France presented the world with many films featuring the brilliant actor Louis de Funes, one of the greatest comedians in history. The image of the harmful and grumpy man, actively exploited by him, brought him wild popularity, which remains with him even now, despite the fact that all these films were released a long time ago, and de Funes himself, unfortunately, left this world in 1984. But he left descendants a very valuable legacy – a lot of great movies with his participation.
The parents of the future TV star were also actors who were popular both in France and abroad. His parents called his son the nickname “Fufu.” Louis de Funès knew from childhood not only French, but also Spanish and English. He played the piano well and at one time was even a pianist. The peak of the popularity of Louis de Funes came in the 60s of the last century, then he was filmed every year in three or four films. He has Spanish-Portuguese roots in the line of both parents, who even before his birth moved to France. Once, Louis de Funes for fun, hung up on the door of his apartment in Paris a sign “I sell the fun from 9 to 18 o’clock”. The joke ended unexpectedly – there was a queue at his door wishing to get his portion of fun.
The actor was in the habit of setting off not one alarm clock, but three at once, to be sure that he would not sleep. Prior to his acting career, Louis de Funes managed to work as a messenger, a furrier, an accountant and a milkman. His wife was the granddaughter of the world famous writer Guy de Maupassant. One of the hobbies of Louis de Funes was gardening. He could spend long hours in his garden, cutting roses. By the way, one of the varieties of these flowers was later named in his honor. All his life he suffered persecution mania, and therefore always carried a loaded pistol. Louis de Funes loved to walk silently, watching people and writing everything down in his notebook. Then he used these records in his roles. He especially liked to walk in cemeteries, as the people there, in his opinion, were silent and not annoying.
For his contribution to the development of art actor received the highest award of France – the Order of the Legion of Honor. In the days of the premiere of films with his participation, Louis de Funes loved to come to the cinema and listen to the conversations of ticket tellers to see how well tickets are being sold. The parents of the future wife of the actor, when he was not yet known to anyone, did not approve the choice of his daughter. Having heard the sonorous aristocratic name of Louis de Funes, they were disappointed to see a short, poor, untidy and rather arrogant young man. Louis de Funes wanted his sons to follow in his acting footsteps, but one of them eventually became a doctor, and the other – a pilot of civil aviation. The wife of the actor survived him for many years and passed away at the age of 101. In the Soviet Union, Louis de Funes became popular thanks to a series of films about the French gendarmes, where he played a major role. In all the films that went with the Soviet hire with the participation of Louis de Funes, the actor Vladimir Kenigson presented his voice to his characters.
