Death Notice (4): Michel Modo

Today let's devote some time to commemorate an actor whose name is probably unknown to most of you, although I'm sure you did see him in a movie. Michel Modo passed away on 25 September 2008 in a great indifference from the media — I even heard about his death just a couple of days ago, as I was on my way to Belgium, my mum telling me about news I could perhaps not heard of. Michel Modo was a comedian who formed a duo with (the late) Guy Grosso to become "Grosso & Modo"… Louis de Funès noticed them and gave them roles in the Le Gendarme… series from 1964 to 1982; they played Tricard and Berlicot. Michel Modo notably starred in On a retrouvé la Septième Compagnie as a German soldier ordering Tassin (Henri Guibet) and Pitivier (the late Jean Lefebvre) to "rester groupir":



He played another German soldier in La Grande Vadrouille (definitely one of my personal favourites as it comes to French films), this time having a squint:



(Michel Modo appears at 7:30 in this video.)

For a more exhaustive filmography, I refer you to the Wikipedia entry.

But for me his death leaves a big mark on French dubbing, for he lent his voice for the French version of films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit (voice of R.K. Maroon, played by Alan Tilvern), Bean (dubbing George Grierson, played by Harris Yulin) as well as The Simpsons. Indeed, he was in charge of giving life to many a character, among whom: Seymour Skinner, Charles Montgomery Burns, Krusty, Clancy Wiggum, Dr. Hibbert, Marvin Monroe, Kent Brockman, Joe Quimby, Slideshow Mel and Slideshow Bob.

As Halloween was just a couple of days ago I found it appropriate to show you a "Treehouse of Horror": Treehouse of Horror XVIII:


As Michel Modo died, season 19 was in the process of being dubbed, so he was replaced in the five last episodes by Gérald Rinaldi, another renown voice actor — he notably lent his voice to the dino guard that gets eaten by raptors in Jurassic Park, Tim Curry in Home Alone 2, Jeroen Krabbé in The Fugitive and Mercredi in Robinson Sucroë… (And he was part of Les Charlots, famous for the song "Merci patron !" among others.) Michel Modo gave a very unique voice to the aforementioned characters, something that makes me love the French version — although I'm fond of the original version as well.

In order for you to make an opinion about Krusty and other's new voices, please watch Apocalypse Cow (or 'Tragédie bovine', (unproper) French title), from Series 19, episode 15.

Louis de Funès Grinning

Louis de Funès is probably the most famous French actor ever. If you search for "Louis de Funès" on YouTube, you're gonna find videos in French, in German, in Italian, in Spanish, etc. (Mostly the Germans love him — don't ask me why.)

He's known as a comedian, he actually never played in dramas. His most famous parts were in the Gendarmes series, in which he plays a policeman established in Saint-Tropez, the well-known "fishing village" (most known today as the place-to-be for jet-setters) in the South of France. Six Gendarme films were made. The first four were excellent, the last two were crappy (don't watch them, then!). What I wanted to show you is a scene taken from the fourth movie, Le Gendarme en balade.

Let's first situate the scene. The French government had decided to have a younger generation of gendarmes, so that the old team was forced to retire. The team that we see in the films consists of:
– Ludovic Cruchot (Louis de Funès)
– Warrant officer Gerber (Michel Galabru)
– Merlot (Christian Marin)
– Fougasse (Jean Lefebre)
– Tricard (Guy Grosso)
– Berlicard (Michel Modo)

I also have to say that Cruchot got married to a rich woman from the nobility (Claude Gensac). That is the reason why he lives in a big castle.

In the following scene, a priest, whose chapel roof was blown by the wind, pays a visit to Madame Cruchot, in order to ask for $ome help to cover the co$t$ of repair$. Then Cruchot tries making a fool of the priest whilst his wife is talking about the importance of being generous…



Tomorrow: other extracts illustrating De Funès' genius.