Several hundred people paid a final tribute on Wednesday to the actor and singer Guy Marchand, at Mollégès, a picturesque village in the Alpilles (Bouches-du-Rhône) where he lived in recent years. After a religious ceremony in the Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens church in Mollégès, long applause punctuated the placement in the funeral vehicle of the coffin of the former detective of Nestor Burmawho died in Cavaillon (Vaucluse) on December 15.
A photo of the artist playing the clarinet, one of his favorite instruments, accompanied by one of his hats, was placed on the coffin. “What did I like about him? Everything… the physique, the voice. He knew how to do everything. He was such a brilliant man, a good crooner, a good artist,” said 76-year-old admirer Suzette Ricciotti. Others regretted the absence of personalities during the funeral, like Mireille and Alain Bouterin, admirers of the singer: “We are very sad to see that no one from showbiz accompanied this great gentleman, who was still a great actor and a great singer, a great musician, a very beautiful person.”
“He was a man who helped everyone”
Several of the musician friends of the author of Destiny, The Passionata or I am Tango were present to make this gathering a “joyful and festive” moment, as requested by her children, Ludivine and Jules Marchand. “He’s a man with a heart like that. And today, I’m the one who left with him. He was a man who helped everyone,” said “Mickey,” his bodyguard for forty-five years, with emotion.
In addition to his career as a singer, Guy Marchand has several nominations for the César for Best Supporting Role. He won this award once, in 1982, when he played one of the police officers of Jail by Claude Miller, where Lino Ventura plays the main role. He had appeared in many feature films, including comedies, such as The Under-Gifted on vacation And Ripoux versus ripoux by Claude Zidi, Little Con by Gérard Lauzier, My wife… is called Maurice by Jean-Marie Poiré and appeared in the series Ten percent And The Minute Old.