The shock after a brutal and sudden announcement. Legendary as Jean-Claude Dusse in Les Bronzés before moving towards darker roles, Michel Blanc died during the night from Thursday to Friday at the age of 72.
According to initial information, the actor died of a heart attack at his home.
A very rare allergic reaction
His cardiac arrest was apparently caused by and “anaphylactic shock”. Michel Blanc reportedly suffered a rare but very serious allergic reaction, which took the form of a angioedema.
Still according to BFM, it was a product used during a medical examination which caused this allergic reaction.
“I think I was told that he had a huge allergy, an anaphylactic shock on a medication. But I know they tried to resuscitate him. It was terrible all day yesterday and he left“, confided his friend Gérard Jugnot to the microphone of RTL in the morning.
Tribute from Emmanuel Macron
A popular actor since the success of “Bronzés”, Michel Blanc has alternated laughter and emotion by exploring the human soul in front of and behind the camera.
After the enormous public success of “Marche à l’ombre” (1984), his first film as a director, he broadened his range by disappearing as the first of the Splendid gang, notably with the transgressive “Tenue de evening” (1986) by Bertrand Blier. He plays the moving Antoine, who becomes infatuated with Gérard Depardieu and cross-dresses. The role, crowned with the Best Actor Prize at Cannes, marks a turning point in his career.
In the dramatic register, Michel Blanc also portrayed the disturbing “Monsieur Hire” (1989), according to Simenon, or a homosexual doctor at the beginning of AIDS in “Les Témoins” (2007) by André Téchiné.
“It’s a monument of French cinema”, reacted the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron. He made us cry with laughter and moved us to tears. Our thoughts are with his loved ones and his gambling accomplices.”
