The businessman and actor Bernard Tapie died this Sunday, October 3 at the age of 78. He had filmed for Claude Lelouch and was the hero of the series “Commissioner Valence”.
French politician and businessman Bernard Tapie died this Sunday, October 3 at the age of 78 from cancer. Although this was not his main profession, he also lived a career as an actor in the theater, on television but also on the big screen.
In the early 1970s, Tapie, still a young businessman, met filmmaker Claude Lelouch. Impressed by the stature and outspokenness of Bernard Tapie, the director is considering hiring him to play the role that Aldo Maccione will ultimately play in L’Aventure c’est l’Aventure. However, the businessman preferred at the time to devote himself entirely to his business and declined Claude Lelouch’s offer.
Muscular lawyer for Claude Lelouch
Lelouch and Tapie did not meet again until 20 years later, in 1995, to shoot Men, Women, Instructions. The director entrusts him with the role of Benoît Blanc, a lawyer with muscular methods, close to the character of Tapie. The neo-actor will only return to the stage in 2003 to lend his stature to Commissioner Valence, a TF1 series. He will hold this role for 4 seasons until 2008.
At the same time, the actor also devotes himself to the theater, notably starring in the plays Flight over a cuckoo’s nest and Oscar. He also plays in the TV films Cazas and Un beau salaud. His last role on the boards dates back to 2012 (Roller coasters by Eric Assous). Since 2017, the actor and businessman has been fighting against stomach cancer with extension on the esophagus.
Bernard Tapie in “Men, women, manual”:
