loves and Times of Scaramouche (1976), which was another failure. He starred in The Gumball Rally (1976). He co-starred with Anthony Quinn and Jennifer O'Neill in the Iran-shot film Caravans (1978), which was a huge box office disaster. He then starred Canadian mystery thriller Double Negative (1980). He hosted the April 15, 1978 episode of Saturday Night Live.

Sarrazin increasingly shifted to television work. He had supporting roles in Beulah Land (1980), The Seduction (1982) with Morgan Fairchild and Andrew Stevensk and vigilante crime drama Fighting Back (1982). He also appeared in Joshua Then and Now (1985), the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Quickening" (1996) and The Outer Limits episodes "I Hear You Calling" (1996) and "The Other Side" (1999).

For seven years (1967–1974), Sarrazin was in a relationship with actress Jacqueline Bisset, whom he met while making The Sweet Ride (1968). Before that, he had two children by an unknown girlfriend.^[10]

Sarrazin died of mesothelioma on April 17, 2011, aged 70, in his hometown of Montreal. According to a family spokesman, his daughters Catherine and Michele were at his side when he died.^[1]

• List of Canadian actors
• List of Quebec actors

• Michael Sarrazin at IMDb 
• Michael Sarrazin at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
• Michael Sarrazin at Memory Alpha
• Michael Sarrazin at Find a Grave