Jean Richard (18 April 1921 â 12 December 2001) was a French actor, comedian, and circus entrepreneur. He is best remembered for his role as Georges Simenon's Maigret in the eponymous French television series, which he played for more than twenty years, and for his circus activities.
Richard was born in Bessines, Deux-Sevres. In the 1970sâÂÂ1980s, he owned and managed three major circuses, two theme parks near Paris, La Mer de Sable and La Vallée des Peaux-Rouges, and a private zoo in his property of Ermenonville, Oise. He died on 12 December 2001 in Senlis, aged 80.