The sudden death of Michel Galabru in the Monday to Sunday night has saddened the whole of France. Especially the world of theater. Yet it has not always shone, but how not to like such a natural man, frank and modest? As good as good bread kneaded it in “The baker’s wife” by Marcel Pagnol and Raimu taking over.
Initially, he had all the strengths in his game. Starting with a fabulous comic nature of roundness. His visage raised a snitch in his potato attracted public sympathy failing to attract women. With age, it began to look like the “Old Man” by Domenico Ghirlandaio whose nose buds and glows in the Louvre.
Play anything with anyone
Born in Morocco, he is mediocre studies in Montpellier and Paris, narrowly won his tray, and to please his father, a civil engineer roads, begins its right under the occupation, until that the STO seize him and dispatches in Austria and Yugoslavia. Once released, he returned to Paris and entered the Conservatory of Dramatic Art, then at the Comedie-French, where he stayed seven years without ever passing member. With Jean Vilar he will come to the consecration when the latter assigned to him in 1961 the role of the male chauvinist Lunardo in “The Rustres” Goldoni, at the Avignon festival. This role of uncouth bear suits him so well that he will resume throughout his career, directed by Claude Santelli, by itself, by Francis Joffo or by his son Jean Galabru.
In 1970, another prominent role: The Surette, hate the friend of Antoine de Saint-Flour (Jean-Pierre Marielle) in “Goldfish” by Jean Anouilh. Which had to define his way of growl that made the joy of imitators, invented the verb “galabrer”. Again, we thought it would be necessary among the best actors of his time.
Unfortunately it was soon to fall back into its old ruts. Play anything with anyone. It can be said that in the theater, he has missed all the great adventures of the twentieth century. Vilar do distributed in “The Rustres”. He has not played in any show Roger Planchon, Jean-Pierre Vincent, Patrice Chéreau, Antoine Vitez, Claude Régy, Ariane Mnouchkine and Peter Brook. No director who more or less counted in theater history has appealed to him. And yet … As soon as he kept muttering, rolling startled eyes, pushing its Han lumberjack who were laughing twisting his groupies, when he agreed to do his job without faking, what prodigious actor he was! Never, perhaps no one has seen as thin and moving in “Jules et Marcel” pulled the little show-Pagnol Raimu correspondence, created in 2009 and resumed the following year. Philippe Caubère gave him the reply.
He no longer played since last summer
Why this great popular actor did it so often indulged in ease? They said he was a fool. Wrongly. Probably not intellectual, but with an equally shrewd instinct Raimu which he played the role so well. I rather think that this is his kindness that was losing. He himself recounted how his first wife harassed him to get him more money. She was insatiable. It was because of her, he said, he had enjoyed a few days of respite from Avignon to escape secretly to complete filming in Belgium, that his contract formally prohibited. Arriving at the Papal Palace with twenty minutes late, he played “The Rustres” before the audience caught up in extremis, but paid the tickets refunded in full. About half of them. And the Court of Honor in 2700 contained at the time …
Unhappy married, Michel Galabru had built a second home. It took a long time before breaking Anne Jacquot, his first wife, and marry the second. In 1985, I had interviewed in his dressing room, while playing for the first time “The Woman of the baker” at the Mogador Theatre under the direction of Jerome Savary – room he was like “The Rustres” lugging for years of a theater and a director to another. He was still red with emotion. Hours earlier, while Emmanuelle, his daughter was the second bed in his dressing room, Jean, his eldest son, tumbles unexpectedly. But he does not know the existence of his half-sister. However, Emmanuelle who was then nine years knows illegal. After much devoured eyes this big brother yet unknown, she said to her father:
Well, thank you very much for having me Mr. autographed program “
! it slips away. I can see a tear roll down all pockmarked jowls of this father so proud of the cunning of his little girl.
Long complexed by his physique, Michel Galabru had finally found happiness. Until the death of his wife, Claude, this was overcome by Alzheimer’s disease. He then stopped playing. Probably did he die of having unharnessed.
Jacques Nerson
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