French Jewish writer, former diplomat and war-time soldier, Romain Gary killed himself last night at his Paris home. He was 66 years old. He had been depressed since the suicide last year of his former wife, American actress Jean Seberg. Gary was convinced that Seberg, who divorced him several years ago, had been hounded to her death by the FBI.
Born in Vilna to a Jewish mother, Gary came to France as a boy. When the war broke out he was serving as a pilot with the French Air Force and was one of the first officers to join Gen. Charles de Gaulle’s Free French. He served throughout the war with the French army and in 1945-entered the diplomatic service and at one time was French Consul General in Los Angeles. He wrote over a dozen books in several of which the Jewish content was foremost.
Several of his books have been filmed, including “Roots of Heaven” and “Promise at Dawn” in which Moshe Dayan’s son, Assaf, played one of the leading roles. Gary was a worm supporter of Israel and regularly visited Jerusalem where he had many friends.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
