“He suffered a lot”: the grandson of Louis de Funès makes rare confidences about his hidden son

An emblematic figure of French cinema, Louis de Funès starred in over 150 films. On the private side, the comic actor had three children. Daniel
(1937-2017), from his first marriage to Germaine Élodie Carroyer.
Patrick (1944) et Olivier (1949), from his second marriage to Jeanne Augustine Barthélemy.

After his second marriage, Louis de Funès became estranged from his first child. Daniel de Funès thus became her hidden son. On Thursday, November 21, his son, Laurent de Funèsagreed to discuss their relationships on the set of Chez Jordan, on C8.

Daniel de Funès suffered from his father's estrangement

Asked by Jordan de Luxe about the relationship between his father and grandfatherLaurent de Funès made rare confidences. “It was the hidden son. He was the hated son. He suffered a lot (…) This suffering, ultimately, he did not let it show so much, but it was palpable” he remembered.

On the death of the actor Gendarme of Saint-TropezDaniel de Funès “totally collapsed”. His son explained that he experienced a “total collapse” car the father and his son were estranged. “There was a problem with his second wife, Jeanne, who absolutely wanted to isolate the first family from the second, who absolutely wanted to erase us” he confided.

Louis de Funès secretly visited his eldest son

According to Laurent de Funès, the second wife of Louis de Funès played a key role in
distance from his eldest son. He revealed: “When Jeanne interfered too much in their relationship, between Louis and him, it was very complicated. It's true that my father, his father came to see him in secret”. While Daniel de Funès' family lived near the film sets, the actor visited him discreetly.

Louis de Funès arrived thus “with hat and glasses” pour not to be recognized. Once there, he avoided talking about cinema and preferred to share his passion for jazz with his eldest son. For his grandson, however, getting along with the other children of Michel Galabru's friend was never easy. According to him, there would have been “a dirty money story” with the rest of the family. A situation from which Daniel de Funès suffered greatly.