Coluche | |
|---|---|
 Coluche inThe Wing or the Thigh | |
| Born | Michel Gérard Joseph Colucci (1944-10-28)28 October 1944 Paris, France |
| Died | 19 June 1986(1986-06-19) (aged 41) Opio, Alpes-Maritimes, France |
| Cause of death | Motorcycle crash |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation(s) | Actor,Comedian |
| Signature | |
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Michel Gérard Joseph Colucci (French:[miʃɛlʒeʁaʁʒozɛfkɔlytʃi],Italian:[koˈluttʃi]; 28 October 1944 – 19 June 1986), better known under hisstage nameColuche (IPA:[kɔlyʃ]), was a French stage comedian, cinema actor, activist[1] and philanthropist.[2] He adoptedColuche as a stage name at age 26, when he began his entertainment career. He became known for his irreverent attitude towards politics and the establishment, and he incorporated this into much of his material. He was one of the first major comedians to regularly useprofanities as a source of humor on French television. He also founded the charity "Les Restaurants du Cœur" which still provides free meals and other products to people in need.
Colucci was born on 28 October 1944, just weeks after theLiberation of Paris, in a hospital in the14th arrondissement of the city. His mother, Simone Bouyer (called "Monette"), worked as a florist in theBoulevard du Montparnasse. His father, Honorio Colucci, fromCasalvieri inLazio, Italy,[3] was a painter and decorator. His father died in 1947 at age 31 frompoliomyelitis; his wife struggled thereafter to raise the young Michel and his sister (Danièle, 18 months older than Michel) on a meagre salary.
Coluche showed little promise at school, and left after completing his primary studies (June 1958). He tried various temporary jobs, and had several run-ins with authorities. During this time his mother bought him a guitar, which he taught himself to play. In 1964 he joined the 60th Infantry Regiment de Lons-le-Saunier, but was imprisoned for insubordination. On his return to civilian life, he worked in his mother's florist shop which she had been able to open on rue d'Aligre, and later in a larger shop which she opened near la Gare de Lyon. He found this work dull, and suddenly quit, which caused a long-lasting breach with his mother.
At the end of the 1960s he tried his luck as a singer in cafes, then turned to comedy.
In 1969, with Romain Bouteille he was present at the start of theCafé de la Gare, meeting place of a group of young comedic actors practically all of whom were to become famous:Patrick Dewaere,Henri Guybet,Miou-Miou,Martin Lamotte, etc. Among the patrons of the Café de la Gare wereGeorges Moustaki,Raymond Devos,Jean Ferrat,Jacques Brel, Leni Escudero,Pierre Perret andJean Yanne. Later they were joined byGérard Lanvin,Renaud,Rufus,Diane Kurys,Coline Serreau,Anémone,Gérard Depardieu,Thierry Lhermitte,Josiane Balasko andGérard Jugnot.
Coluche's first sketchC'est l'histoire d'un mec (It's the story of a guy) was about the difficulties of telling a funny story. He quickly found success, but alcohol problems forced him to leave the group.
He went on to found another group,Le vrai chic parisien (The true Parisian chic) and it was then that he met his future wife, Véronique Kantor. They married in 1975 and had two sons, Marius and Romain Colucci. His behaviour and addictions forced him to leave the new group and launch his solo career.
It was at this point that he began to dress in his well-known outfit of white tennis shoes, blue stripedoveralls, a bright yellow T-shirt and round glasses. He became famous with his parody of a TV game (Le Schmilblick). He was sacked by the radio stationsEurope 1 andRadio Monte Carlo for vulgarity.
In a 30 October 1980 press conference at the theatre of his one-man show, Coluche announced his candidacy for theFrench presidential election. He was not taken seriously until the Sunday newspaperLe Journal du Dimanche published a poll on 14 December 1980 showing Coluche supported by 16% of potential voters.[4] His "campaign" was supported and organized by Parisian publisherCharlie Hebdo, with slogans such as "Before me, France was divided in two; now it will be folded in four" (more idiomatically "être plié en quatre" could be translated as "doubled over laughing"), and "Coluche - the only candidate who has no reason to lie". However, he withdrew after pressure from serious politicians - includingFrançois Mitterrand who saw him as a menace for his own candidacy - and the murder of his manager René Gorlin.
In 1984 Coluche was awarded theCésar Award for Best Actor for his role in the filmTchao Pantin (1983) directed byClaude Berri, a film that mirrored his chaotic personal life.[5]
In September 1985, he launched the "Restaurants du Cœur" (usually called Restos du cœur) charity (40,000 volunteers in almost 2,500 eating establishments, which serve some 600,000 daily beneficiaries) in a speech on the radio stationEurope 1. The charity collects food, money and clothes for the needy and the homeless. Each year, a fundraising concert series is presented by singers and celebrities collectively known as "Les Enfoirés".
In March 1985 Coluche had set a world speed record (252.087 km/h; 156.64 mph) on a one-km (1000 yard) track in Italy with a 750cc motorcycle.A little more than a year later, at 16:35 on 19 June 1986, he died after crashing his Honda 1100 VFC into a truck on the "route de Cannes", a road in the commune ofOpio, Alpes-Maritimes in southeastern France. He was 41. This event provoked national grief and inspired the albumPutain de camion ("fucking truck") by his close friendRenaud. Someconspiracy theories have since surfaced, mainly in the bookColuche, l'accident: contre-enquête,[6] alleging that Coluche might have been murdered.[7][8]
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his death, from 6 October 2016 to 14 January 2017, an exhibition about Coluche was held atParis City Hall.[9]
In March 2011, a bronze statue of Coluche, dressed in his trademark striped dungarees, was unveiled in his hometown ofMontrouge (suburb of Paris).[5]
Coluche won theCésar Award for "Best Actor" for his role inTchao Pantin (So Long, Stooge, 1983), one of his few dramatic roles.
The filmColuche : l'histoire d'un mec, directed byAntoine de Caunes and relating the events surrounding Coluche's bid for the French presidency in 1981 was released in France in October 2008.François-Xavier Demaison plays Coluche.
Coming from a working-class family and a background of grinding poverty, Coluche fought for the equality of citizens. A law known as theLoi Coluche was passed in 1988, allowing large tax deductions (up to 75% in some cases) for individuals or businesses that donate to specified aid agencies.
Themain-belt asteroid170906 Coluche, discovered by Swiss astronomerMichel Ory in 2004, was named after Coluche.
There are statues of Coluche in his home quarter ofMontrouge (suburb of Paris), unveiled in March 2011 (a bronze statue of Coluche, dressed with his trademark striped dungaree),[5] and inLe Vigan, Gard in the south of France. Numerous theatres, schools and social spaces bear his name all over France.
In October 2016, the Hôtel de ville de Paris (5, rue de Lobau) opened an exhibition marking the 30th anniversary of his death. It focuses on his radio and movie career up to his announcement of his presidential candidacy. It ran through 7 January 2017.[10]
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Le Pistonné | Marquand | Claude Berri | |
| Donkey Skin | Un paysan injurieux | Jacques Demy | Uncredited | |
| 1971 | Laisse aller... c'est une valse | Le patron du café | Georges Lautner | |
| 1973 | Elle court, elle court la banlieue | Bouboule | Gérard Pirès | |
| L'An 01 | the chief | Jacques Doillon Alain Resnais Jean Rouch | ||
| Themroc | the male neighbour | Claude Faraldo | ||
| Le grand bazar | The visitor of the appartement | Claude Zidi | ||
| 1976 | Les vécés étaient fermés de l'intérieur | L'inspecteur Charbonnier | Patrice Leconte | |
| L'aile ou la cuisse | Gérard Duchemin | Claude Zidi | ||
| 1977 | Drôles de zèbres | the chef | Guy Lux | |
| Vous n'aurez pas l'Alsace et la Lorraine | Le Roi Gros Pif 1er | Coluche Marc Monnet | ||
| 1980 | Inspector Blunder | Michel Clément | Claude Zidi | |
| 1981 | Signé Furax | L'agent double 098 / 099 | Pierre Dac Francis Blanche | |
| Le Maître d'école | Gérard Barbier | Claude Berri | ||
| 1982 | Elle voit des nains partout! | Un hallebardier | Jean-Claude Sussfeld | |
| Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ | Ben-Hur Marcel | Jean Yanne | ||
| 1983 | Banzaï | Michel Bernardin | Claude Zidi | |
| My Best Friend's Girl | Micky | Bertrand Blier | ||
| So Long, Stooge | Lambert | Claude Berri | ||
| 1984 | Good King Dagobert | King Dagobert | Dino Risi | |
| La vengeance du serpent à plumes | Loulou Dupin | Gérard Oury | ||
| 1985 | Les Rois du gag | Georges | Claude Zidi | |
| Sac de noeuds | Coyotte | Josiane Balasko | ||
| Madman at War | Oscar Pilli | Dino Risi | (final film role) |
