Jean Gabin was one of the monsters of French cinema, a legend to which the city of Boulogne-Billancourt where he lived and worked in the studios wanted to pay homage. This Wednesday, March 9 opens The Jean Gabin exhibition at the city’s 1930s museum. The day before, his son Mathias Moncorgé was there to inaugurate the event and he was not alone. The 66-year-old man, well surrounded, found himself with the children of other stars of the 7th art of his father’s time, including Bourvil, Alain Delon or Jean-Paul Belmondo, to whom he gave the reply. Anthony Delon, Lemmy Constantine, Philippe Raimbourg and Paul Belmondo therefore posed proudly alongside Mathias Moncorgé. An unprecedented meeting that smelt of nostalgia.
All recalled the memories they had with their famous fathers on set, starting with Paul Belmondo: “I accompanied my father there on the shoots. I have only one memory of Gabin, but he is strong. He was filming the Holy Year and my father, another film. I was doing my homework in his dressing room and Gabin opened the door. He asked me if I was doing well. I answered yes…he told the Parisian. For my father, it was very important that I know the history of cinema. He had huge tapes, something that existed even before VHS, he had made a movie theater and was showing me The day begins and Don’t touch the Grisbi”.
Everyone went there with their little anecdote. If Paul Belmondo did not turn to the cinema, Philippe Raimbourg, son of Bourvil, had considered it for a time before becoming a professor at the university: “My father didn’t want me to become an actor. He found it too difficult. I am often told that I went from the theater to the amphitheater“. He certainly does not have his father’s career, but laughter acts as a booster shot, reports The Parisian. Everyone had fun recalling their memories of these father figures that they had to share with the rest of the world. A nice highlight for stars that have become unforgettable.