Although born in Paris on August 14, 1926, Rene Goscinny spends his childhood in Argentina, between Buenos-Aires and the Pampa. He studies at the French High-school of Buenos-Aires and passes the General Certificate of Education brillantly.
Goscinny begins his professional life as an under-accountant-assistant of an
accountant-assistant in a factory restoring old tires in their former
condition. Although he is successful in his first working-experience he integrates
into an advertising agency as a beginner-draughtsman.
When he is 19, he is attracted by the American dream and resigns from his job to go
to the USA, more exactly to the Walt Disney Studios. He quickly becomes out of job and
even doesn't see Walt Disney. But he meets the group of people of the future " Mad
" - Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, Will Elder - and doesn't feel alone anymore.
Obviously, Anglo-Saxon humor perfectly reflects his own point of view.
Goscinny meets Morris in New York, Charlier in Brussels and Uderzo in Paris, at World
Press, a small office of Belgian news, in which he is the manager in Paris.
In those times, the authors were underpaid , he quickly gives up working as a draughtsman and begins working as a script writer, occupation in which he seems
to be more successful. He carries out a multiplicity of Comics: Oumpah-pah, Spaghetti,
Luc Junior, etc... He writes up many articles and short stories for newspapers such as
" Pariscope " L'Os à moëlle ". He even becomes a writer under the
pseudonym of Liliane Orsay in the Savoir-vivre head in the " Good Evenings
"-magazine.
In 1955, he writes up the scenario of
Lucky Luke and,
in 1956, with Sempé, he creates
le Petit Nicolas.
The same year, Goscinny wants to make the job of draughtsman to be acknowledged, Charlier
and Uderzo write a very explosive Charte of the Draughtsmen which drags an immediate
dismissal and their recording on the black list of all the editors. But thanks to their
meeting with Jean Hébrard, the heir of an immense coffee places Stock Exchange, who
provides them the necessary money to the creation of a small press company:
Edifrance, they eventually find the world of the comic strip.
October 29, 1959,
Pilote was born thanks to the
help of Radio Luxembourg collaborating with Edifrance. Goscinny and Charlier are at the
head of the newspaper when the first episode of the adventures of
Asterix appears.
In 1962
Iznogoud is created by both Goscinny and
Tabary ; in 1965,
Dingodossiers is created by both
Gotlib and Goscinny. In 1968, he publishes the unforgettable page of topicality in
Pilot and is Co-organizer with Gébé, Fred and Gotlib " of Campfire de camp on
Sunday-morning " on Europe 1.
Meanwhile, Astérix finds an extraordinary success, in spite of a lack of sales-promotion:
the first French artificial satellite, sent up in 1965, wears its name. Soon after
the small Gallic adventures are translated in 28 foreign languages (+ Esperanto and
Latin)
The Astérix boom makes pass the comic strip from infantile disease to real art. Goscinny,
who is gifted to recognize and cultivate the talents, makes Pilot a laboratory of
creation for the new comic strip (Gotlib, Reiser, Cabu, Bretécher, Mandryka, Druillet,
Tardi, Giraud, Mézières, F' Murr, Fred, Bilal, etc...).
In 1972, Gotlib is at the Head of the Department, Bretécher and Mandryka confirms the
nomination of Guy Vidal. by Goscinny. The creation of the Idéfix Studios by Uderzo,
George Dargaud and Goscinny gives birth to The Twelve Works of Astérix (1976). At the
same time, " Obélix and company " has great success (About 1 300 000 drawn
copies).
Goscinny has a lot of projects: the Press, the TV and especially the movies. He
writes up laughing Viager, carried out in 1971 by Pierre Tchernia. But whereas the teams
of the Idéfix Studios write up " the Ballade of the Daltons " thus
carrying out this old dream of making the conquest of the Disney studios, one of the
best script writers at that time dies on November 5, 1977.