Thierry Lhermitte tells a touching anecdote about Michel Blanc

On the set of the show Bonjour ! This Monday, Thierry Lhermitte shared an anecdote full of tenderness about his friend and accomplice Michel Blanc, who died two months ago.

Invited to talk about the book The Splendid on the Splendid in the show Bonjour !Thierry Lhermitte recounted with emotion one of the many memories that bind the members of the famous Splendid troupe. Upon discovering a photo of himself alongside Michel Blanc, he explained why they nicknamed themselves “President Blanc” and “President Lhermitte”: “In the small company that we had created, we laughed by calling each other 'President'. Michel kept the accounts, because his mother was an accountant, and we thought it was passed down through genes. We’ve been calling ourselves that all our lives.”

This light and knowing anecdote recalled the modest but decisive beginnings of the band from high school, then composed of Thierry Lhermitte, Michel Blanc, Christian Clavier and Gérard Jugnot. Simple high school students sharing a love of theater, they had renovated a premises in the 14th arrondissement themselves to present their first plays. Together, they built the foundations of an artistic adventure that has marked several generations.

Thierry Lhermitte also mentioned Les Bronzés 3: friends for lifereleased in 2006, a film that still divides, including among its own creators. Michel Blanc had not hidden his disappointment with the project, which did not prevent Thierry Lhermitte from maintaining an opposing opinion: “I don't know why Michel disliked this film. He wrote great dialogue and laugh-out-loud lines. Me, frankly, I love all the bullshit in it.” He added philosophically: “You can't live up to a fantasy. As everyone had fantasized about what must be The Bronzed 3there is bound to be a disappointment.”

Death of Michel Blanc: a heartbreaking loss

Two months after the sudden death of Michel Blanc, Thierry Lhermitte remains marked by this disappearance. In an interview with Journal du Dimanche, he confided: “I was devastated. It's Josiane [Balasko, ndlr] who told me he had suffered a heart attack. He died a little later. All our youth, an entire life spent together since high school…” A barely contained emotion, which testifies to the depth of the bond which united them. Returning to this “irruption of an absurd death”, Thierry Lhermitte evokes the shock of a disappearance as sudden as it is incomprehensible. But beyond the uncertainties, it is the memory of a faithful, funny and deeply human friend who continues to accompany him.

Article written in collaboration with 6Medias.