The return of Pierre Richard, the last giant of popular cinema

He first visited Gruissan, a small seaside resort located about fifteen kilometers south of Narbonne, in 1986. It was completely by chance, out of boredom, for lack of anything better. Pierre Richard was in the Aude region with his private secretary. To kill time, to do something with his weekend, he decided to explore the region.

That year, after the success of Francis Veber's The Fugitives, starring Gérard Depardieu, the actor was at the top of his game. At the time, he had already been a fixture in French comedy for almost two decades. Having become famous in 1970 with The Distracted Man, which he directed and starred in, the Tall Blond Man was, without really realizing it—like other great burlesque actors who had reached the age limit, such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, or Jacques Tati—preparing to end his reign, at least at the top of the box office.

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