Louis de Funès - le Roi des comédies

Louis de Funès is certainly one of the most loved foreign actors in Poland. Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza was born on 31 July 1914 in Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine) to parents from Seville (Spain). He died on 27 January 1983 in Nantes (I lived in this town, not being aware of this fact!) De Funès is famous for a wide range of facial expressions (=szeroki wachlarz mimiki twarzy), vigorous manner (=energiczny sposób bycia) and snappy impatience (=wielką niecierpliwośc). The actor was known among his friends as 'Fufu'. As a young man, he adored drawing and playing the piano. He earned his living (=zarabiał na życie) playing jazz at Pigalle. Each time he made a grimace his audience burst out laughing (=wybuchała śmiechem). 

Louis De Funès playing the piano

De Funès studied acting at the Simon acting school, where he made a very important contact with Daniel Gélin. In 1945 the French actor helped de Funès (aged 31) to make his film debut in 'La Tentation de Barbizon' ("The temptation of Barbizon"). The actor was married twice - his first marriage with Germaine Carroyer ended in divorce in 1942 (the couple had one son named Daniel). In 1943 De Funès got happily married to Jeanne Bathelémy de Maupassant with whom he had two sons - Patrick (1944) and Olivier (1947). The older of his sons became a doctor, wheras the younger, an Air Force pilot, pursued an acting carrer and played along his father in such films as 'Les Grandes Vacances', 'Le Grand Restaurant' and 'Hibernatus'.

De Funès with his wife, Jeanne de Funès

In 1968 poll Louis de Funès was voted France's favourite actor. The actor starred in countless comedies, just to name a few:

'Le gendarme de Saint Tropez' (1964) Eg. 'The policeman from Saint-Tropez' Pl. "Żandarm z Saint Tropez"

'Fantômas' (1964) - 'Fantômas' - "Fantomas"

'Le gendarme à New York" (1965) - 'Gendarme in New York' - "Żandarm w Nowym Yorku"

'La Grande Vadrouille" (1966) - 'Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!' - "Wielka Włóczęga"

'Les grandes vacances" (1967) - Les Grandes Vacances - "Wielkie wakacje"

"Hibernatus" (1969) - Hibernatus - "Hibernatus"

"Les adventures de Rabbi Jacob" (1973) - 'The Mad adventures of Rabbi Jacob' - "Przygody Rabina Jakuba"

"L'aile ou la cuisse" (1976) - 'The wing or the thigh' -  "Skrzydełko czy nóżka"

"Le gendarme et les extra-terrestres" (1979) - 'The gendarme and the Extra-Terrestrials' - "Żandarm i kosmici" 

"La soupe aux choux" (1981), 'Cabbage soup', "Kapuśniak".

I propose watching a few extracts in French and in English:

An English lesson given by Louis de Funès ;) :

Have you learned how to pronounce 'the' ? ;)


French trailer of 'The gendarme and the Extra-Terrestials':

'The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob' with English subtitles:

Which Louis de Funès' film is your favourite? In my next post you'll find a short quiz on this great actor's films !

C u soon!

Source of the photos: the Internet