Pierre Tornade (21 January 1930 – 7 March 2012) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 120 films and television shows between 1956 and 1998.
Biography
He was born Pierre Tournadre on 21 January 1930 in
Bort-les-Orgues
Bort-les-Orgues (; ) is a communes of France, commune in the south-central French Departments of France, department of Corrèze.
Geography
Bort-les-Orgues is situated on the Dordogne (river), Dordogne.
The southern boundary of the commune ...
in the department of
Corrèze
Corrèze (; ) is a département in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, on the bo ...
. He began his theatrical career at 25 in ''Elle est folle, Carole'' at the
théâtre du Palais-Royal
The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais.
Brief history
O ...
. In 1956, he played in the musical comedy ''Irma la douce'' by Alexandre Breffort and Marguerite Monnot and then made his film debut in '' Les Truands'', where he adopted his stage name, Tornade. The next year, he played a theater role in ''
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
''Pericles, Prince of Tyre'' is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. It was p ...
'' before joining the Branquignols troupe of
Robert Dhéry
Robert Dhéry (; 27 April 1921 – 3 December 2004) (born Robert Léon Henri Fourrey or Robert Foullcy) was a French comedian, actor, director and screenwriter.
He was married to actress Colette Brosset, with whom he appeared onstage in ''La Plu ...
, which also included
Jean Lefebvre
Jean Marcel Lefebvre (3 October 1919Some sources indicate he was born in 1922. – 9 July 2004) was a French film actor.
His erratic studies were interrupted by World War II. Taken prisoner and then requisitioned as a laborer, he escaped to joi ...
, Michel Serrault and Micheline Dax.
He then became in demand on television and appeared in several sitcoms such as '' Thierry la Fronde'' (1963), ''Le Chevalier d'Harmental'' (1966), ''Les Sept de l'escalier quinze B'' (1967) and ''Les Dossiers de l'agence O'' (1968). Because of his tall and imposing stature, he often appeared as a policeman or a soldier. His most famous roles were as the victim's father '' The Common Man'' (1975), Captain Dumont in '' Now Where Did the 7th Company Get to?'' (1973) and its sequels, and commissioner Florimond Faroux on the series ''Nestor Burma''.
A famous voice actor, he was heard as village chief Vitalstatistix in animated films '' Asterix the Gaul'' (1967), '' Asterix and Cleopatra'' (1968) and '' The Twelve Tasks of Asterix'' (1976). He later voiced Averell Dalton 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 ...
animated films '' Daisy Town'' (1971) and '' La Ballade des Dalton'' (1978) and ''Lucky Luke the Lucky Cowboy'' (1983). He also voiced Obelix in four other Asterix animated films, including ''
Asterix Versus Caesar
''Asterix Versus Caesar'' (also known in France as ''Astérix et la surprise de César'') is a 1985 French traditional animation, animated adventure film, adventure comedy film, written by René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo and Pierre Tchernia, produ ...
Rambouillet
Rambouillet (, , ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its Kilometr ...
hospital after several days in a coma. He had fallen accidentally in the stairway of his