Comedian Jacques Frantz, French voice of De Niro, has died

Jacques Frantz, in 2011 in Grignan.

-

He was the French voice of Robert De Niro for half a century: the actor and comedian Jacques Frantz died on Wednesday at the age of 73, "of a dazzling illness", his daughter announced in a press release sent to the AFP.

Jacques Frantz made his debut in the theater in 1969 with "Romeo and Juliet" and has appeared in around thirty plays.

This former student of the Conservatory of Dramatic Art has also led a career in cinema, in about thirty films, with Claude Chabrol, Gérard Oury or Claude Zidi.

"A dubbing giant"

He was a dubbing figure, for having lent his husky voice in French to Robert de Niro in particular, in 67 films, including Martin Scorsese's greatest classics, from "Mean Streets" in 1973 to "The Irishman" in 2019 , via "Les Affranchis".

He has also dubbed other Hollywood stars like Mel Gibson (34 times, most notably in "Lethal Weapon"), John Goodman, Nick Nolte, and Steve Martin, and appeared in numerous animated films ("Arthur and the Minimoys ”).

"He was a dubbing giant, but above all a great actor," Rémi Caremel, a specialist in film dubbing, told AFP.

• Robert de niro

• Cinema