He was one of the most recognizable voices, and one of the softest too. If you watched TF1 this Sunday evening, you most certainly heard it.
The actor Benoit Allemane, made famous for having been the French voice of several American actors like James Earl Jones or Morgan Freeman passed away this Sunday, January 5. He was 82 years old.
It was on Facebook that director Lionel Auguste made the sad announcement. “Great actor, immensely popular voice, great gentleman, and modestly, handsome and gentle friend who had given me the honor and pleasure of participating in my 3 films. A tough guy in business, a grandfather with a difficult past , a wise old tree, he had agreed without question to lend his voice, his physique, his talent to my projects, in addition to carrying around on the shoots his kindness, his modesty, his humor and this discreet way of adapting to everything Here is a little montage, some extracts from our projects together, as a little personal tribute. Goodbye Benoit, thank you for everything, if it exists, there is one more beautiful soul. he writes.
And it was last June that the actor met for the first time, the man he has dubbed almost fifty times. It was during the 63rd opening ceremony of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival that the two men greeted each other.
A very rich career
Although he was one of the most legendary voices in dubbing, Benoit Allemane began his career very early, on stage as an amateur, at the age of 16. With several plays to his credit such as “Richard III” by Shakespeare or “Antigone” by Jean Anouilh, we have also seen him several times in the films of Robert Hossein such as “Angélique, Marquise des Anges” or “On achève bien horses.”
But it was with dubbing that his voice became so popular, crossing generations. Charlie the Rooster from Looney Tunes is him. He is also the voice of Santa Claus. Baloo in “Super Baloo”, it’s him again. “Babar” in The Adventures of Babar or even “Zeus” in Disney’s “Hercules”, it’s always him. And for eternity, from now on…
