Philippe Louis Henri Marie de Chérisey, the 9th marquess de Chérisey, was a multifaceted individual, born on February 13, 1923, and passing away on July 17, 1985. He was a French writer, radio humorist, surrealist, and supporting actor, known professionally as Amédée.
De Chérisey came from a wealthy family in Lorraine, but defied his family's wishes to pursue a career in acting. He enrolled in the René Simon drama school in 1946, where he honed his craft, and his most notable film appearance was in Jeux interdits in 1952.
A bon viveur, de Chérisey enjoyed wine and frequented public libraries, where his natural curiosity led him to explore various topics that piqued his interest. He was also a follower of the surrealist movement and claimed acquaintance with Eugene Ionesco, a fellow member of the College of Pataphysics.
De Chérisey's desire to subvert cultural norms and create an alternate reality that became more real than reality itself was a recurring theme throughout his life. He achieved this through his involvement in the Priory of Sion hoax, which ran from 1962 to 1983, and his creation of fake parchments published in the 1967 book L'Or de Rennes by Gérard de Sède.
As a satirist, de Chérisey continued to use his humor and wit to subvert norms, even within the context of the Priory of Sion. He considered himself a prankster and wrote the esoteric novella Circuit, which was originally written in 1968 but not deposited in the Bibliothèque nationale de France until 1971.
