Alexandro Jodorowsky was born February 7, 1929 in Irique, a small town in northern Chili. His parents, Jewish refugees from revolutionary Russia, hoped he would become a doctor; instead he left Chili in 1953 as puppeteer with a traveling marionnette theater. He wound up in Paris where he became a writer of pantomimes for the celebrated mime Marcel Marceau. He worked in theatrical production throughout the 1950's, including working for his friend, the famous French actor Maurice Chevalier. In 1962 Jodorowsky created the avant-garde performance group "Panique" with Roland Topor and Fernando Arrabal.
In 1965 Jodorowsky went on tour to Mexico with Marceau. Jodorowsky stayed there for 10 years, continued his work in avant-garde theater, and began working in film. After adapting Arrabal's novel "Fando et Lys" for the screen Jodorowsky created his celebrated avant-garde films, "El Topo" and "The Holy Mountain", in 1971. The latter combine Biblical symbolism with the imagery of the modern mythology of the 'wild west'. It was also at this time that he began experimenting with comix, creating the character "Anibal 5" with Mexican artist Manuel Moro and illustrating his own series, "Fabulas panicas", for a Mexican magazine.
In 1975 Jodorowsky met the innovative French comix artist Jean Giraud ('Moebius') while working on the first attempt to adapt Frank Herbert's science fiction novel "Dune" to film. In 1978 the pair produced their first collaboration, "Les Yeux du Chat", a comix story followed two years later by "les Aventures de John Difool". This series was to make Jodorowsky's reputation in the world of European comix, where he has become one of the most original and prolific comix creators. He has written stories for Arno ("Alef-Thau"), Georges Bess ("Le Lama Blanc", a remake of "Anibal 5"), Zoran Janjetov ("John Difool avant l'Incal"), Boucq ("Face de lune"), Silvio Cadelo ("La Saga d'Alandor"), Juan Gimenez ("La Caste des Méta-Barons"), Jean-Claude Gal ("La Passion de Diosamante"), Durandur, Jean-Jacques Chaubin, Kent Hutchinson, Victor de la Fuente and, of course, Moebius ("Griffes d'ange", "Le Coeur Couronné", etc.)
Jodorowsky has 7 films to his credit, the latest, "Santa Sangre", appeared in 1992. He has a strong interest in the occult and his 1996 novel, "L'Arbre du Dieu Pendu", was inspired by his study of the Tarot.
In January 1996 Jodorowsky received the Angoulême "l'Alph'art" prize for best script for the first volume of "Juan Solo", a series illustrated by Georges Bess.
written by Andy Etris
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