“Les sous-doués”, “Banzaï”… the director and screenwriter Didier Kaminka died at the age of 81

Richard Kaminka (center) in Je ne sais rien mais je dirai tout, in 1973 by Pierre Richard. screenshot X

Screenwriter, actor and director Didier Kaminka, known in particular for the comedies “Too Much Is Too Much”, “Banzaï” and “Promotion canapé”, died Tuesday at the age of 81, his son announced to AFP on Saturday, September 28.

Didier Kaminka died of an illness at his home in Labbeville (Val-d'Oise), where he shot many scenes from his films, and a ceremony to pay tribute to him will be held on Friday, October 4 in Paris, said his son, who announced the news on Saturday, September 28.

Born on April 22, 1943 in Paris, Didier Kaminka began his career as an actor in the late 1960s.

Collaborations with the biggest names in comedy

In 1973, actor Pierre Richard asked him to co-write his third feature film, “Je sais rien mais je dirai tout”, in which he played a small role, according to the specialist website Cinécomédies.

Numerous successful comedies of manners followed, for which he wrote the dialogues, often in collaboration with director Claude Zidi, such as “Les Sous-doués” (1980) with Daniel Auteuil and Michel Galabru, “Banzaï” (1983) with Coluche and “Les rois du gag” (1985) with Gérard Jugnot and Thierry Lhermitte.

Didier Kaminka also places himself behind the camera, as with "Promotion canapé" (1990) which he directed, that ahead with "La Dormeuse Duval" (2017) by Manuel Sanchez, where he plays a painter, for what constitutes his last appearance on the screen.

"I salute the memory of a man of cinema with multiple talents and who contributed to the heyday of French comedy in the 1970s and 1980s", reacted the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, in a press release.