Paris (AFP)

Legend of French dubbing, comedian Roger Carel, who died at the age of 93, has been the voice of iconic characters for a whole generation, from Asterix to Mickey, including the droid C-3PO from "Star Wars" and Winnie the Pooh.

Died on September 11, the actor was buried Thursday in the strictest privacy in Villejesus (Charente), his son Nicolas told AFP, confirming information from Le Parisien newspaper.

"We did not wish to communicate on his death, to preserve his wife, greatly upset," he explained daily.

Born Roger Bancharel on August 14, 1927, Roger Carel has lent his voice to many actors, from Jerry Lewis to Peter Sellers, and characters from films and cartoons, such as Asterix, Hercule Poirot or Alf.

"As soon as I discover the graphics of a character, I find his voice, the one that comes naturally from the drawing", he liked to tell.

After a brief stint in an engineering school, at the end of the 1940s, he became a student in the theater course of Andrée Bauer-Thérond, attended among others by Michel Piccoli and Anouk Aimée.

The young actor will make his debut in the theater and in radio serials where his singular voice with a mischievous tone, which he transforms at will, quickly makes him famous.

His vocal abilities, which allow him to interpret several characters in the same work, opened the door to the first cartoon studios.

In 1975, Disney even gave him the voice of the character of Jiminy Cricket in a new dub of "Pinocchio" by Hamilton Luske and Ben Sharpsteen.

- "Brilliant modulations" -

The announcement of his death sparked many reactions from the world of cinema in particular, to pay a last tribute to the "dubbing pope".

"Roger Carel ... 93 years for eternity. His voice, his voices, obviously! His multiple supporting roles, in the cinema and in the theater ... And then his intelligence, his humor, his deep humanity ... A man delicate and friendly ... A friend for 3 and almost 4 generations. Thank you, Mr. Carel "reacted on Twitter the President of the Cannes Film Festival, Pierre Lescure.

"He dubbed the voices of Charlot, Jack Lemmon and Peter Ustinov in French. His voice, which he transformed into brilliant modulations, allowed him to dub several Disney creatures in the same film. At 93 years old, death has vowed to silence the excellent Roger Carel, also an actor ", wrote Gilles Jacob, ex-president of the Festival.

"You will be missed by our childish souls," commented TV host Patrick Sébastien on Twitter.

Because he also dubbed renowned actors including Charlie Chaplin in "The Dictator", in 2012 he received the prestigious Henri-Langlois prize in the dubbing category.

The following year, then 85 years old, he retired.

"My recipe for a magic potion is this marvelous job that kept me going ... wonderfully. I had the chance to play a lot: theater, TV, dubbing ... When we have happiness, we age less quickly!" , he confided.

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