Francis Coplan
Francis Coplan is a fictional French secret agent created by Paul Kenny, the nom de plume of Belgian authors Gaston Van den Panhuyse and Jean Libert. He first appeared in print in 1953, and has since appeared in over 200 novels. He appeared in six Eurospy films released in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as a 1989 French miniseries and a long-running comic strip.
Appearances
Francis Coplan was an electronics engineer recruited by the SDECE. From his first appearance in Fleuve Noir ''Sans Issue/No Exit in 1953 until Sales coups à moscou pour Coplan'' in 1996, 237 novels of Coplan were written using the name of Paul Kenny. After the death of Libert, Van den Punhuyse carried on writing alone. After his death Serge Jacquemard took over until 1996. Van den Punhyse and Libert also wrote 18 science fiction novels under the name "Jean-Gaston Vandel" for Fleuve Noir's "Fleuve [Noir Anticipation|Anticipation]" series from 1952-1956 until the success of Coplan led them to write his adventures on a full-time basis.By 1970, Coplan books were selling 3.5 million copies a year around the world.
Films
- , starring Henri Vidal, directed by Maurice Labro, a French film set in Geneva
- Coplan Agent Secret FX 18 , starring Ken Clark, directed by Maurice Cloche, a French-Italian-Spanish coproduction partially shot in Corsica
- Coplan prend des risques , starring Dominique Paturel, directed by Maurice Labro, French-Italian-Belgian coproduction about defense industrial espionage in France
- Coplan FX 18 casse tout , starring Richard Wyler, directed by Riccardo Freda, a French-Italian coproduction set and shot in Turkey
- Coplan ouvre [le feu à Mexico] , starring Lang Jeffries, directed by Riccardo Freda, a French-Italian-Spanish coproduction set in Mexico but shot in Mexico and Spain
- Coplan sauve se peau , starring Claudio Brook, directed by Yves Boisset, a French-Italian-Turkish coproduction set and shot in Turkey
Television series