An immense actor, of film and theater, and it is not strange to place him next to a car because his life, or his two lives, that of the man and that of the interpreter, have in many cases been lived with a steering wheel in his hands and in a circuit
This passion for speed and the car could not have escaped her, incubated by her three pilot uncles who had been leaning on her cradle since her birth on December 11, 1930. Around her, her fairies are called Louis Trintignant, who commits suicide with his Bugatti Type 35 while training for the Picardie Grand Prix when Jean-Louis was three years old. There was also the other uncle, Henri, who led the French Grand Prix in 1936. And especially Maurice, the one for whom the term gentlemen driver was invented, who did 82 Grand Prix and twice won (with Ferrari and Cooper) the Grand Prix of Monaco, who also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955, with Ferrari, and Argentinian José Froilán González, “El Toro de la Pampa”, who shared the wheel.
But the nephew won’t follow in his footsteps, at least not professionally. And not, at least not initially.
Jean Louis Trintignant discovered poetry as a teenager, but occupies the benches of the law faculty in Aix en Provence, with moderate enthusiasm because it is already known that “something useful must be done”. It is in this city where he discovers the theater but also the cinema, two arts that lead him to leave the civil code. But the young Trintignant wants to learn. So he takes acting classes and at the same time enrolls in a film school, with the idea of becoming a director for the big screen and an actor on the stage. He will direct two feature films, the black comedy “Une journée bien remplie” (1972) in Spanish “A day well used”; and another comedy, “Le maître nageur” (1978). But if he will act in the theater all his career, he will mainly get recognition and fame for his great roles in the cinema.
This fame will be acquired at the same time as a young actress with whom he shares the credits in Roger Vadim’s “And God created woman”. But when Brigitte Bardot takes fame, the film Trintignant keeps the roles together, until the masterpiece “A Man and a Woman”, Claude Lelouch’s first (and for some, the best) film, came out in 1966. The feature film won. the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the Oscar for best foreign film, and propelled the director and the stars (Trintignant and the equally unforgettable Anouk Aimée) to the top. At the wheel of his Ford Mustang, after completing the Rallye Monte-Carlo, Jean-Louis Trintignant sets out at night to the other end of France, towards Deauville, to meet the woman who wrote that she loved him.
And not only will this first job turn the former law student into a movie star (he wins the acting award at the same Cannes festival three years later), but it will also bring back fond memories of his uncles who have since served as pilots in the film’s character, Jean-Louis Duroc, is a car racer.
Interestingly, Trintignant’s character was not originally a pilot. Originally, in Lelouch’s script, he was a doctor. At the urging of his interpreter, the director withdrew his first idea, not at all upset by the change as he was passionate about cars himself.
It’s another path you’ll find once you gain your fame and economic facility: that of tracks and rally specials. Because Trintignant is always proud to be a car enthusiast. Even though, perhaps in an atavistic way, he was far more talented than most stars who regularly enjoy driving race cars.
In the late 1960s, for example, he will take over the wheel, the first in rallies. He made his debut in 1976 at the Rallye du Var with an Opel Kadett GT/E and in 1977 he took part in Monte-Carlo with a Simca Rallye 2. In 1979 he drove an Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti and in 1979 at the Critérium des Cévennen .
In 1981 he took two class wins in the Rallye du Roussillon and the Ronde Nationale de la Durance respectively in an Alpine-Renault A310 1800 and then drove a Porsche 924 in the very tough Rallye du Côte d’Ivoire, an Opel Ascona 400 in the Rallye du Condroz, and a Peugeot 505 TI in Monte-Carlo.
The following year he returned to Monte-Carlo, but this time with a Peugeot 104 ZS, and with a Porsche 911 he took part in the Rallye de la Baule and the Rallye National du Périgord Noir. In 1984 it is his last edition of the Montecarlo, this time on board an Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6.
And also on the tracks, where he took part in the single-make races (all driven with Simca Rallye 2) of the Star Racing Team, with his companions from the show, Mustache, Guy Marchand or Claude Brasseur.
And he enjoys it a lot, but he’s a perfectionist and when he drives, he doesn’t want to do it against amateur rivals, but against real professional drivers. In 1977, when he competed in the French “Production” Championship with a Triumph Dolomite from the Leyland France team, it was a very different story for this 47-year-old novice. Trintignant is not the famous actor in the spotlight. It is Jean-Louis, a humble and discreet pilot, without flashes, without parades of admirers. Every race weekend the driver replaces the actor, he listens to the advice of René Metge, his teammate, he exchanges opinions with specialized journalists, he only talks about cars, about racing, only about his passion.
For five years he intensely lived the moments of this parenthesis in his life. Take part in all “scenarios”: tracks, rallies, ice races… And he does it with very different cars, the most powerful of which, the 780 hp Porsche 935 K3, gave him the fright of his life. It would be in the 1980 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Xavier Lapeyre and Anne Charlote-Verney at the wheel. On Sunday morning, a few hours before the end of the race, a rear wheel of the 935 K3 bursts on the straight of Les Hunaudières, at more than 300 km/h. The car bounces off the guardrails before coming to a stop: Trintignant is miraculously unscathed. When he returned to the pits, he stated: “When people told me about Le Mans, they always said, we killed each other there on the straight. So I told myself I was going to die, but I had to try something. I tripped the circuit breaker, stepped on the clutch and spun.
On the other hand, he continues in endurance tests, finishing 7th and 2nd respectively in the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours in 1981 and 1982, on a BMW 528 with prestigious teammates such as Derek Bell and Jean-Pierre Jarier and a renowned rally and track racer (including four appearances at Le Mans) named Marianne Hoepfner.
When asked about his performance, Jean-Louis Trintignant was the first to speak of the others: “I hope I was up to the task, that it didn’t stop my teammates from doing better.” Always humble.
The 80s are the years of the Dakar. The rally raid attracts the stars and Trintignant is convinced to participate, but without result.
In the year 2000 he married Marianne Hoepfner. And it stayed there until the end, when Jean Louis Trintignant started his last stage last Friday, June 17.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
