With the sudden death of Michel Blanc, at the age of 72, the Splendid troupe lost one of its members. On the occasion of the release of the book, The Splendid by the Splendid, we had so much fun! published in Cherche Midi, on November 21, to celebrate the troupe's 50th anniversary, Thierry Lhermitte gave an open-hearted interview to our colleagues from Parisianon Sunday November 17, 2024. The 71-year-old actor then looks back with emotion on the disappearance of his friend but also on the journey of the troupe to which he was a part. It was in 1980 that the group of friends, made up of Christian Clavier, Gérard Jugnot, Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, Marie-Anne Chazel and Bruno Moynot and Michel Blanc, dissolved.
“Michel didn’t come” to the writing sessions
At the age of 30, some of the actors wanted to go solo. “I was really sad, yes. It was a little frustrating for me to leave. I thought we could still continue together”confides the actor. However, Thierry Lhermitte did not want to drown in nostalgia, since he noticed that the collective enthusiasm was no longer there: “After the Santa Claus, we lost this sacred fire of doing everything together”, remembers the actor. “At the writing sessions, Josiane read the newspaper and threw out three ideas. Michel didn't come. The group dynamic was lost. Everyone is essential, in a collective, we often don't realize it, whether in businesses or artistic groups, in sport too, even the small piece that doesn’t do much, if it leaves, it falls apart.”regrets the actor.
But with this work, Thierry Lhermitte knows, the Splendid troupe will continue to span generations. Even now, when one of their films is broadcast on television, viewers are there. And in this work, everyone put their part into it, as was the case with Michel Blanc. “I read everything Michel had written, it shocked me. I found the texts so warm. At the beginning, I only read what I had written to check the bullshit. The day of Michel's death, I didn't sleep, I read everything he had written, it upset me”, explains the actor, still saddened by the loss of the man who marked his life so much.
