Funès, Louis de

(1914-1983)

   Actor. Louis de Funès was one of France's best-known comic actors, alongside Bourvil and Coluche. His parents were Spanish immigrants, and Funès also became a celebrity in Spain. He played the piano in clubs and acted in the theater before first appearing in cinema in Jean Stelli's Tentation de Barbizon (1945). He played minor roles in films such as Henri Verneuil's Le Mouton à cinq pattes (1954), Jean-Paul Le Chanois's Papa, maman, la bonne, et moi (1954) and Papa, Maman, ma femme et moi (1955), and Claude Autant-Lara's La Traversée de Paris (1956), where he became known for his comic acting ability. Funès later found leading roles in Yves Robert's Ni vu ni connu (1958) and Jean Girault's Pouic-pouic (1963). His performance in Girault's mainstream commercial comedy Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez (1964) and in André Hunnebell's 1964 remake of Louis Feuillade's Fantômas won Funès acclaim.

   Funès worked with Girault again in his popular Gendarme series: Le Gendarme à New York (1965), Le Gendarme se marie (1968), Le Gendarme en balade (1970), Le Gendarme et les extraterrestres (1978), and Le Gendarme et les gendarmettes (1982). Known as "Fufu," Funès starred in some of the most popular French films of the 1960s and 1970s. These films owe much of their success to his popularity. In addition to his work with Girault, Funès worked frequently with Gérard Oury. He played leading roles in Le Corniaud (1965), La Grande vadrouille (1966), and Les aventures de Rabbi Jacob (1973). He appeared alongside the comic actor Bourvil in several of his films. Jerry Lewis presented Funès with an honorary César in 1980.