72 Years Ago This Actor Debuted in Film, Now He’s Iconic—Recognize His First Role?

French actor Michel Galabru, who won the César for Best Actor for his role in “Le Juge et l’assassin” and was awarded the Molière in 2008 for the play Les Chaussettes-Opus 124, is also famously known as the chief warrant officer Gerber in the “Gendarmes de Saint-Tropez” series alongside his friend Louis de Funès.

But are you familiar with his very first film role?

Did You Recognize Him?

It was 1954 when Michel Galabru appeared in Marcel Pagnol’s “Les Lettres de mon moulin”. He featured in the third segment of the film, “Le Secret de Maître Cornille”. At that time credited as “Michel Galabru de la Comédie-Française”, he played a character who is seen playing cards and bringing wheat to Cornille’s mill.

It’s worth noting that Galabru would return to Pagnol’s works on television in Georges Folgoas’s “Cigalon” (1975) and later in “La Femme du boulanger” (2010), as well as on stage in Jules et Marcel, a play based on the correspondence between Raimu and Marcel Pagnol (2010).

“Les Lettres de mon moulin” is technically not THE first film of Michel Galabru, as he had appeared as an extra playing a firefighter in “La Bataille du feu” (1949), had a role as a hotel receptionist in “Dernière heure, édition spéciale” (1949) and an unspecified role in “Ma femme, ma vache et moi” (1952). Unfortunately, since these films are not available, we focus on “Les Lettres de mon moulin”, his fourth feature film.

What Came After His Work with Pagnol?

Galabru left the Comédie-Française in 1957 and, while continuing his work on stage, took on numerous dramatic roles for television, securing his first major role in “Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez”, where he was the second lead behind Louis de Funès. The success of this series was immense and kickstarted his film career.

Apart from the “Gendarme” series, “Monsieur le Président Directeur Général”, and “Les Pieds nickelés”, his roles during the 1960s were often secondary. It was only from the 1970s onwards that his name frequently topped the bill several times a year, often in popular comedies, some of which he filmed to pay for his vacations, settle his taxes, or reunite with friends like Darry Cowl, Alice Sapritch, or Paul Préboist.

Galabru played a variety of roles throughout his long career, and his last film appearance was in “Les Invincibles” in 2013. Remaining active in theater in his later years, he appeared in an episode of “Nos chers voisins”, and played himself in Edouard Baer’s “Ouvert la nuit” (2016). He passed away on January 4, 2016, at the age of 93.

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