Historical face of the Splendid troupe. Michel Blanc had left the group to launch a successful solo career. Unfortunately, the actor passed away on the night of Thursday October 3 to Friday October 4, 2024. Rushed to hospital, the actor died at the age of 72, as revealed by the magazine Paris
Match.
For the record, Gérard Jugnot was one of the first people to react on Instagram after the disappearance of Michel Blanc. “Damn Michel… What did you do to us…“, he simply wrote. The former member of the Splendid troupe then spoke about the reasons for the death of his friend on RTL.
Gérard Jugnot on the death of Michel Blanc: “Not long ago, (…) we laughed like idiots”
“I was told that he had had a huge allergy to a medication, an anaphylactic shock. I know they tried to revive him, it was terrible all day yesterday… and he left“, explained Michel Blanc’s former playing partner. Who seemed very affected by the sudden disappearance of the actor.
“It’s a massive blow, it’s very sudden. Everything was fine. Not long ago, for the cover of Paris Match (issue of our 75th anniversary with the Splendid troupe, editor’s note), we laughed like idiots. We didn’t see each other often, but when we did, it was with a lot of fun and derision. There, an iceberg hit the boat“, Gérard Jugnot also added when discussing the death of Michel Blanc.
The Nice Cinéroman Festival paid tribute to the late actor
“I met him in 4th grade during a German lesson. We never let each other go again. The teacher even forbade us from sitting together. He was like me. We were already old fools. (…) He had agreed to act as a clown. He always loved comedy. Even if he sometimes suffered from the image of Jean-Claude Dusse. The beautiful thing was that he accepted it anyway. He assumed he was the clown he was“, had finally concluded the former sidekick of Michel Blanc.
Saturday October 5, 2024, Gérard Jugnot was in Nice. On site, the actor attended the closing evening of the 6th edition of the Cinéroman festival. For the occasion, the organizers paid tribute to Michel Blanc. A magnificent attention which particularly moved the father of the actor Arthur Jugnot. As proof, the photographers present in the room at that time captured several photos of Gérard Jugnot collapsed in his chair.
