“Love letters that we write to each other”: six weeks after the death of Michel Blanc, the Splendid is told in a book

“That was the last thing he was involved in.” It is with emotion that Gérard Jugnot recently recounted, on the set of Télématin, the final collaboration of Michel Blanc, who died on October 6, with his friends from the Splendid troupe. This Thursday, November 21, the book “The Splendid by the Splendid” is released, a work in which the actors who formed the famous successful troupe have decided to tell their stories. They even opened their personal albums, revealing never-before-seen photos.

The work was eagerly awaited by fans of “Bronzés” or “Santa Claus is trash”, the greatest successes of the group of friends who formed on the benches of high school. It will be received with even more emotion, six weeks after the death of Michel Blanc. The subtitle says it all: “We had so much fun”.

For the benefit of medical research

It was Thierry Lhermitte, who became famous in his role as Popeye, who suggested that others do so. The approach is all the more interesting as all income will be donated to medical research. “An irony of fate,” commented Gérard Jugnot, who then detailed: “We all took out our old photos, which were sometimes a little personal. Jean-Pierre Lavoignat responded to these photos and it made a pretty wonderful book that I found beautiful.” Each actor then recounted their memories.

Michel Blanc’s words particularly touched Thierry Lhermitte, as he recounts this Sunday in Le Parisien. “The day Michel died, I didn’t sleep, I read everything he had written, it shocked me. he reveals. One question, however, gnaws at him. All the actors had received the latest version of the book three days before their friend’s death. “What I said to Michel in it was recorded a month before his death, I was happy at the idea of ​​him discovering it, but did he read everything? I don’t know “, he confides. For Thierry Lhermitte, who has since gone through the writings of all the actors, these texts “are love letters that we write to each other.”

“We’ll still have to laugh”

The release of the book will certainly be an opportunity to pay a final tribute to Michel Blanc. “We were hoping to have a nice party for the release, we will still have to laugh,” whispers Gérard Jugnot. Thierry Lhermite, for his part, looked back on the days following the disappearance of their friend and the discretion of the troop until the funeral. “We didn’t want to. We’re not forced to share our pain. I don’t feel any obligation of any kind, especially in the heat of the moment”he said to the Parisian. Like in a family.