Francis Blanche
François Jean Blanche, known as "Francis Blanche" (20 July 1921 – 6 July 1974) was a French actor, singer, humorist and author. He was a very popular figure on stage, radio and in films, during the 1950s and 1960s. His two daughters, Barbara & Dominique, are artists with their studios in Eze. Blanche was born in an artistic family, mainly of stage actors—including his father Louis Blanche and his uncle, Emmanuel Blanche, who was a painter—. He completed his secondary schooling at fourteen, the youngest in France to do so at the time. In the 1940s and 1950s, Blanche was part of Robert Dhéry's theatrical company Les Branquignols, with whom he played in the film Ah! Les belles bacchantes, starring Robert Dhéry, Colette Brosset (Dhéry's then-wife), and Louis de Funès; directed by Jean Loubignac in 1954. Blanche teamed up with Pierre Dac to form a comic duo best remembered for Le Sâr Rabindranath Duval, a sketch about a phony and nonsensical Indian clairvoyant and guru (1957). They also created a popular and equally nonsensical radiophonic series, loosely based on a highly improbable espionage and conspiration plot, Malheur aux barbus, which was broadcast on Paris Inter in 213 episodes from 1951 to 1952. The same plot and characters were revived on Europe 1 in a series called Signé Furax, enjoying no less than 1,034 daily episodes between 1956 and 1960. Both broadcasts were phenomenal audience successes in the pre-television era. Blanche was also renowned for broadcasting phone pranks, in which he entertained listeners by making the most improbable situations sound plausible. He wrote poems, and the lyrics of 673 songs. On stage, he acted in Tartuffe and Néron and, in 1955, Chevalier du Ciel, an operetta by Luis Mariano at the Gaîté-Lyrique theatre. Blanche also enjoyed a successful cinematographic career, both as an actor and scriptwriter. He appeared as a hard-headed German colonel ("Obersturmführer Schulz") opposite Brigitte Bardot in Babette s'en va-t-en guerre (1959). He was one of the favourite actors of French filmmaker Georges Lautner, and played Maître Folace (a shady solicitor counselling a colourful gangster mob) in Les Tontons flingueurs (1963). Blanche also appeared in Boris Vassilief's Les Barbouzes (1964). He delighted in parodying classical music, adapting famous works such as Schubert's "Die Forelle" (The Trout) into a crazy and slightly risqué piece about a 16-year-old romantic girl obsessed with Schubert's song to the point of giving birth to a live trout while performing it on her piano. Similarly, he turned Beethoven's 5th Symphony into a lengthy and quite repetitive musical glorification of the clothes peg and its fictitious inventor, Jérémie-Victor Opdebec. Blanche died at the age of 52, from a heart attack with a background of untreated Type 1 diabetes. He is buried in Èze cemetery. Source: Article "Francis Blanche" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Filmography
Les 100 vies de Francis Blanche
as Self (archive footage)
Les 100 vies de Francis Blanche
as Self (archive footage)
Pierre Dac et Francis Blanche : Le Meilleur du Parti d'en Rire
as Lui-même
Pierre Dac et Francis Blanche : Le Meilleur du Parti d'en Rire
as Lui-même
Comiques de toujours (Vol. 1 à 4)
as Self (archive footage)
Comiques de toujours (Vol. 1 à 4)
as Self (archive footage)
No Pockets in a Shroud
as Nathaël Grissom
No Pockets in a Shroud
as Nathaël Grissom
Say it with Flowers
as Gérard Rollain
Say it with Flowers
as Gérard Rollain
France, Incorporated
as Pierre, the perverted financier
France, Incorporated
as Pierre, the perverted financier
OK Patron
as Victor Hutin, Sophie's father
OK Patron
as Victor Hutin, Sophie's father
By the Blood of Others
as Doctor
By the Blood of Others
as Doctor
La Dernière Bourrée à Paris
as Gaston Payrac
La Dernière Bourrée à Paris
as Gaston Payrac
The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot
as Wanderer
The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot
as Wanderer
Le Solitaire
as Norbert
Le Solitaire
as Norbert
Racconti romani di una ex-novizia
as Pietro l'Aretino
Racconti romani di una ex-novizia
as Pietro l'Aretino
I. You. They.
as Darbon, le galeriste
I. You. They.
as Darbon, le galeriste
I've Had It
as Mr. de Chatiez
I've Had It
as Mr. de Chatiez
The Terror with Cross-Eyes
as Commissioner Pigna
The Terror with Cross-Eyes
as Commissioner Pigna
La Grande Maffia
as Modeste Miette
La Grande Maffia
as Modeste Miette
Il furto è l'anima del commercio!?...
as Sigfrid
Il furto è l'anima del commercio!?...
as Sigfrid
Les Jambes en l'air
as Hugon
Les Jambes en l'air
as Hugon
Are You Engaged to a Greek Sailor or an Airline Pilot?
as Maurice Gombaud
Are You Engaged to a Greek Sailor or an Airline Pilot?
as Maurice Gombaud
The Great Java
as Auguste Kougloff / Augustin Colombani
The Great Java
as Auguste Kougloff / Augustin Colombani
Alice au pays des merveilles
as King of hearts
Alice au pays des merveilles
as King of hearts
Ces messieurs de la gâchette
as Marco Lombardi
Ces messieurs de la gâchette
as Marco Lombardi
Poussez pas grand-père dans les cactus
as Alphonse Ramier / Al Gregor
Poussez pas grand-père dans les cactus
as Alphonse Ramier / Al Gregor
Aux frais de la princesse
as Achille
Aux frais de la princesse
as Achille
Erotissimo
as Le polyvalent
Erotissimo
as Le polyvalent
Le bourgeois gentil mec
as Spinosa
Le bourgeois gentil mec
as Spinosa
Les gros malins
as Francis Bertolde aka 'Le book'
Les gros malins
as Francis Bertolde aka 'Le book'
Salut Berthe !
as Passerby with the pipe (uncredited)
Salut Berthe !
as Passerby with the pipe (uncredited)
Loose in the Trigger
as La Prudence
Loose in the Trigger
as La Prudence
The Great Gadget
as Copec
The Great Gadget
as Copec
Belle de Jour
as Mr. Adolphe
Belle de Jour
as Mr. Adolphe
The Oldest Profession
as The Doctor (segment "Aujourd'hui")
The Oldest Profession
as The Doctor (segment "Aujourd'hui")
Order of the Daisy
as L'inspecteur Maurice Leloup
Order of the Daisy
as L'inspecteur Maurice Leloup
The Big Grasshopper
as Gédéon
The Big Grasshopper
as Gédéon
Les enquiquineurs
as Monsieur Achille Eloy
Les enquiquineurs
as Monsieur Achille Eloy
Les malabars sont au parfum
as Ivanov
Les malabars sont au parfum
as Ivanov
The Sleeping Sentinel
as Constant
The Sleeping Sentinel
as Constant
Under Your Hat
as Mario l'enchanteur
Under Your Hat
as Mario l'enchanteur
Pas de caviar pour tante Olga
as Dufour
Pas de caviar pour tante Olga
as Dufour
The Real Bargain
as Paul Souflé
The Real Bargain
as Paul Souflé
Les baratineurs
as Louis Dujardin
Les baratineurs
as Louis Dujardin
Les Gorilles
as Félix
Les Gorilles
as Félix
The Great Spy Chase
as Boris Vassiliev
The Great Spy Chase
as Boris Vassiliev
Chance at Love
as Adjutant (segment "Chance du guerrier, La")
Chance at Love
as Adjutant (segment "Chance du guerrier, La")
Male Hunt
as Nino Papatakis
Male Hunt
as Nino Papatakis
Clémentine chérie
as Nuisance at the Miss ceremony (uncredited)
Clémentine chérie
as Nuisance at the Miss ceremony (uncredited)
Crooks in Clover
as Maître Folace
Crooks in Clover
as Maître Folace
Sweet and Sour
as Franz
Sweet and Sour
as Franz
Thank Heaven for Small Favors
as Chief Insp. Cucherat
Thank Heaven for Small Favors
as Chief Insp. Cucherat
The Virgins
as Mr. De Brétevielle
The Virgins
as Mr. De Brétevielle
People in Luck
as M. Bricheton (segment "Le Repas gastronomique")
People in Luck
as M. Bricheton (segment "Le Repas gastronomique")
The Abominable Man of Customs
as Arnakos
The Abominable Man of Customs
as Arnakos
Tartarin de Tarascon
as Antoine Tartarin
Tartarin de Tarascon
as Antoine Tartarin
Snobs!
as Morloch
Snobs!
as Morloch
Accroche-toi, y'a du vent!
as Capitano Fornace
Accroche-toi, y'a du vent!
as Capitano Fornace
The Seventh Juror
as Le procureur général
The Seventh Juror
as Le procureur général
The Vendetta
as Bartoli
The Vendetta
as Bartoli
Romulus and the Sabines
as Mezio
Romulus and the Sabines
as Mezio
The Girl of a Thousand Months
as Commendator Borgioli
The Girl of a Thousand Months
as Commendator Borgioli
House of Sin
as Blanchin
House of Sin
as Blanchin
Les Livreurs
as Félix
Les Livreurs
as Félix
Long Live Henry IV... Long Live Love!
as Prior
Long Live Henry IV... Long Live Love!
as Prior
The Bear
as Chappuis
The Bear
as Chappuis
Little Girls and High Finance
as Bank manager
Little Girls and High Finance
as Bank manager
Le Olimpiadi dei mariti
Le Olimpiadi dei mariti
We Like It Cold
as von Krussendorf
We Like It Cold
as von Krussendorf
Love and the Frenchwoman
as Me Marcerou, avocat et ami du couple (segment "Le Divorce")
Love and the Frenchwoman
as Me Marcerou, avocat et ami du couple (segment "Le Divorce")
Easy Come Easy Go
as Félix
Easy Come Easy Go
as Félix
Match contre la mort
as Mr. Pascal
Match contre la mort
as Mr. Pascal
Babette Goes to War
as Schulz
Babette Goes to War
as Schulz
The Motorcycle Cops
as His Excellency Curacagua
The Motorcycle Cops
as His Excellency Curacagua
Toto in Paris
as Il maggiordomo (uncredited)
Toto in Paris
as Il maggiordomo (uncredited)
The Little Professor
as General overseer
The Little Professor
as General overseer
Anyone Can Kill Me
as La Bonbonne
Anyone Can Kill Me
as La Bonbonne
Honoré de Marseille
as Pasquale Marchetti
Honoré de Marseille
as Pasquale Marchetti
Life is beautiful
as un voisin
Life is beautiful
as un voisin
Peek-a-boo
as Garibaldo Trouchet, le ténor / Un musicien
Peek-a-boo
as Garibaldo Trouchet, le ténor / Un musicien
Trust Me!
as Nicolas
Trust Me!
as Nicolas
Good Enough to Eat
as Gilles
Good Enough to Eat
as Gilles
Ils ont vingt ans
as Michel Barbarin
Ils ont vingt ans
as Michel Barbarin
The Sad Sack
as Jean du Bois d'Ombelles
The Sad Sack
as Jean du Bois d'Ombelles
The Killer is Listening
as Self
The Killer is Listening
as Self