Louis de Funès

Biography

Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (French: [lwi d(ə) fynɛs]; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. According to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, he is France's favourite actor, having played over 150 roles in film and over 100 on stage. His acting style is remembered for its high-energy performance and his wide range of facial expressions and tics. A considerable part of his best-known acting was directed by Jean Girault.

The larger-than-life, conservative petit bourgeois characters he played, who typically kissed up to authority while persecuting their subordinates, particularly resonated with the changing Western societies of the 1960s and...