“It was too early and too violent”: Marie-Anne Chazel speaks on the death of Michel Blanc for the first time

This Saturday, December 14, 2024, in the columns of FigaroMarie-Anne Chazel spoke publicly for the first time about the death of Michel Blanc, at the age of 72. The former accomplice of the actor who died following a heart attack appeared upset by this tragedy which no one expected.

It was a Friday like any other, or almost. Very early in the morning, October 4, 2024, the media announced the death of Michel Blanc, aged 72. Then, numerous papers flooded into the press reporting everyone’s tributes to this actor who left his mark on French cinema. For her part, her former colleague Marie-Anne Chazel had chosen to remain silent, certainly out of modesty. It must be said that the announcement of this tragedy was particularly violent for the one who was on stage when she learned of the death of her friend… by SMS. “When she turns her phone back on at the end of the performance, a text message from Josie (editor’s note: Josiane Balasko) tells him that Michel has died”explained Paris Mach.

As our colleagues always revealed, Marie-Anne Chazel had nevertheless chosen to pay an elegant tribute to her friend during a performance at the Théâtre de la Michodière in Paris. And then came the time of Michel Blanc’s funeral, she had eclipsed just after the ceremony at the Saint-Eustache church since she was expected on the stages of this same theater. A little more than two months after the tragedy, Marie-Anne Chazel gathered her courage to deliver her first tribute in the media to Michel Blanc.

Death of Michel Blanc: Marie-Anne Chazel discusses the death of her friend for the first time in the media

During an interview published by Le Figaro Saturday December 14, 2024, Marie-Anne Chazel spoke in these terms: “We think a lot about Michel, it was too early and too violent”she remembers. It was on the occasion of the promotion of a book dedicated to the Splendid troupe that she gave this interview to our colleagues. “This project brought us together. We kept each other up to date and went to see each other’s plays and films, but we didn’t see each other much. This book is an ideal form to say personal things with the hindsight we have today,” she remembers about the development of this work which traces their exceptional friendship. A book whose reading takes on a completely different flavor today.