(1944-1986)
Actor, director, and screenwriter. Born Michel Colucci, Coluche was an acclaimed stand-up comedian and beloved actor. He performed live in the nightclub Café de la Gare with Romain Bouteille, Miou Miou, and Patrick Dewaere, and created his own theater troupe, Au vrai chic parisien. He also worked alongside celebrities such as Josiane Balasko and Thierry Lhermitte in the Splendid Troupe.
In the 1970s, his stand-up performances drew large crowds. His film acting career began with Claude Berri's Le pistonné (1970). He often collaborated with the famous comedy director Claude Zidi, playing leading roles in the popular L'Aile ou la cuisse (1976), Inspecteur la bavure (1980), and Banzai (1983). He played smaller roles in Zidi's Le Grand Bazar (1973) and Les Rois du gag (1985). Coluche's fame only increased when he ran for president of France in 1980.
Though he is popularly remembered for his comic roles, Coluche was a talented actor in more serious films. He won a César for Best Actor for his performance in Berri's drama Tchao Pantin in 1984. He also starred in Berri's comedies Le Maître d'école (1981) and La femme de mon pote (1983). Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he acted in many of France's most commercially successful films. He also directed one film in which he starred, Vous n'aurez pas l'Alsace et la Lorraine, in 1977. He played notable roles in Patrice Leconte's Les vécés étaient fermés de l'intérieur (1975), Jean Yanne's Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus Christ (1982), Italian director Dino Risi's Le Bon roi Dagobert (1984) and Scemo di guerra (1985), and Gérard Oury's La Vengeance du serpent à plumes (1984).
Coluche was the longtime companion of the actress Miou-Miou. He is almost as beloved in France for his charity work as for his comedy and film work, particularly on behalf of the homeless and hungry. He founded the charity Les Restos du Coeur. He died unexpectedly in a motorcycle accident, but has remained a cultural icon since his death.
Historical Dictionary of French Cinema by Dayna Oscherwitz & Mary Ellen Higgins
Guide to cinema. Academic. 2011.