French actor Pierre Richard (1934) became popular as a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films of the 1970s. Richard is best known internationally as the star of the zany spy farce Le Grand Blond Avec Une Chassure Noire / The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1972) and for his hilarious comedies with Gérard Dépardieu. He also wrote and directed several films himself.
East German postcard by Progress Film-Verleih, Berlin, no. 161/78.
French postcard by La Roue Tourne, Paris.
Pierre Richard was born Pierre Richard Maurice Charles Leopold Defays in Valenciennes, France, in 1934. His family was upper-class with an embarrassing wealth of middle names. He started his acting career at the theatre and built up his trade at the Paris Music Hall. In 1958, he made his film debut in a small, uncredited part in the French-Italian drama Les Amants de Montparnasse / The Lovers of Montparnasse (Jacques Becker, 1958), which chronicles the last year of the life of the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani (Gérard Philipe), who worked and died in poverty in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris.
Ten years later, the comedy Alexandre le bienheureux / Very Happy Alexander (Yves Robert, 1968) followed, starring Philippe Noiret, in which Richard played a secondary role towards the end of the plot. Two years later, he directed and starred in the comedy Le Distrait / The Daydreamer (Pierre Richard, 1970), co-starring Marie-Christine Barrault and Bernard Blier. The film combines elements of Slapstick, Horror, and romantic comedy. Richard plays Pierre Malaquet, an eccentric and extremely absent-minded advertising manager.
The comedy Les malheurs d'Alfred / The Troubles of Alfred (Pierre Richard, 1972) followed two years later. Alfred (Pierre Richard) is an unemployed architect who is incredibly unlucky, and when he tries to commit suicide, he meets a female television presenter (Anny Duperey) who is pursued by the same misfortune.
That same year, he had his international breakthrough with the comedy hit Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire / The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1972), directed by Yves Robert and written by Francis Veber. Richard played a naive, innocent concert musician plucked by chance to become a superspy on a top-secret mission. The same team also made the sequel, Le retour du grand blond / The Return of the Tall Blond Man (Yves Robert, 1974). Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire was remade in English as The Man with One Red Shoe (Stan Dragoti, 1985) with Tom Hanks.
Richard also appeared in several other comedies, frequently teamed with Aldo Maccione. Gary Brumburgh at IMDb: “Certainly one of France's supreme farceurs in the classic tradition (...) His characters often have taken on a hilariously guileless persona and, coupled with his innate gift for klutzy physical comedy, have become an audience favourite for nearly four decades.”
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.
German autograph card by Kino, ca. 1989.
Francis Veber cast Pierre Richard while directing his own first feature film: Le Jouet / The Toy (Francis Veber, 1976) with Michel Bouquet. The film was remade in Hollywood as The Toy (Richard Donner, 1982) starring Richard Pryor. Veber and Richard had a long and successful partnership during the 1980s, highlighted by three comedies – La Chèvre / Knock on Wood (Francis Veber, 1981), Les Compères / ComDads (Francis Veber, 1983) and Les Fugitifs / The Fugitives (Francis Veber, 1986) – which paired Richard as a comic duo with Gérard Depardieu.
All three comedies were remade in Hollywood, the latter as Three Fugitives (1989), also directed by Veber and starring Nick Nolte and Martin Short. However, the many Hollywood remakes and imitations of the films with Richard mostly paled compared to the originals. Pierre Richard again moved behind the camera to direct On peut toujours rêver / One Can Always Dream (1991) and Droit dans le mur / Straight into the Wall (1997), a dramatic commercial and critical failure. In 2006 the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma awarded him a lifetime achievement César.
Richard remained productive in the cinema, and appeared in such films as Et si on vivait tous ensemble? / All Together (Stéphane Robelin, 2011) with Geraldine Chaplin and Jane Fonda, and the drag comedy Mme Mills, une voisine si parfaite / Mrs. Mills (Sophie Marceau, 2018) as the neighbour of Sophie Marceau. In 2023, he co-starred in the French historical drama Jeanne du Barry (Maïwenn, 2023) with Maïwenn and Johnny Depp in the leading roles. That year, he also appeared in the fifth instalment in the Asterix live-action film series, Astérix et Obélix: L'Empire du Milieu / Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (Guillaume Canet, 2023).
In addition to being an actor and film director, Pierre Richard is also a businessman. He owned the restaurant Au pied de chameau in Paris and a 50-hectare vineyard in southern France, which produces some 80,000 bottles per year (red and rosé), under the label 'Château Bel Évêque'. One cuvée is named 'Blondus Ricardus'. He delegated the management of the estate to his sister and then entrusted it to his son in 2019. In 2024, Pierre Richard, approaching his 90th birthday, shot his eighth film, L'Homme qui a vu l'ours qui a vu l'homme / The Man Who Saw the Bear Who Saw the Man (Pierre Richard, 2025), nearly thirty years after his last film. It tells the story of the friendship between an old fisherman living as a hermit and a young boy with Asperger's syndrome, both nature lovers, who take in a bear that has escaped from a circus. The 2025 Cannes Film Festival paid tribute to Pierre Richard and screened his new film in the Special Screenings section as a preview. The comedian received a triumphant welcome from festivalgoers. Even the photographers applauded him as he climbed the steps.
In 1960, Pierre Richard married Danielle Minazzoli, a dancer he met at the Dullin dance school. She would later become an actress, and he would work with her on several occasions. They had two sons: Olivier and Christoph, who are both musicians. Olivier is a group member of Blues Trottoir and plays the saxophone, whereas Christophe plays the double bass. Olivier also accompanied his father on stage in the play 'Franchise postale' and is managing director of the Pierre Richard Wines company. After his divorce, Richard lived on a barge on the Seine in the centre of Paris. In 1986, he became the owner of Château Bel Évêque, the above-mentioned wine estate located in Gruissan, in the Aude region. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Richard was in a relationship with actress and makeup artist Muriel Dubrulle. Since 1996, he has been in a relationship with Ceyla Lacerda, a Brazilian entrepreneur and former model. He had six grandchildren, including Arthur Defays, a model and actor, and Maë Defays, a soul and jazz singer.
Trailer for Le Jouet / The Toy (1976). Source: Slava Batareykin (YouTube).
Sources: Sandra Brennan (AllMovie - Page now defunct), Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Wikipedia (English and French) and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 18 July 2026.
East German postcard by Progress Film-Verleih, Berlin, no. 161/78.
French postcard by La Roue Tourne, Paris.
A naive superspy on a top secret mission
Pierre Richard was born Pierre Richard Maurice Charles Leopold Defays in Valenciennes, France, in 1934. His family was upper-class with an embarrassing wealth of middle names. He started his acting career at the theatre and built up his trade at the Paris Music Hall. In 1958, he made his film debut in a small, uncredited part in the French-Italian drama Les Amants de Montparnasse / The Lovers of Montparnasse (Jacques Becker, 1958), which chronicles the last year of the life of the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani (Gérard Philipe), who worked and died in poverty in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris.
Ten years later, the comedy Alexandre le bienheureux / Very Happy Alexander (Yves Robert, 1968) followed, starring Philippe Noiret, in which Richard played a secondary role towards the end of the plot. Two years later, he directed and starred in the comedy Le Distrait / The Daydreamer (Pierre Richard, 1970), co-starring Marie-Christine Barrault and Bernard Blier. The film combines elements of Slapstick, Horror, and romantic comedy. Richard plays Pierre Malaquet, an eccentric and extremely absent-minded advertising manager.
The comedy Les malheurs d'Alfred / The Troubles of Alfred (Pierre Richard, 1972) followed two years later. Alfred (Pierre Richard) is an unemployed architect who is incredibly unlucky, and when he tries to commit suicide, he meets a female television presenter (Anny Duperey) who is pursued by the same misfortune.
That same year, he had his international breakthrough with the comedy hit Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire / The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1972), directed by Yves Robert and written by Francis Veber. Richard played a naive, innocent concert musician plucked by chance to become a superspy on a top-secret mission. The same team also made the sequel, Le retour du grand blond / The Return of the Tall Blond Man (Yves Robert, 1974). Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire was remade in English as The Man with One Red Shoe (Stan Dragoti, 1985) with Tom Hanks.
Richard also appeared in several other comedies, frequently teamed with Aldo Maccione. Gary Brumburgh at IMDb: “Certainly one of France's supreme farceurs in the classic tradition (...) His characters often have taken on a hilariously guileless persona and, coupled with his innate gift for klutzy physical comedy, have become an audience favourite for nearly four decades.”
Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.
German autograph card by Kino, ca. 1989.
One can always dream
Francis Veber cast Pierre Richard while directing his own first feature film: Le Jouet / The Toy (Francis Veber, 1976) with Michel Bouquet. The film was remade in Hollywood as The Toy (Richard Donner, 1982) starring Richard Pryor. Veber and Richard had a long and successful partnership during the 1980s, highlighted by three comedies – La Chèvre / Knock on Wood (Francis Veber, 1981), Les Compères / ComDads (Francis Veber, 1983) and Les Fugitifs / The Fugitives (Francis Veber, 1986) – which paired Richard as a comic duo with Gérard Depardieu.
All three comedies were remade in Hollywood, the latter as Three Fugitives (1989), also directed by Veber and starring Nick Nolte and Martin Short. However, the many Hollywood remakes and imitations of the films with Richard mostly paled compared to the originals. Pierre Richard again moved behind the camera to direct On peut toujours rêver / One Can Always Dream (1991) and Droit dans le mur / Straight into the Wall (1997), a dramatic commercial and critical failure. In 2006 the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma awarded him a lifetime achievement César.
Richard remained productive in the cinema, and appeared in such films as Et si on vivait tous ensemble? / All Together (Stéphane Robelin, 2011) with Geraldine Chaplin and Jane Fonda, and the drag comedy Mme Mills, une voisine si parfaite / Mrs. Mills (Sophie Marceau, 2018) as the neighbour of Sophie Marceau. In 2023, he co-starred in the French historical drama Jeanne du Barry (Maïwenn, 2023) with Maïwenn and Johnny Depp in the leading roles. That year, he also appeared in the fifth instalment in the Asterix live-action film series, Astérix et Obélix: L'Empire du Milieu / Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (Guillaume Canet, 2023).
In addition to being an actor and film director, Pierre Richard is also a businessman. He owned the restaurant Au pied de chameau in Paris and a 50-hectare vineyard in southern France, which produces some 80,000 bottles per year (red and rosé), under the label 'Château Bel Évêque'. One cuvée is named 'Blondus Ricardus'. He delegated the management of the estate to his sister and then entrusted it to his son in 2019. In 2024, Pierre Richard, approaching his 90th birthday, shot his eighth film, L'Homme qui a vu l'ours qui a vu l'homme / The Man Who Saw the Bear Who Saw the Man (Pierre Richard, 2025), nearly thirty years after his last film. It tells the story of the friendship between an old fisherman living as a hermit and a young boy with Asperger's syndrome, both nature lovers, who take in a bear that has escaped from a circus. The 2025 Cannes Film Festival paid tribute to Pierre Richard and screened his new film in the Special Screenings section as a preview. The comedian received a triumphant welcome from festivalgoers. Even the photographers applauded him as he climbed the steps.
In 1960, Pierre Richard married Danielle Minazzoli, a dancer he met at the Dullin dance school. She would later become an actress, and he would work with her on several occasions. They had two sons: Olivier and Christoph, who are both musicians. Olivier is a group member of Blues Trottoir and plays the saxophone, whereas Christophe plays the double bass. Olivier also accompanied his father on stage in the play 'Franchise postale' and is managing director of the Pierre Richard Wines company. After his divorce, Richard lived on a barge on the Seine in the centre of Paris. In 1986, he became the owner of Château Bel Évêque, the above-mentioned wine estate located in Gruissan, in the Aude region. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Richard was in a relationship with actress and makeup artist Muriel Dubrulle. Since 1996, he has been in a relationship with Ceyla Lacerda, a Brazilian entrepreneur and former model. He had six grandchildren, including Arthur Defays, a model and actor, and Maë Defays, a soul and jazz singer.
Trailer for Le Jouet / The Toy (1976). Source: Slava Batareykin (YouTube).
Sources: Sandra Brennan (AllMovie - Page now defunct), Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Wikipedia (English and French) and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 18 July 2026.
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