1921-07-20 Paris, France
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.
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Les 100 vies de Francis Blanche | Self (archive footage) | 2022-03-19 |
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Pierre Dac et Francis Blanche : Le Meilleur du Parti d'en Rire | Lui-même | 2020-12-01 |
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Comiques de toujours (Vol. 1 à 4) | Self (archive footage) | 2009-10-13 |
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Une baleine qui avait mal aux dents | Francis | 1975-04-15 |
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Dites-le avec des fleurs | Gérard Rollain | 1974-09-04 |
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Par le sang des autres | Doctor | 1974-03-07 |
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OK patron | Victor Hutin, Sophie's father | 1974-06-01 |
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France, société anonyme | Pierre, the perverted financier | 1974-06-04 |
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Un linceul n'a pas de poches | Nathaël Grissom | 1974-10-25 |
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L'histoire très bonne et très joyeuse de Colinot Trousse-Chemise | Wanderer | 1973-10-24 |
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Je, tu, elles... | Darbon, le galeriste | 1973-06-28 |
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Racconti romani di una ex-novizia | Pietro l'Aretino | 1973-09-21 |
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Le Solitaire | Norbert | 1973-10-24 |
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J'ai mon voyage! | Mr. de Chatiez | 1973-02-23 |
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La Dernière Bourrée à Paris | Gaston Payrac | 1973-10-31 |
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Il terrore con gli occhi storti | Commissioner Pigna | 1972-09-02 |
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Nonostante le apparenze... e purchè la nazione non lo sappia... all'onorevole piacciono le donne | padre Scirer | 1972-03-16 |
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L'Odeur des fauves | Paluche | 1972-02-14 |
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Êtes-vous fiancée à un marin grec ou à un pilote de ligne ? | Maurice Gombaud | 1971-04-15 |
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Il furto è l'anima del commercio!?... | Sigfrid | 1971-07-09 |
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La Grande Java | Auguste Kougloff / Augustin Colombani | 1971-01-13 |
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Qu'est-ce qui fait courir les crocodiles ? | Hector Grogenol | 1971-05-21 |
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La Grande Maffia | Modeste Miette | 1971-09-17 |
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Les Jambes en l'air | Hugon | 1971-05-13 |
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Alice au pays des merveilles | King of hearts | 1970-12-22 |
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Adieu Berthe | Léo Bertold | 1970-03-21 |
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L'Étalon | Tax collector Dupuis | 1970-02-13 |
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Ces messieurs de la gâchette | Marco Lombardi | 1970-04-08 |
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Les gros malins | Francis Bertolde aka 'Le book' | 1969-05-13 |
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Un merveilleux parfum d'oseille | Loïc de Kerfuntel | 1969-08-14 |
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Erotissimo | Le polyvalent | 1969-06-07 |
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Faites donc plaisir aux amis | Maximiliano | 1969-02-05 |
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Le bourgeois gentil mec | Spinosa | 1969-05-21 |
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Poussez pas grand-père dans les cactus | Alphonse Ramier / Al Gregor | 1969-11-05 |
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Aux frais de la princesse | Achille | 1969-07-04 |
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Ces messieurs de la famille | Strumberger | 1968-05-08 |
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Salut Berthe ! | Passerby with the pipe (uncredited) | 1968-08-20 |
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La Grande Lessive (!) | Doctor Loupioc | 1968-11-12 |
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Le Plus Vieux Métier du monde | The Doctor (segment "Aujourd'hui") | 1967-04-07 |
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Le canard en fer blanc | Le docteur Grego | 1967-04-22 |
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Belle de jour | Mr. Adolphe | 1967-05-24 |
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Les Compagnons de la Marguerite | L'inspecteur Maurice Leloup | 1967-01-20 |
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Deux Romains en Gaule | Le druide inventeur de la potion d'invisibilité | 1967-02-25 |
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Du mou dans la gâchette | La Prudence | 1967-08-30 |
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Le grand bidule | Copec | 1967-06-21 |
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La feldmarescialla | Captain Hans Vogel | 1967-12-21 |
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La Grande Sauterelle | Gédéon | 1967-01-11 |
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Les enquiquineurs | Monsieur Achille Eloy | 1966-11-09 |
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Les malabars sont au parfum | Ivanov | 1966-02-02 |
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La Sentinelle endormie | Constant | 1966-01-21 |
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Pas de caviar pour tante Olga | Dufour | 1965-08-13 |
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Les baratineurs | Louis Dujardin | 1965-02-01 |
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La Tête du client | Mario l'enchanteur | 1965-09-03 |
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La Bonne Occase | Paul Souflé | 1965-03-09 |
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Requiem pour un caïd | Émile aka 'le Boxeur' | 1964-07-25 |
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Les Gorilles | Félix | 1964-12-23 |
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La Chance et l'Amour | Adjutant (segment "Chance du guerrier, La") | 1964-10-30 |
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Clémentine chérie | Nuisance at the Miss ceremony (uncredited) | 1964-08-04 |
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Les pieds nickelés | Commissaire Lenoir | 1964-09-30 |
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Le Repas des fauves | Francis | 1964-08-26 |
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Les Plus Belles Escroqueries du monde | Mr. Humlaupt (segment "L'Homme qui vendit la tour Eiffel") | 1964-08-14 |
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Des pissenlits par la racine | Absalon | 1964-05-06 |
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La Grande Frousse | 1964-10-28 | |
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La Tulipe noire | Plantin | 1964-02-28 |
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Jaloux comme un tigre | Chauffeur | 1964-06-16 |
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Les Barbouzes | Boris Vassiliev | 1964-12-10 |
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Actualités télérévisées | Presenter | 1964-04-01 |
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La Chasse à l'homme | Nino Papatakis | 1964-09-18 |
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Les Vierges | Mr. de Brétevielle | 1963-05-22 |
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L'Abominable Homme des douanes | Arnakos | 1963-03-01 |
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Les gros bras | Mr. Pédro Andromèze | 1963-12-31 |
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Les Tontons flingueurs | Maître Folace | 1963-11-27 |
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Un drôle de paroissien | Chief Insp. Cucherat | 1963-08-28 |
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Les Veinards | M. Bricheton (« Le Repas gastronomique ») | 1963-04-26 |
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Les bricoleurs | Édouard | 1963-02-01 |
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Dragées au poivre | Franz | 1963-09-04 |
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En plein cirage | Fellous | 1962-03-13 |
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Tartarin de Tarascon | Antoine Tartarin | 1962-11-22 |
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Snobs! | Morloch | 1962-09-05 |
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Les Petits Matins | le douanier belge | 1962-03-16 |
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Accroche-toi, y'a du vent! | Capitano Fornace | 1962-04-20 |
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Le Septième Juré | Attorney General | 1962-04-18 |
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La planque | Edouard | 1962-09-21 |
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La vendetta | Bartoli | 1962-04-17 |
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La ragazza di mille mesi | Commendator Borgioli | 1961-11-05 |
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Les Livreurs | Félix | 1961-07-24 |
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Il ratto delle sabine | Mezio | 1961-11-15 |
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Vive Henri IV... Vive l'amour | Prior | 1961-04-04 |
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Les Menteurs | Blanchin | 1961-10-25 |
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La Française et l'Amour | Me Marcerou, avocat et ami du couple (segment "Le Divorce") | 1960-09-16 |
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A noi piace freddo...!! | von Krussendorf | 1960-09-20 |
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Le pillole di Ercole | Augusto | 1960-09-10 |
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Certains l'aiment... froide | William Foster Valmorin, American | 1960-02-17 |
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Vive le duc! | 1960-03-14 | |
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Anonima cocottes | Bank manager | 1960-10-30 |
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Le Olimpiadi dei mariti | 1960-10-27 | |
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L'ours | Chappuis | 1960-12-14 |
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Les Pique-assiette | Félix | 1960-05-26 |
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L'increvable | Francis Blanchard | 1959-04-29 |
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Pourquoi viens-tu si tard… | Camille, le patron du bistrot | 1959-05-05 |
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Les Motards | His Excellency Curacagua | 1959-03-18 |
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Match contre la mort | Mr. Pascal | 1959-12-02 |
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La Jument verte | Ferdinand Haudouin | 1959-10-29 |
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Babette s'en va-t-en guerre | Schulz | 1959-09-18 |
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Totò a Parigi | Il maggiordomo (uncredited) | 1958-10-23 |
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À pied, à cheval et en spoutnik | Chazot | 1958-09-09 |
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Le Petit Prof | General overseer | 1958-09-26 |
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La Polka des menottes | un voisin | 1957-09-04 |
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Tous peuvent me tuer | La Bonbonne | 1957-12-06 |
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La vie est belle | un voisin | 1956-10-05 |
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Honoré de Marseille | Pasquale Marchetti | 1956-12-12 |
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Ah ! Les belles bacchantes | Garibaldo Trouchet, le ténor / Un musicien | 1954-10-15 |
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Faites-moi confiance | Nicolas | 1954-05-17 |
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Minuit... Quai de Bercy | M. Boulay, l'épicier libidineux | 1953-05-21 |
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Une fille à croquer | Gilles | 1951-06-08 |
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Ils ont vingt ans | Michel Barbarin | 1950-12-15 |
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Tire au flanc | Jean du Bois d'Ombelles | 1950-11-10 |
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L'assassin est à l'écoute | Self | 1948-01-01 |
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Frédérica | Ami de Gilbert | 1942-11-18 |
