Boris Vian

French writer, poet, polymath, singer, translator, actor, inventor, critic, and engineer born on Mary 10, 1920 in a wealthy home in Paris, Boris Vian is remembered for his novels. He published several under the penname of Vernon Sullivan and these novels were criminal fiction and highly controversial. Other fiction worked published under the name of Boris Vian featured an individual writing style with made-up words, surrealistic plots and subtle wordplay. Froth on the Daydream is one of his works and one of the few novels translated into English.
Vian influenced the French jazz scene. He was a connection for Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis on the Paris music scene. He wrote for French jazz publications and published articles that dealt with jazz. He wrote the anti-war song Le Deserteur. His novels released under his pen name Vernon Sullivan were popular during his lifetime. The novels he wrote under his real name had literary value in his eyes and the eyes of other famous authors, but they were a commercial failure. Directly after his death L'Ecume des jours, L'automne a Pekin, L'Arrache-cour and L'Herbe rugh were finally recognized.
Vian was married twice. Once to Michelle Leglise from 1941 until 1952 and then to Ursula Kubler from 1954 until June 1959. He had several children and his son Patrick is a musician. Vian died on June 23, 1959 in Paris France of a heart attack during the preview of J'irai cracher su vos tombes which was an adaption of his novel.