Jacques Villeret: “Entire nights…”, his half-sister bursts into tears as she recalls a dark period

In the documentary “Jacques Villeret, droll tragically” broadcast on France 3, the actor's half-sister recalled a painful period he went through before his death.

© France 3

IN BRIEF

• On January 28, 2005, Jacques Villeret, emblematic actor, died at the age of 53 from internal hemorrhage related to liver disease.
• Victim of a huge tax debt, Jacques Villeret has sunk into a spiral of personal and financial problems.
• Discover how Jacques Villeret's life has been marked by personal struggles behind his cinematic success.

That was 20 years ago. On January 28, 2005, the world of cinema was in mourning after the loss of an emblematic actor of the 7th art… Jacques Villeret. The one who made millions of French people laugh died at the age of 53 following an internal hemorrhage, linked to a liver disease.

He was in his country house, near Evreux, in the company of his friends, when he fell ill. He was rushed to the hospital center of the Eure prefecture, but unfortunately never woke up. Jacque Villeret scored the world of cinema with his roles of kind naive people, whether in la Soupe au choux or Le Dîner de cons. Films as cult as him!

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Jacques Villeret: this debt that turned everything upside down

But behind his comical demeanor, Jacque Villeret lived a difficult life and spent his time fighting his demons. “He had this disease which is alcoholism and we felt that he was flirting with death all the time”,had declared the director Francis Veber on France Info.

This Wednesday, January 29, viewers were able to discover on France 3 the documentary Jacques Villeret, amusingly tragic, which traces his journey. &On screen, his half-sister, Ghislaine Villeret, confides in a painful period that he went through. “During the period of the Dinner for Fools, while he plays a member of the tax administration, he receives by registered mail a huge tax debt“, she remembers.

“It was horrible”

She continues: “It was his ex-wife who took care of everything. For him, all the taxes were paid. He didn't worry about the paperwork, he trusted. Not only was there the tax debt, but the money was no longer there either, to settle the tax debt”.

&From there, Jacques Villeret could no longer keep his head above water. The light at the end of the tunnel has completely disappeared… “I had him on the phone for whole nights and nights. My mother too. He would say: “can you imagine, I'm in socks and underwear ?”. It was horrible. He lost weight, he lost weight, lost weight, lost weight… That's when we decided to hospitalize him“, she says, in tears.