- The tall blonde with the 90th birthday
Hardly any other actor is as intertwined with the title of his first major cinema hit as Pierre Richard (90). It has been over half a century since the French comedian celebrated his international breakthrough with the spy film parody "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe" in 1973, but in Germany, "The Tall Blond" remains an undisputed synonym for the artist.
It doesn't matter that Richard has since appeared in over 50 other films, his hair has turned snow-white, and as he joked in an interview with the "Badische Zeitung" a few years ago, he could now only be sent out as "The Tall Blond with the orthopedic shoe".
Breakthrough with "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe"
Pierre Richard's sudden worldwide fame with "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe" was largely due to the enthusiasm with which the eccentric spy comedy was received by the German audience. When the film premiered in French cinemas in December 1972, it enjoyed only modest success. It was only after the film, in a German dubbed version, took the cinemas by storm a year later that it developed into an international box office hit and finally made Pierre Richard a superstar in his home country as well.
Trapped in the comedic success spiral
"'The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe' made me famous worldwide, it changed everything," quotes "Deutschlandfunk Kultur" from the spectacular success. However, the role of the absurdly clumsy violinist who accidentally becomes the target of secret services in the film has fixed him for the rest of his life to such comedic roles. "Perhaps this success spiral with the comedies prevented me from thinking about the kind of cinema that really suits me," the elderly actor reflects in retrospect.
The cult around Pierre Richard and "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe" took on grotesque proportions, especially in Germany. In an effort to capitalize on the enormous success of this cinema hit at any cost, numerous other Richard comedies with German distribution titles that played on "the tall blond" followed, although they had no connection to the "original" in terms of content. These included "The Long Blond with the Red Hair" (1974), "The Gentleman with the Fast Feet" (1978), and "The Long Blond and the Little Black" (1975).
Career highlights with Gérard Depardieu
In the 1980s, Richard's career experienced another peak with several successful comedies alongside Gérard Depardieu (75). While Depardieu took on the role of the tough guy in "The Jerk and His Horse" (1981), "Two Madcap Lovers" (1983), and "The Fugitives" (1986), Richard once again reliably embodied the lovable bumbler that the audience associated with his name and expected from him.
Only in later years did Pierre Richard attempt to shed his image of the eternal bumbler and prove his talent in serious roles, such as in the tragic comedy "The Recipes of a Loving Cook" (1996) or the historical film "The Foundling" (2000). Although these films were received with general approval, they found less appeal with the audience than his action-packed comedies.
Despite continuing to direct films in the past three decades, only a few of them reached the German audience, with many not even released in cinemas here. Notable exceptions were the French-German comedy "And if we all lived together?" from 2011, in which Richard starred alongside Jane Fonda (86), Geraldine Chaplin (80), and Daniel Brühl (46), as well as the relationship comedy "Monsieur Pierre goes online" (2017).
Cannes comeback with Johnny Depp
Richard's status as a major figure, despite his advanced age, was evident at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, where he walked the red carpet alongside US superstar Johnny Depp (61) to present the opening film "Jeanne du Barry - The King's Favorite", in which both starred.
In an interview with the "Badische Zeitung," Pierre Richard jokingly admitted that he could now only be sent out as "The Tall Blond with the orthopedic shoe," referencing his iconic role from the film.
Despite his attempts to shed his comedic image and prove his talent in serious roles, Pierre Richard's career in Germany remains largely associated with the cult around "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe."
