Michel Blanc, the French actor best known for his role in “Les Bronzés” (“French Fried Vacation”), died Friday morning of a heart attack precipitated by anaphylactic shock. He was 72 years old.
Blanc’s death was shared by his family with Agence France-Presse. He was remembered online by French President Emmanuel Macron, who wrote on X, “He made us cry with laughter and moved us to tears. A monument of French cinema, Michel Blanc has gone. Our thoughts go out to his loved ones and his acting accomplices.”
Prime Minister Michel Barnier also shared a remembrance for Blanc. “We all have a little bit of Michel Blanc in us. From the offbeat confidence of Jean-Claude Dusse to the seriousness of Gilles in ‘L’Exercice de l’État’, he made us laugh and think. With his unforgettable role in ‘Je vous trouve très beau’ [‘You Are So Beautiful’], he knew how to move us. Today, like millions of French women and men, I want to pay tribute to him and say thank you. You were splendid, Michel Blanc!” Dusse wrote on X.
The actor was known for his role as Jean-Claude Dusse in 1978’s “Les Bronzés” (“French Fried Vacation”), as well as the film’s sequels in 1979 and 2006. He also starred in “Monsieur Hire” and “L’Exercice de l’État” (“The Minister”).
Blanc was largely regarded as one of the most active participants in French cinema. In a 2023 interview with Film Talk at the Love International Film Festival Mons, he explained that he was attracted to film from a young age.
“When I was young, I watched a lot of old and pre-World War II movies on television, films that Julien Duvivier and his contemporaries had made. Those films really surprised me; occasionally, I saw a film and thought, ‘Mon Dieu, that’s simply amazing,’” Blanc shared.
“In the early 1960s, you could watch all the masterpieces on television, and I almost grew up with all those great actors,” Blanc added. “And once you start acting yourself, you won’t imitate Louis Jouvet or Michel Simon, but you have seen their work and are familiar with them. For me, it’s an advantage to know their films. On the other hand, some actors never had the opportunity to explore what film history has to offer, nor did they ever go to drama school, and they do everything their own way — and it works beautifully.”
Though he was known for playing characters that were rough around the edges, Blanc also told the outlet that he had a lot of empathy for the men he played. “Very often, I like to play characters that touch me one way or the other. That makes it interesting, especially if the part is well-written and the film director knows what he’s doing,” the actor explained.
Michel Blanc was born in Courbevoie, France on April 16, 1952.
