Louis de Funès, born Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza on July 31, 1914, in Courbevoie, near Paris, was a French actor, comedian, and filmmaker of Spanish descent. Known for his rapid speech, exaggerated facial expressions, and energetic physical comedy, he appeared in more than 140 films. His best-known roles included Commissioner Juve in the Fantômas trilogy and Ludovic Cruchot in the six-film Gendarme series. He also starred alongside Bourvil in several French comedies, including The Sucker (1965) and Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! (1966).

Early Life and Family

Louis de Funès was born into a family of Spanish immigrants. His father, Carlos Luis de Funès de Galarza, had trained as a lawyer, while his mother was Leonor Soto Reguera. His parents had moved from Spain to France before his birth. He attended Lycée Condorcet in Paris but did not complete a conventional academic education.

During his youth, he worked in several occupations, including window dressing and decorative work. His early employment was often interrupted, and he struggled to establish a stable career. Interested in music and acting, he enrolled in the Cours Simon acting school in 1942, where he received theatrical training.

Jazz Pianist During World War II

During the German occupation of Paris in the Second World War, Louis de Funès earned a living as a jazz pianist in bars and cabarets. He performed in establishments in the city's entertainment districts, combining music with comic gestures and facial expressions to amuse audiences.

His experience as a pianist developed his sense of rhythm and timing, which later became recognizable features of his screen performances. He admired jazz musicians such as Erroll Garner and Oscar Peterson. During this period, he met Jeanne Augustine Barthélemy, who became his second wife in 1943.

Beginning of His Film Career

Louis de Funès made his screen debut in La Tentation de Barbizon (1946), playing a small role. During the following decade, he appeared in numerous films, often portraying clerks, servants, minor officials, and eccentric supporting characters.

In 1952, he joined the theatrical company Les Branquignols, led by actor and director Robert Dhéry. His work in theater, cabaret, and cinema continued throughout the 1950s. He gradually received more substantial roles, including appearances in The Crossing of Paris (1956) and Neither Seen Nor Recognized (1958).

His career changed during the early 1960s with films such as Pouic-Pouic (1963), directed by Jean Girault. The film helped establish the impatient, excitable, and authoritarian comic character that he frequently portrayed.

Fantômas and the Gendarme Films

In 1964, Louis de Funès played Commissioner Juve in Fantômas, directed by André Hunebelle. The film starred Jean Marais in the title role and featured Mylène Demongeot. De Funès portrayed a talkative, irritable police commissioner whose attempts to capture the criminal Fantômas repeatedly ended in comic failure.

He returned as Commissioner Juve in Fantômas Unleashed (1965) and Fantômas vs. Scotland Yard (1967). The three films established the character among his most recognizable screen roles.

Also in 1964, he began playing Ludovic Cruchot, an authoritarian but frequently bewildered gendarme, in The Troops of St. Tropez. Directed by Jean Girault, the comedy followed Cruchot's transfer to the coastal resort town of Saint-Tropez and his conflicts with colleagues, superiors, and civilians.

The film was followed by five sequels: The Gendarme in New York (1965), The Gendarme Gets Married (1968), The Gendarme Takes Off (1970), The Gendarme and the Extra-Terrestrials (1979), and The Gendarme and the Gendarmettes (1982). The final installment became de Funès's last film.

Collaborations and Major Comedy Films

Louis de Funès frequently collaborated with actor Bourvil and director Gérard Oury. In The Sucker (1965), he portrayed Léopold Saroyan, a businessman who manipulates a seemingly naive traveler played by Bourvil.

Their next major collaboration was Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! (1966), also known internationally by its French title, La Grande Vadrouille. Set during the German occupation of France, the film featured de Funès as Stanislas Lefort, a demanding orchestra conductor who becomes involved in helping British airmen escape. The comedy became one of the most commercially successful French films of its period.

In The Big Restaurant (1966), he played Monsieur Septime, the anxious owner of an expensive Parisian restaurant. He later appeared in Oscar (1967), portraying businessman Bertrand Barnier, and in The Tattoo (1968), alongside Jean Gabin.

His collaboration with Gérard Oury continued in Delusions of Grandeur (1971), in which he played Don Salluste opposite Yves Montand. In The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (1973), he portrayed Victor Pivert, a prejudiced French businessman caught in a series of political and religious misunderstandings. The film received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

Later Career and Directing

In The Wing or the Thigh (1976), Louis de Funès played Charles Duchemin, a restaurant critic confronting industrialized food production. The film featured comedian Coluche as his son and marked his return to cinema after serious heart problems in 1975.

He subsequently starred in La Zizanie (1978) and The Gendarme and the Extra-Terrestrials (1979). In 1980, he portrayed Harpagon in The Miser, a film adaptation of Molière's play that he co-directed with Jean Girault. He also contributed to the screenplay.

His final productions included The Cabbage Soup (1981), in which he played Claude Ratinier, and The Gendarme and the Gendarmettes (1982), where he returned to the role of Ludovic Cruchot.

Personal Life

Louis de Funès married Germaine Louise Élodie Carroyer on April 27, 1936. Their son, Daniel de Funès, was born in 1937. The couple separated in 1939 and divorced on November 13, 1942.

On April 20, 1943, he married Jeanne Augustine Barthélemy, also known as Jeanne de Maupassant. Despite her adopted family name, she was not a descendant of the writer Guy de Maupassant. The couple had two sons, Patrick de Funès, born in 1944, and Olivier de Funès, born in 1949. Olivier later appeared alongside his father in several films.

Awards and Death

Louis de Funès was appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1973. In 1980, he received an Honorary César Award in recognition of his film career.

He died of a heart attack on January 27, 1983, in Nantes, France, at the age of 68. He was buried in the cemetery of Le Cellier, near the Château de Clermont, where he had lived with his family.

In October 1998, the French postal service issued a commemorative stamp bearing his portrait. The Louis de Funès Museum opened in Saint-Raphaël on July 31, 2019, exhibiting objects, photographs, and documents relating to his acting career.

Filmography

Director:

• 1980 – The Miser (L'Avare)

Screenwriter:

• 1966 – The Big Restaurant (Le Grand Restaurant)
• 1980 – The Miser (L'Avare)

Actor:

• 1982 – The Gendarme and the Gendarmettes – Ludovic Cruchot
• 1981 – The Cabbage Soup – Claude Ratinier
• 1980 – The Miser – Harpagon
• 1979 – The Gendarme and the Extra-Terrestrials – Ludovic Cruchot
• 1978 – La Zizanie – Guillaume Daubray-Lacaze
• 1976 – The Wing or the Thigh – Charles Duchemin
• 1973 – The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob – Victor Pivert
• 1971 – Jo – Antoine Brisebard
• 1971 – Delusions of Grandeur – Don Salluste
• 1971 – Perched on a Tree – Henri Roubier
• 1970 – The Gendarme Takes Off – Ludovic Cruchot
• 1970 – The One Man Band – Evan Evans
• 1969 – Hibernatus – Hubert de Tartas
• 1968 – The Tattoo – Félicien Mézeray
• 1968 – The Gendarme Gets Married – Ludovic Cruchot
• 1967 – Oscar – Bertrand Barnier
• 1967 – Fantômas vs. Scotland Yard – Commissioner Juve
• 1966 – The Big Restaurant – Monsieur Septime
• 1966 – Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! – Stanislas Lefort
• 1965 – How to Keep the Red Lamp Burning – Léon Haudepin
• 1965 – The Sucker – Léopold Saroyan
• 1965 – The Gendarme in New York – Ludovic Cruchot
• 1965 – Fantômas Unleashed – Commissioner Juve
• 1964 – The Troops of St. Tropez – Ludovic Cruchot
• 1964 – Fantômas – Commissioner Juve
• 1961 – Captain Fracasse – Scapin
• 1959 – Toto, Eva e il pennello proibito – Professor Francisco Montiel
• 1958 – Neither Seen Nor Recognized – Blaireau
• 1954 – Le Blé en herbe – Projectionist
• 1952 – The Long Teeth – Clerk
• 1951 – Bibi Fricotin – Swimming Instructor
• 1946 – La Tentation de Barbizon – Porter

Source: Biyografiler.com