Considered one of the most popular French actors of his generation, notably thanks to his feature films with the Splendid troupe and his unforgettable character of Jean-Claude Dusse in Les Bronzés, Michel Blanc left us this Friday, October 4 at the age of 72.
A first role at 22
A complete actor, he distinguished himself in numerous mainstream comedies such as Les Bronzés sont du ski (which gave him his most famous line) or Come to my house, I live with a friend, and also confronted himself to more demanding roles, such as in Uranus by Claude Berri, Evening Outfit by Bertrand Blier (which earned him an acting prize at Cannes) or L’Exercice de l’Etat (which allowed him to win a César ).
But before becoming famous, it was with a very small role that he took his first steps in the cinema. In 1974, when he was only 22 years old, he could be seen in the casting of the historical comedy-drama Let the party begin.
The Splendid at Tavernier
In this feature film by Bertrand Tavernier, Michel Blanc played the valet of Louis XV. His comrades from Splendid Thierry Lhermitte, Gérard Jugnot and Christian Clavier also made more or less notable appearances in the film.
Five years later, after other small appearances in The Tenant by Roman Polanski and The Best Way to Walk by Claude Miller, Michel Blanc directly achieved the status of comedy star by playing for the first time his favorite character of Jean- Claude Dusse on the big screen in Les Bronzés, first of the name.
(Re)discover the “Bronzés” trailer…
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