- Louis de Funès, Pouic-Pouic, France, 1963. After having new comic Darry Cowl in his first four films, and Francis Blanche in three of them, auteur Jean Girault made it clear he wanted neither in his fifth. And so, following their 1962 sketch film, Les Veinards, this was the first featureof the stutter, splutter, mutter, nutter comic de Funès and the maker of his future Gendarme de Saint-Tropez franchise – plus six other hits, including their co-directing of Moliere’s L’avare/The Miser in 1979.
- Louis de Funès, Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez, France-Italy, 1964. Their publicity man on Pouic-Pouic and Faites sauter la banque, Richard Balducci, came up with a third consecutive project for “Fufu” and realisateur Jean Girault – about a French Riviera cop and his colleagues or Troops as the US title strangely dubbed them. For a wee while, Cowl’s name entered the wish list, but what de Funès judged, rightly, as an unpretentious little comedy, Cowl refused as, even more correctly, “utter bullshit!” Girault, the ex-big band drummer, and de Funes, ex-bar pianist, had common tastes (jazz and farce) and a rapid rapport leading to five more (awful) Carry On Gendarmes-style capers from 1964 to 1982, when poor “Fufu” was looking like death. He died the following year at 68 after 156 films in 36 years. (In 1950 alone, he completed 15 movies screen roles!
Birth year: 1912Death year: Other name: 2006Casting Calls: 2