Louis de Funès facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Louis de Funès
Louis de Funès during the filming of the 1970 comedy film L'homme orchestre by Serge Korber
Born	Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (1914-07-31)31 July 1914 Courbevoie, France
Died	27 January 1983(1983-01-27) (aged 68) Nantes, France
Other names	Fufu
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1945–1982
Spouse(s)	Germaine Louise Elodie Carroyer (m. 1936; div. 1942) Jeanne Barthelémy de Maupassant (m. 1943; 1983)
Children	3, including Olivier
Awards	Grand prix du rire, 1957, Comme un cheveu sur la soupe Victoire du cinéma, 1965 Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, 1973 César d'honneur, 1980
Signature

Louis de Funès (born Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a famous French actor and comedian. Many people consider him one of France's most loved actors. He acted in over 150 films and more than 100 plays. People remember his acting style for being super energetic, with lots of funny faces and quick movements. Many of his best-known films were directed by Jean Girault.

Louis de Funès was one of the most famous French actors ever. He was very well-known in French-speaking countries. He was also a household name in many other parts of the world. This included German-speaking countries, the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Turkey.

Even with his international fame, Louis de Funès was not as well known in English-speaking countries. He was only introduced to a wider audience in the United States once. This was in 1974 with the movie The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob. This film is famous for its Rabbi Jacob dance scene. It was even nominated for a Golden Globe Award. There are two museums dedicated to Louis de Funès. One is in the Château de Clermont near Nantes, where he lived. The other is in the town of Saint-Raphaël, Var in Southern France.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Louis de Funès was born on July 31, 1914, in Courbevoie, France. His parents came from Seville, Spain. They moved to France in 1904 because their families did not approve of their marriage. His father, Carlos Luis de Funès de Galarza, was from a noble family. He was a lawyer in Spain but became a diamond cutter in France. His mother, Leonor Soto Reguera, was from Galicia, Spain.

Friends and family called Louis de Funès "Fufu." He spoke French, Spanish, and English. When he was young, he loved drawing and playing the piano. He went to the lycée Condorcet school in Paris. Later, he left school and had many small jobs. He often got fired from these jobs. He became a bar pianist, playing jazz in Pigalle, Paris. He made customers laugh with his funny faces.

He studied acting for one year at the Simon acting school. There, he met useful contacts, like Daniel Gélin. In 1936, he married Germaine Louise Elodie Carroyer. They had one son named Daniel. They divorced in 1942. In the early 1940s, de Funès kept playing piano in clubs. He thought there was not much demand for a short, bald, skinny actor. His wife and Daniel Gélin encouraged him to overcome his fear of rejection. His wife helped him a lot with his career.

During World War II, he continued his piano studies. He met and fell in love with a secretary named Jeanne Barthelémy de Maupassant. They married in 1943 and stayed together for 40 years. They had two sons: Patrick (born 1944), who became a doctor, and Olivier (born 1949). Olivier became a pilot and also acted in some of his father's films. These included Les Grandes Vacances and Fantômas se déchaîne.

Theatrical Career

De Funès started his acting career in the theatre. He had some success there and also played small roles in films. Even after he became a big movie star, he kept acting in plays. His theatre career reached its peak with a great performance in the play Oscar. He later played this same role in the film version.

Film Career Highlights

De Funès during the shooting of Le gendarme et les extra-terrestres in 1978.

In 1945, Louis de Funès made his film debut at age 31. This was in Jean Stelli's La Tentation de Barbizon. He had a very small role as a doorman. He was on screen for less than 40 seconds. He went on to act in many films over the next 20 years. He played small roles in over 80 movies before getting his first main roles. During this time, he had a busy daily routine. In the mornings, he would lend his voice to other actors. In the afternoons, he filmed movies. In the evenings, he performed in plays.

From 1945 to 1955, he appeared in 50 films, often as an extra. In 1954, he starred in films like Ah! Les belles bacchantes. A big moment came in 1956 when he played Jambier in the World War II comedy, La Traversée de Paris. He became a star in 1963 with Jean Girault's film, Pouic-Pouic. This success meant de Funès would be the main star in all his future films. At 49, he became a major international star with the success of Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez. This film led to a series of six movies where he played a funny police officer.

He also worked with director Gérard Oury. They created a memorable team with Bourvil, another great comedian. They starred together in Le Corniaud (1965) and La Grande Vadrouille. La Grande Vadrouille was one of the most successful films ever made in France. It attracted 17.27 million viewers. It remains his biggest success. Oury wanted them to work together again in La Folie des grandeurs. But Bourvil passed away in 1970. So, de Funès starred with Yves Montand in that film instead.

De Funès on the set of L'homme orchestre in 1970.

Louis de Funès became France's top comic actor. Between 1964 and 1979, his films were the highest-grossing movies in France seven times. In 1968, all three of his films were among the top ten in France. This included Le Petit Baigneur.

He acted alongside many major French actors. These included Jean Marais and Mylène Demongeot in the Fantomas trilogy. He also worked with Jean Gabin, Fernandel, Coluche, Annie Girardot, and Yves Montand. He worked with Jean Girault in the famous 'Gendarmes' series. In a different kind of role, de Funès worked with Claude Zidi. Zidi wrote a new character for him in L'aile ou la cuisse (1976). This is often considered one of his best roles. De Funès also showed his musical talents in films like Le Corniaud. In 1964, he starred in the first of the Fantômas series. This film made him a huge superstar.

In 1975, Oury planned another film with de Funès called Le Crocodile. De Funès was to play a South American dictator. But in March 1975, de Funès had heart problems and had to stop acting. This caused Le Crocodile to be cancelled. After he got better, he appeared with another comic genius, Coluche, in L'Aile ou la cuisse. In 1980, de Funès fulfilled a long-time dream. He made a film version of Molière's play, L'Avare.

De Funès made his final film, Le Gendarme et les gendarmettes, in 1982.

Acting Style

In real life, de Funès was said to be a very shy person. This was different from the characters he played. He could make many different and quickly changing facial expressions. Because of this, he was called "the man with forty faces per minute." In many of his films, he played a funny, easily excited, grumpy, middle-aged man. His characters often had a lot of energy, were a bit sneaky, and had uncontrolled fits of anger. His short height (1.64 meters) and his funny facial movements made his acting very comical. This was especially clear when he acted with Bourvil. Bourvil always played calm, kind, and slightly naive characters. In de Funès' successful film version of Molière's The Miser (L'Avare), these traits were more subtle.

Later Years and Passing

In his later years, de Funès became very successful and wealthy. He was made a knight of France's Légion d'honneur in 1973. He lived in the Château de Clermont. This was a 17th-century castle near Nantes in western France. The castle overlooked the Loire river. His wife inherited it from her aunt. De Funès loved roses and planted a rose garden at the castle. A type of rose was even named after him: the Louis de Funès rose. A monument honoring him was placed in the rose garden.

The tomb of Louis de Funès in Le Cellier, France.

In his later years, de Funès had heart problems. He had two heart attacks because of the stress from his acting. He passed away from a third heart attack on January 27, 1983. This was a few months after he made his last film. He was buried in the Cimetière du Cellier, the cemetery on the Château de Clermont grounds.

Legacy

De Funès was honored on a postage stamp issued by the French postal service in 1998. He also appeared in French comic books. For example, he was a gambler in Lucky Luke and a film studio worker in Clifton. In 2013, a museum dedicated to De Funès opened at the Château de Clermont where he had lived. In 2019, another De Funès museum opened in Saint-Raphaël, Var.

Filmography

See also

• Rabbi Jacob dance