Guy Marchand

Guy Marchand

1937-05-22 – 2023-12-15 (age 86) Paris, France
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Biography

Guy Marchand (22 May 1937 – 15 December 2023) was a French actor, musician, and singer. He appeared in over 100 films in over 30 years, but was best known for his role as the fictional television private detective Nestor Burma.

Guy Émile Marchand was born in Paris, 19th arrondissement, the son of a scrap merchant and a housewife and grew up in Belleville, during the Occupation and contracted tuberculosis at the age of ten. Spending time in Sarthe in the country he learned to ride and kept a love of horses throughout his life. In Paris, he regularly went to the Danube cinema. While at the Lycée Voltaire secondary school in Paris he played the clarinet in night clubs in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

His military service was in an airborne troops division at the École des troupes aéroportées (BETAP) in Pau, becoming a sous-lieutenant – parachutist. He was assigned to the 3rd foreign infantry regiment as liaison officier during the Algerian war. As a parachute officer he was an advisor for the film Le Jour le plus long and entered the world of cinema. He made around 60 parachute jumps in his life.

His first success however was as a crooner, with a popular hit of 1965 La Passionata, followed by other albums and singles.

His film career mainly saw him in supporting roles; an inspector opposite Lino Ventura in Garde à vue, by Claude Miller won him a César in 1982 and the same year he was in Nestor Burma, détective de choc, by Jean-Luc Miesch, where Michel Serrault took the title role, but which Marchand later interpreted for over ten years in the television series Nestor Burma.

Other important roles included Coup de torchon by Bertrand Tavernier (1981), with Philippe Noiret, Cousin, Cousine, by Jean-Charles Tacchella (1975), and a cynical provincial garage man in L'été en pente douce, by Gérard Krawczyk (1987).

He published an autobiography entitled Le Guignol des Buttes-Chaumont in 2007 in which he wrote of his childhood, experiences in Algeria, his singing career and love for cars. Marchand died in Cavaillon on 15 December 2023, at the age of 86.

Description above from the Wikipedia article  Guy Marchand, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Known For

The Longest Day
The Longest Day

1962

as Parachutist (uncredited)

Deadly Circuit
Deadly Circuit

1983

as The pale man

Dear Inspector
Dear Inspector

1978

as Beretti

Just to Be Sure
Just to Be Sure

2017

as Bastien Gourmelon

The Inquisitor
The Inquisitor

1981

as Inspector Marcel Belmont

Rum Runners
Rum Runners

1971

as Ronald / The Actor

Coup de Torchon
Coup de Torchon

1981

as Marcel Chavasson

Loulou
Loulou

1980

as André

Hold-up
Hold-up

1985

as Georges

My New Partner II
My New Partner II

1990

as Guy Brisson

L'été en pente douce
L'été en pente douce

1987

as André Voke

Tout nous sourit
Tout nous sourit

2021

as Henri Pottier

Les Sous-Doués En Vacances
Les Sous-Doués En Vacances

1982

as Jean-Louis Glomot dit Paul Memphis

A Gorgeous Kid Like Me
A Gorgeous Kid Like Me

1972

as Sam Golden

Wide Load
Wide Load

2019

as Le producteur

Country Cabaret
Country Cabaret

2022

as Léo

My Wife's Name Is Maurice
My Wife's Name Is Maurice

2002

as Charles Boisdain

Trois jours en juin
Trois jours en juin

2005

as Edmond Valadon

L'Hôtel de la plage
L'Hôtel de la plage

1978

as Hubert Delambre

Widow's Walk
Widow's Walk

1987

as Inspector Leroyer