CineScope
Francis Blanche picture

Francis Blanche

Acting
Known For

52 Years Old

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.

Born

Paris, France on 20th July 1921

Died

6th July 1974

All Credits

No Image
Midi trente
Self
Discorama Image
Discorama
Self
Cinépanorama Image
Cinépanorama
Self
No Image
Samedi soir
Self
À bout portant Image
À bout portant
Self
Le Bonheur Conjugal Image
Le Bonheur Conjugal
Le patron du restaurant
Belle de Jour Image
Belle de Jour
Mr. Adolphe
Love and the Frenchwoman Image
Love and the Frenchwoman
Me Marcerou, avocat et ami du couple (segment "Le Divorce")
The Black Tulip Image
The Black Tulip
Plantin
Crooks in Clover Image
Crooks in Clover
Maître Folace
The Eroticist Image
The Eroticist
padre Scirer
Male Hunt Image
Male Hunt
Nino Papatakis
The Green Mare Image
The Green Mare
Ferdinand Haudouin
Babette Goes to War Image
Babette Goes to War
Schulz
The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers Image
The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers
Mr. Humlaupt (segment "L'Homme qui vendit la tour Eiffel")
Peek-a-boo Image
Peek-a-boo
Garibaldo Trouchet, le ténor / Un musicien
People in Luck Image
People in Luck
M. Bricheton (« Le Repas gastronomique »)
The Oldest Profession Image
The Oldest Profession
The Doctor (segment "Aujourd'hui")
Anyone Can Kill Me Image
Anyone Can Kill Me
La Bonbonne
Dandelions by the Roots Image
Dandelions by the Roots
Absalon
The Big Grasshopper Image
The Big Grasshopper
Gédéon
The Seventh Juror Image
The Seventh Juror
Attorney General
Sweet and Sour Image
Sweet and Sour
Franz
The Great Spy Chase Image
The Great Spy Chase
Boris Vassiliev
The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot Image
The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot
Wanderer
Operation Gold Ingot Image
Operation Gold Ingot
Fellous
Hitch-Hike Image
Hitch-Hike
le douanier belge
Chance at Love Image
Chance at Love
Adjutant (segment "Chance du guerrier, La")
Erotissimo Image
Erotissimo
Le polyvalent
No Pockets in a Shroud Image
No Pockets in a Shroud
Nathaël Grissom
The Virgins Image
The Virgins
Mr. de Brétevielle
Toto in Paris Image
Toto in Paris
Il maggiordomo (uncredited)
Champagne for Savages Image
Champagne for Savages
Francis
France, Incorporated Image
France, Incorporated
Pierre, the perverted financier
Romulus and the Sabines Image
Romulus and the Sabines
Mezio
Rita the Field Marshal Image
Rita the Field Marshal
Captain Hans Vogel
Salut Berthe ! Image
Salut Berthe !
Passerby with the pipe (uncredited)
Thank Heaven for Small Favors Image
Thank Heaven for Small Favors
Chief Insp. Cucherat
Jaloux comme un tigre Image
Jaloux comme un tigre
le chauffeur
Les gros bras Image
Les gros bras
Mr. Pédro Andromèze
Long Live Henry IV... Long Live Love! Image
Long Live Henry IV... Long Live Love!
Prior
Comiques de toujours (Vol. 1 à 4) Image
Comiques de toujours (Vol. 1 à 4)
Self (archive footage)
Les Gorilles Image
Les Gorilles
Félix
Tartarin de Tarascon Image
Tartarin de Tarascon
Antoine Tartarin
Some Like It... Cold Image
Some Like It... Cold
William Foster Valmorin, American
Deux Romains en Gaule Image
Deux Romains en Gaule
Le druide inventeur de la potion d'invisibilité
Under Your Hat Image
Under Your Hat
Mario l'enchanteur
The Vendetta Image
The Vendetta
Bartoli
Order of the Daisy Image
Order of the Daisy
L'inspecteur Maurice Leloup
Les 100 vies de Francis Blanche Image
Les 100 vies de Francis Blanche
Self (archive footage)
Les Livreurs Image
Les Livreurs
Félix
The Big Scare Image
The Big Scare
Clémentine chérie Image
Clémentine chérie
Nuisance at the Miss ceremony (uncredited)
Who Stole the Body? Image
Who Stole the Body?
Édouard
Alice au pays des merveilles Image
Alice au pays des merveilles
King of hearts
The Men in the Family Image
The Men in the Family
Strumberger
Adieu Berthe Image
Adieu Berthe
Léo Bertold
Le bourgeois gentil mec Image
Le bourgeois gentil mec
Spinosa
Ces messieurs de la gâchette Image
Ces messieurs de la gâchette
Marco Lombardi
La Dernière Bourrée à Paris Image
La Dernière Bourrée à Paris
Gaston Payrac
The Big Wash Image
The Big Wash
Doctor Loupioc
Requiem pour un caïd Image
Requiem pour un caïd
Émile aka 'le Boxeur'
Un merveilleux parfum d'oseille Image
Un merveilleux parfum d'oseille
Loïc de Kerfuntel
Les malabars sont au parfum Image
Les malabars sont au parfum
Ivanov
OK Patron Image
OK Patron
Victor Hutin, Sophie's father
Du mou dans la gâchette Image
Du mou dans la gâchette
La Prudence
Trust Me! Image
Trust Me!
Nicolas
Qu'est-ce qui fait courir les crocodiles ? Image
Qu'est-ce qui fait courir les crocodiles ?
Hector Grogenol
Racconti romani di una ex-novizia Image
Racconti romani di una ex-novizia
Pietro l'Aretino
Too Late to Love Image
Too Late to Love
Camille, le patron du bistrot
Match contre la mort Image
Match contre la mort
Mr. Pascal
Honoré de Marseille Image
Honoré de Marseille
Pasquale Marchetti
Il furto è l'anima del commercio!?... Image
Il furto è l'anima del commercio!?...
Sigfrid
Les pieds nickelés Image
Les pieds nickelés
Commissaire Lenoir
The Killer is Listening Image
The Killer is Listening
Self
The Real Bargain Image
The Real Bargain
Paul Souflé
I. You. They. Image
I. You. They.
Darbon, le galeriste
Par le sang des autres Image
Par le sang des autres
Doctor
Say it with Flowers Image
Say it with Flowers
La Grande Maffia Image
La Grande Maffia
Modeste Miette
I've Had It Image
I've Had It
Mr. de Chatiez
Ils ont vingt ans Image
Ils ont vingt ans
Michel Barbarin
The Great Gadget Image
The Great Gadget
Copec
The Girl of a Thousand Months Image
The Girl of a Thousand Months
Commendator Borgioli
Good Enough to Eat Image
Good Enough to Eat
Gilles
Poussez pas grand-père dans les cactus Image
Poussez pas grand-père dans les cactus
Alphonse Ramier / Al Gregor
Midnight... Quai de Bercy Image
Midnight... Quai de Bercy
M. Boulay, l'épicier libidineux
Les gros malins Image
Les gros malins
Francis Bertolde aka 'Le book'
The Little Professor Image
The Little Professor
General overseer
Scandal Man Image
Scandal Man
Paluche
The Motorcycle Cops Image
The Motorcycle Cops
His Excellency Curacagua
Le Olimpiadi dei mariti Image
Le Olimpiadi dei mariti
Are You Engaged to a Greek Sailor or an Airline Pilot? Image
Are You Engaged to a Greek Sailor or an Airline Pilot?
Maurice Gombaud
A Dog, A Mouse and a Sputnik Image
A Dog, A Mouse and a Sputnik
Chazot
The Indestructible Image
The Indestructible
Francis Blanchard
Snobs! Image
Snobs!
Morloch
Easy Come Easy Go Image
Easy Come Easy Go
Félix
No Image
House of Sin
Blanchin
The Sad Sack Image
The Sad Sack
Jean du Bois d'Ombelles
We Like It Cold Image
We Like It Cold
von Krussendorf
Les baratineurs Image
Les baratineurs
Louis Dujardin
Long Live the Duke! Image
Long Live the Duke!
Accroche-toi, y'a du vent! Image
Accroche-toi, y'a du vent!
Capitano Fornace
The Sleeping Sentinel Image
The Sleeping Sentinel
Constant
Little Girls and High Finance Image
Little Girls and High Finance
Le Solitaire Image
Le Solitaire
Norbert
The Abominable Man of Customs Image
The Abominable Man of Customs
Arnakos
The Terror with Cross-Eyes Image
The Terror with Cross-Eyes
Commissioner Pigna
Aux frais de la princesse Image
Aux frais de la princesse
Achille
Les Jambes en l'air Image
Les Jambes en l'air
Hugon
Le canard en fer blanc Image
Le canard en fer blanc
Le docteur Grego
La Polka des menottes Image
La Polka des menottes
un voisin
The Great Java Image
The Great Java
Auguste Kougloff / Augustin Colombani
Le pillole di Ercole Image
Le pillole di Ercole
Augusto
Pas de caviar pour tante Olga Image
Pas de caviar pour tante Olga
Dufour
Faites donc plaisir aux amis Image
Faites donc plaisir aux amis
Maximiliano
The Hideout Image
The Hideout
Edouard
Les enquiquineurs Image
Les enquiquineurs
Monsieur Achille Eloy
Frédérica Image
Frédérica
Ami de Gilbert
The Stud Image
The Stud
Tax collector Dupuis
The Bear Image
The Bear
Chappuis
A Whale That Had a Toothache Image
A Whale That Had a Toothache
Francis
No Image
Actualités télérévisées
Presenter
Life is beautiful Image
Life is beautiful
un voisin
Pierre Dac et Francis Blanche : Le Meilleur du Parti d'en Rire Image
Pierre Dac et Francis Blanche : Le Meilleur du Parti d'en Rire
Lui-même