“He was a man of simplicity…”: When Jean Lefebvre paid tribute to the legendary actor of French cinema.

Jean Lefebvre always respected those who celebrated his career, and among the great stars he admired was Bourville. The Tontons flingueurs actor was full of praise for Antoine Maréchal’s interpreter at Le Corniaud, as evidenced by an excerpt of this interview available on the site. TikTok :

“He told me something that really surprised me”

“He was a simple person who didn’t take himself too seriously. I loved Burville because he said something to me that really affected me. He said, ‘I never thought I’d be on the stage where I am.’ They also give us a lot of joy.”

Lefebvre toured three times with the star of La Grande Vadrouille. The first time was in 1958 in Marc Alegre’s Funny Week, where Lefebvre plays only the receiving role and where Burville directs opposite Daniel Darrieu. Then there was Moonlight in Maubeuge by Jean Chérasse (1962), but the two men do not meet on screen, and finally the lesser-known Three Children… in Chaos by Leo Joannon (1966), in which they are finally tied at the top of the bill.

A bit more mingling, including a shoot in the canteen:

“Burville never ate at the diner”

“One wonderful thing was: he never ate in the dining room. He came with a bowl. I asked him why he didn’t come to the dining room. He replied, “Because I only eat my wife’s food, because she cooks me extraordinary food, and you can understand why. You’re not going to eat in the dining room tomorrow, the next day I’m going to make a bowl”. bowls and I must admit I had an extraordinary dinner.”