On January 27, 1983, the talented actor, Louis de Funès, died at the age of 68 following a heart attack. Eight years after his disappearance, the star of La Grande Vadrouille had already suffered two heart attacks that occurred while he was with his second wife, Jeanne Augustine Barthélemy.
In the book Do not talk too much about me, children, written by his two sons Patrick and Olivier de Funès and published by Le Cherche-Midi editions, we learned more about the circumstances of his heart attack. While the actor was having a great success with the film Rabbi Jacob, the insurance companies had pushed him to consult a doctor before considering the filming of the film The Crocodile. The latter agreed that Louis de Funès had “a young man’s heart”. A diagnosis far from the feelings of the actor who sometimes felt pain in the chest. According to specialists, it was simply aerophagia.
However, “one morning in March 1975”, three days after consulting a doctor, the actor suffered “terrible pain in the chest” so that he “holds his chest with both hands”. His wife, present at his side, then contacts a cardiologist who tells him that it is aerophagia. “Without waiting for her husband to burst like a balloon, she hung up on him and called the fire department,” the book reads. A few moments later, the Samu comes to meet them and packs the actor “like a sausage” before transferring him to intensive care at the hospital.
After gradually recovering from this heart attack, Louis de Funès seems to be recovering as the days go by. His wife, Jeanne, can now sleep in her hospital room. While the Easter weekend caused the hospital staff to desert, Louis de Funès was once again the victim of a crisis. As his wife prepares to go out to dinner, the actor then asks her to stay by his side, which she does. A few moments later, “he no longer responds. His face is tense. The device to which he is connected starts ringing”.
Panicked, she calls an intern on duty and the nurses who “are of no help”. It is only after having contacted the assistant who was “in the countryside” that directives are taken and that the state of health of Louis de Funès finally stabilizes. “Without his intervention, without the assistance of the caregiver, the career and life of Louis de Funès stopped on Easter evening 1975”, recall the children of the actor.
