Paris (AFP)

Lover of spikes and rants, comedian Guy Bedos left Thursday at the age of 85, leaving behind fierce sketches, an unwavering commitment to the left and films like "We will all go to paradise ".

The death of this media character, with a black foot accent, sounds like the end of an era, after the disappearance Sunday of his friend, the lyricist and scriptwriter Jean-Loup Dabadie who notably wrote the sketch "Bonne fête Paulette ".

The two men had also collaborated on several films of Yves Robert in the Seventies, of which "An elephant that deceives enormously" and We will all go to the paradise ", celebrating the friendship.

"Kiss (Pierre) Desproges and Dabadie, since you are all in Paradise", wrote his son Nicolas, who announced his death on social networks.

Under a black and white photo, probably taken in the 70s, he paid him a vibrant tribute: "He was beautiful, he was funny, he was free and courageous. How proud I am to have had you for father" .

Anxious, with white hair with years and mischievous black eyes, Guy Bedos loved to play editorialists, attacking men of power and defending many causes dear to his heart.

- Convictions -

He "shared his humor and his convictions with the same sincerity and the same passion. We will remember in particular his great roles in cinema, his unforgettable shows and his free speech", estimated the Minister of Culture Franck Riester, putting forward the comedian's commitments.

Defender of undocumented migrants, activist for the right to housing, among others, Guy Bedos has also been a figure of anti-racism in France, often exercising his verve against the Le Pen family.

He "was the only one to be very committed in defending many causes, and at the same time he did not take himself seriously. For him, the serious was the cholesterol of the imagination," stressed to AFP Jean- Michel Ribes, director of the Rond-Point Theater, the last scene where Guy Bedos performed.

"He always said extremely strong things. We must not forget that he was blacklisted in Giscard d'Estaing's time," he recalled.

"He was someone free who did not belong to a camp even if he claimed ideological ties, and he was going to let go of everyone," added the theater man, Jean-Marc Dumontet at the microphone of RTL.

- Born in Algiers -

"We will remember all his commitments against injustice and racism and in favor of the dignity of all", praised SOS Racisme, of which he was one of the first sponsors, recalling also that he formed on stage a trio with the humorists Smaïn and Michel Boujenah in 1991 ("Sunburn at the Olympia") to denounce the tensions between communities.

Harlem Désir, founder of SOS Racisme, also expressed his "great sadness" by recalling "his presence with Coluche at the Concorde concert" organized by the association in 1985.

Dying with dignity praised the memory of a "very great activist", member of his Honorary Committee.

Pied noir born in Algiers in 1934, trained at the rue Blanche school in Paris, Guy Bedos first became known through biting sketches, in duet with Sophie Daumier whom he married, including the one devoted to the "dredge" which reveals them to the general public.

The consecration came in 1968 with only one on stage in Bobino, then roles on the big screen, including that of Simon, the mother's son (Jewish) who struggled to cut the cord and calmly finish his tennis games with friends.

He has also appeared in many comic shows, of which he is the author, goes to the Zenith, triumphs at the Olympia with Muriel Robin. They obtain Victory 93 from the humorist.

Married 3 times - with Karen Blanguernon, Sophie Daumier (deceased in 2003) and Joëlle Bercot -, he is the father of four children, Leslie, Mélanie, Victoria and Nicolas, a sharp pen before becoming a successful screenwriter and director ("La belle epoque" ").

© 2020 AFP