Jean Keraudy was the stage name of Roland Barbat. He was known for his multiple prison escapes, most notably from France's La Santé Prison

La Santé Prison

La Santé Prison is a prison operated by the Ministry of Justice located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is one of the most famous prisons in France, with both VIP and high security wings....

.

He served as the inspiration for the character of Roland Darban in José Giovanni

José Giovanni

José Giovanni , was the pseudonym of Joseph Damiani, a French-Swiss writer and film-maker of Corsican origin....

's 1957 novel The Hole . The two met while cellmates.

In the 1960 film production of The Hole, director Jacques Becker

Jacques Becker

Jacques Becker was a French screenwriter and film director.Becker was born in Paris, in an upper class background. During the 1930s he worked as an assistant to director Jean Renoir during his peak period, which produced such cinematic masterpieces as Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game...

cast him to play Darban.

He died in 2001.