On January 27, 1983, French cinema lost one of its greatest figures… At just 68 years old, Louis de Funès died at the Nantes University Hospital following a heart attack. One of a kind artist, the husband of Jeanne de Funès has appeared in more than 140 films. Countless of his feature films have also become cult. Like “The big mop”, the saga of “constable of Saint-Tropez”,“Fantomas”, “The Wing or the Thigh”or “The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob”.
Thanks to his immense talent, Louis de Funès left his mark on a whole generation of actors. In particular Dany Boon who was one of Anne-Elisabeth Lemoine’s distinguished guests in “C to you” this Thursday, March 2, 2023. Aware of his popularity, Kad Merad’s sidekick is trying to stay true to himself. The opportunity for him to evoke the great figures of the 7ᵉ art that he admires enormously. Like Bourvil and Louis de Funès who, however, were not always unanimous in France.
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“It was said that he only made grimaces…”
“Louis de Funès was hated. Danièle Thompson (daughter of actress Jacqueline Roman by director Gérard Oury editor’s note) who told me that he didn’t want to shoot on ‘Rabbi Jacob’. He was in his trailer, because he had had a very bad article”, indicated the ex-companion of Judith Godrèche. “He didn’t want to go on the set to shoot because he had been destroyed. They said he only made faces and that he was not an actor… Whereas he was an extraordinary clown and actor”.
Many years after his death, the strong personality of Louis de Funès continues to intrigue. “Capricious”, “tyrannical”, “anxious”… The star has been the subject of multiple rumours. In any case, those around him have confirmed several times that he was indeed demanding during filming. One day while he was boxing a film, the actor would have even stopped playing when he discreetly saw an intruder. “He couldn’t stand that. You had no interest in going on a set invited by someone because it’s a workplace”revealed his son Olivier de Funès on the airwaves of South Radio in 2020. And to go further with philosophy: “It’s still extremely precise work, extremely difficult”.