Louis de Funès(1914-1983)
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza was born on July 31, 1914, in
Courbevoie, France. His father, named Carlos Luis de Funes de Galarza,
was a former lawyer of Seville, Spain, who became a diamond cutter. His
mother, named Leonor Soto Reguera, was of Spanish and Portugese
extraction.
Young Louis de Funès was fond of drawing and piano playing. He dropped
out of school and worked various jobs, mostly as a jazz pianist at
Pigalle, making his customers laugh every time he made a grimace. He
studied acting for one year at the Simon acting school. There he made
some useful contacts, including Daniel Gélin among others. 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,
named Jeanne de Maupassant, a grand-niece of writer Guy de Maupassant. She had
fallen in love with "the young man who played jazz like god"; they
married in 1943, and had two sons born in 1944 and 1949. Funès
continued playing piano at clubs, knowing there wasn't much call for a
short, balding, skinny actor. His wife and Daniel Gelin encouraged him
until he managed to overcome his rejection. He made his film debut in
1945, at the age of 31, and went on playing about one hundred film
roles in the next twenty years.
Louis de Funès shot to international fame in the 1960's after his roles
in such slapstick comedies as The Gendarme of Saint-Tropez (1964) and the Fantomas (1964) trilogy. He brilliantly portrayed a
funny French policeman, whose hilarious hyperactivity, uncontrolled
anger, and sardonic laughter produced a highly comic effect. Funès was
voted the most favorite actor in France in 1968, and remained very
popular in Europe during the 1970's. He also continued to play on stage
during his career as a film star, and was acclaimed for his stage works
in classic French theatre. Funès was instrumental in making film
adaptations of such theatre plays as 'Oscar continues' and the Molière's 'The Miser', among other plays.
Nicknamed "the man with the forty faces per minute", Louis de Funès
played bit parts in over eighty films, before he got his first leading
roles, eventually becoming the leading French comedian. He co-starred
with the major French actors of the time, including Jean Marais and Mylène Demongeot
in the Fantomas trilogy, and also Jean Gabin, Fernandel, Bourvil, Coluche,
Annie Girardot, and Yves Montand. Funès's collaboration with director Gérard Oury
produced a memorable tandem of Funès-Bourvil. He also worked with
Jean Girault in the famous 'Gendarmes' series. In a departure from the
Gendarme image, Funès collaborated with Claude Zidi, who wrote for him a
new character full of nuances and frankness in The Wing or The Thigh? (1976), which is
arguably the best of his roles.
Funès played over 130 roles in film and over 100 roles on stage. From
1943-1983 Louis de Funès was married to Jeanne Barthelemy de
Maupassant. Their son, Olivier De Funès , had a brief acting
career before becoming a pilot with Air France, his other son, named
Patrick de Funès, became a medical doctor. Louis de Funès was also a
rose grower, a variety of roses has been named the "Louis de Funès
rose" after him. He died of a heart attack and complications of a
stroke on January 27, 1983, in Nantes, France. He was laid to rest in
the Cimetière du Cellier, and a monument of him was erected in the
rose-garden of his wife's castle.
Courbevoie, France. His father, named Carlos Luis de Funes de Galarza,
was a former lawyer of Seville, Spain, who became a diamond cutter. His
mother, named Leonor Soto Reguera, was of Spanish and Portugese
extraction.
Young Louis de Funès was fond of drawing and piano playing. He dropped
out of school and worked various jobs, mostly as a jazz pianist at
Pigalle, making his customers laugh every time he made a grimace. He
studied acting for one year at the Simon acting school. There he made
some useful contacts, including Daniel Gélin among others. 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,
named Jeanne de Maupassant, a grand-niece of writer Guy de Maupassant. She had
fallen in love with "the young man who played jazz like god"; they
married in 1943, and had two sons born in 1944 and 1949. Funès
continued playing piano at clubs, knowing there wasn't much call for a
short, balding, skinny actor. His wife and Daniel Gelin encouraged him
until he managed to overcome his rejection. He made his film debut in
1945, at the age of 31, and went on playing about one hundred film
roles in the next twenty years.
Louis de Funès shot to international fame in the 1960's after his roles
in such slapstick comedies as The Gendarme of Saint-Tropez (1964) and the Fantomas (1964) trilogy. He brilliantly portrayed a
funny French policeman, whose hilarious hyperactivity, uncontrolled
anger, and sardonic laughter produced a highly comic effect. Funès was
voted the most favorite actor in France in 1968, and remained very
popular in Europe during the 1970's. He also continued to play on stage
during his career as a film star, and was acclaimed for his stage works
in classic French theatre. Funès was instrumental in making film
adaptations of such theatre plays as 'Oscar continues' and the Molière's 'The Miser', among other plays.
Nicknamed "the man with the forty faces per minute", Louis de Funès
played bit parts in over eighty films, before he got his first leading
roles, eventually becoming the leading French comedian. He co-starred
with the major French actors of the time, including Jean Marais and Mylène Demongeot
in the Fantomas trilogy, and also Jean Gabin, Fernandel, Bourvil, Coluche,
Annie Girardot, and Yves Montand. Funès's collaboration with director Gérard Oury
produced a memorable tandem of Funès-Bourvil. He also worked with
Jean Girault in the famous 'Gendarmes' series. In a departure from the
Gendarme image, Funès collaborated with Claude Zidi, who wrote for him a
new character full of nuances and frankness in The Wing or The Thigh? (1976), which is
arguably the best of his roles.
Funès played over 130 roles in film and over 100 roles on stage. From
1943-1983 Louis de Funès was married to Jeanne Barthelemy de
Maupassant. Their son, Olivier De Funès , had a brief acting
career before becoming a pilot with Air France, his other son, named
Patrick de Funès, became a medical doctor. Louis de Funès was also a
rose grower, a variety of roses has been named the "Louis de Funès
rose" after him. He died of a heart attack and complications of a
stroke on January 27, 1983, in Nantes, France. He was laid to rest in
the Cimetière du Cellier, and a monument of him was erected in the
rose-garden of his wife's castle.