Louis de Funès
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in film and over 100 on stage. His acting style is remembered for its high-energy performance and his wide range of facial expressions and tics. A considerable part of his best-known acting was directed by Jean Girault. The larger-than-life, conservative '' petit bourgeois'' characters he played, who typically kissed up to authority while persecuting their subordinates, particularly resonated with the changing Western societies of the 1960s and drove him to success. Yet in private life, De Funès was a notoriously shy and reserved man, and a devout
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. One of the most famous French actors of all time, Louis de Funès remains to this day the most bankable actor in French cinema history. He enjoys widespread international recognition: in addition to his immense fame in the French-speaking world, he remains a household name throughout most of
continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...
including the former
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
, the former Soviet Union, as well as
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, and
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. Despite this international popularity, Louis de Funès remains an obscure figure in the English-speaking world. He was exposed to a wider audience only once in the United States, in 1973, with the release of '' The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob'', which is best remembered for its Rabbi Jacob dance scene and was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
. De Funès has two museums dedicated to his life and acting: one in the Château de Clermont, near
Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
, where he resided, as well as another in the town of Saint-Raphaël,
Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
.


Early life

Louis de Funès was born on 31 July 1914 in
Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is a suburb of Paris, from the Kilometre zero, center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the ci ...
, a Parisian suburb, to parents who hailed from
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, Spain. Since the couple's families opposed their marriage, they eloped to France in 1904. His father, Carlos Luis de Funès de Galarza, was a nobleman whose mother descended from the Counts de Galarza (of Basque origin).Stars-celebrites.com �
Biografía de Louis de Funès.
. Retrieved April 2008.
His father's family was from Funes. He had been a lawyer in Spain, but became a diamond cutter upon arriving in France. His mother, Leonor Soto Reguera, was Galician, daughter to Galician lawyer Teolindo Soto Barro, of Portuguese descent. Known to friends and intimates as "Fufu", De Funès spoke French, Spanish, and English. During his youth, he was fond of drawing and playing the piano. He was an alumnus of the Lycée Condorcet in Paris. He later dropped out, and his early life was rather inconspicuous; as a youth and young adult, De Funès held menial jobs, from which he was repeatedly fired. He became a bar
pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
, working mostly as a jazz pianist in Pigalle,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where he made his customers laugh each time he grimaced. He studied acting for one year at the Simon acting school, where he made some useful contacts, including Daniel Gélin, among others. In 1936, he married Germaine Louise Élodie Carroyer, with whom he had one child: a son named Daniel; the couple divorced in late 1942. Through the early 1940s, De Funès continued playing piano in clubs, thinking there was not much call for a short, balding, skinny actor. His wife and Daniel Gélin encouraged him until he managed to overcome his fear of rejection. His wife supported him in the most difficult moments and helped him to manage his career efficiently. During the occupation of Paris in the Second World War, he continued his piano studies at a music school, where he fell in love with a secretary, Jeanne Barthelémy de Maupassant. She had fallen in love with "the young man who played jazz like God"; they married in 1943 and remained together for forty years until his death in 1983. They had two sons: Patrick (born on 27 January 1944), who became a doctor, and Olivier (born on 11 August 1949), who became a pilot for Air France Europe and also followed in his father's footsteps by becoming an actor. Olivier de Funès became known for the roles he played in some of his father's films ('' Les Grandes Vacances'', '' Fantômas se déchaîne'', '' Le Grand Restaurant'' and '' Hibernatus'' being the most famous).


Theatrical career

De Funès began his show business career in the theatre, where he enjoyed moderate success and also played small roles in films. Even after he attained the status of a
movie star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and whose names ...
, he continued to play theatre roles. His stage career culminated in a magnificent performance in the play ''Oscar'', a role which he would reprise a few years later in the film adaptation.


Film career

In 1945, thanks to his contact with Daniel Gélin, De Funès made his film debut at the age of 31 with a
bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British televisio ...
in Jean Stelli's '' La Tentation de Barbizon''. He appears on screen for less than 40 seconds in the role of the porter of the
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
''Le Paradis'', welcoming the character played by Jérôme Chambon in the entrance hall and pointing him to the double doors leading to the main room, saying: ''"C'est par ici, Monsieur"'' ("It's this way, Sir"). Chambon declines the invitation, pushing the door himself instead of pulling it open. De Funès then says: ''"Bien, il a son compte celui-là, aujourd'hui!"'' ("Well, he had enough, today!"). He went on to perform in 130 film roles over the next 20 years, playing minor roles in over 80 movies before being offered his first leading roles. During this period, De Funès developed a daily routine of professional activities: in the morning, he did dubbing for recognized artists such as
Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi De Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il principe della risat ...
, an Italian comic of the time; during the afternoon, he did film work; and in the evening, he performed as a theatre actor. From 1945 to 1955, he appeared in 50 films, usually as an extra or walk-on. In 1954, he went on to star in such films as '' Ah! Les belles bacchantes'' and '' Le Mouton à cinq pattes''. A break came in 1956, when he appeared as the black-market pork butcher Jambier (another small role) in Claude Autant-Lara's well-known World War II comedy, '' La Traversée de Paris''. He achieved stardom in 1963 with Jean Girault's film, '' Pouic-Pouic''. This successful film guaranteed De Funès top billing in all of his subsequent films. At the age of 49, De Funès unexpectedly became a major star of international renown with the success of '' Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez''. After their first successful collaboration, director Jean Girault perceived De Funès as the ideal actor to play the part of the scheming, opportunistic and sycophant gendarme; the first film would lead to a series of six. Another collaboration with director
Gérard Oury Gérard Oury (; born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. Life and career Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish or ...
produced a memorable tandem of De Funès with Bourvil—another great comic actor—in the 1965 film, '' Le Corniaud''. The success of the de Funès-Bourvil partnership was repeated in '' La Grande Vadrouille'', one of the most successful and the largest-grossing film ever made in France, drawing an audience of 17.27 million. It remains his greatest success. Oury envisaged a further reunion of the two comics in his film '' La Folie des grandeurs'', but Bourvil's death in 1970 led to the unlikely pairing of De Funès with
Yves Montand Ivo Livi (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand (), was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a ...
in that film. Notwithstanding, the film was a success. Eventually, De Funès became France's leading comic actor. Between 1964 and 1979, he topped the French
box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...
of the year's most successful movies seven times. In 1968, all three of his films were in the top ten in France for the year, topped by '' Le Petit Baigneur'', with its memorable
mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
scene. He co-starred with many of the major French actors of his time, including Jean Marais and
Mylène Demongeot Mylène Demongeot (; born Marie-Hélène Demongeot ; 29 September 1935 – 1 December 2022) was a French film, television and theatre actress and author with a career spanning seven decades and more than 100 credits in French language, French, ...
in the ''
Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared ...
'' trilogy, and also Jean Gabin, Fernandel, Coluche, Annie Girardot, and Yves Montand. He also worked with Jean Girault in the famous ''Gendarmes'' series. In a departure from the gendarme image, De Funès collaborated with Claude Zidi, who wrote for him a new character full of nuances and frankness in '' L'aile ou la cuisse'' (1976), which is arguably one of the best of his roles. Later, De Funès' considerable musical abilities were showcased in films such as '' Le Corniaud'' and '' Le Grand Restaurant''. In 1964, he debuted in the first of the ''Fantômas'' series, which launched him into superstardom. In 1975, Oury turned again to De Funès for a film entitled '' Le Crocodile'', in which he was to play the role of a South American dictator. But in March 1975, De Funès was hospitalized for heart problems and forced to take a break from acting, causing ''Le Crocodile'' to be cancelled. After his recovery, he appeared opposite another comic of the time, Coluche, in ''L'Aile ou la cuisse''. In 1980, De Funès realised a long-standing dream of making a film version of
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...
's play ''
The Miser ''The Miser'' (; ) is a five-act comedy in prose by the French playwright Molière. It was first performed on September 9, 1668, in the Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), theatre of the Palais-Royal in Paris. This is a character com ...
'' (''L'Avare''). De Funès made his final film, '' Le Gendarme et les Gendarmettes'', in 1982.


Style

Unlike the characters he played, De Funès was said to be a very shy person in real life. Capable of an extremely rich and rapidly changing range of
facial expressions Facial expression is the motion and positioning of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. These movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers and are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying ...
, he was nicknamed "the man with forty faces per minute." In many of his films, he played the role of a humorously excitable, cranky, middle-aged or mature man with a propensity for hyperactivity, bad faith, and uncontrolled fits of anger. Along with his short height – – and his facial contortions, this hyperactivity produced a highly comic effect. This was particularly visible when he was paired with Bourvil, who was always given roles of calm, slightly naive, good-humoured men. In De Funès's successful lead role in a cinematic version of Molière's ''The Miser'', these characteristics are greatly muted, percolating just beneath the surface.


Later years and death

In the later part of his life, De Funès achieved great prosperity and success. He became a knight of France's
Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
in 1973. He resided in the Château de Clermont, a 17th-century
château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...
located in the commune of Le Cellier, 27 kilometers (17 mi) from Nantes in the west of France. The château, overlooking the river
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
, was inherited by his wife, whose aunt had married a descendant of Maupassant. De Funès was an aficionado of roses and planted a rose garden on the château grounds; a variety of rose was named after him: the Louis de Funès rose. A monument honoring him was erected in the château rose garden. In his later years, De Funès suffered from a heart condition after having two
heart attacks A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is retr ...
caused by the excessive strain of his stage antics. He died of a third heart attack on 27 January 1983, a few months after making his final film. He was laid to rest in the Cimetière du Cellier, the cemetery situated on the Château de Clermont grounds.


Legacy

De Funès was portrayed on a postage stamp issued on 3 October 1998 by the French postal service. He was also portrayed in French comics, including as a gambler in ''
Lucky Luke ''Lucky Luke'' is a Western (genre), Western bande dessinée, comic album series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris (cartoonist), Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborati ...
'' (" The One-Armed Bandit") and as a film studio worker in ''Clifton'' ("Dernière Séance"). In 2013, a museum dedicated to De Funès was created in the Château de Clermont where he had resided. In 2019, another De Funès museum opened in Saint-Raphaël, Var. The behavior, diminutive size, and body language of the character Skinner from the 2007
Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...
animated film '' Ratatouille'' are loosely based on Louis de Funès.


Filmography


Notes


References


External links

*
Louis de Funès
– Films de
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

DeFunes.nl
– Dutch website about Louis de Funès
Louisdefunes.ru
– Louis de Funès in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Funes, Louis de 1914 births 1983 deaths 20th-century French male actors 20th-century French comedians Knights of the Legion of Honour French monarchists French slapstick comedians French male comedians French male film actors French male stage actors French male television actors French people of Galician descent French people of Spanish descent French people of Portuguese descent Lycée Condorcet alumni People from Courbevoie Male actors from Île-de-France César Honorary Award recipients Comedians from Île-de-France