2024-04-13 05:00:00
Faced with the success experienced over the past few months, the comedian is happily playing the extensions of his show Finished laughing, we’re closing! which he gives at the Théâtre de Passy in Paris every Sunday until June.
“The stage is my breathing, my oxygen… But you have to know how to surrender…”. At almost 89 years old, Popeck happily continues his ultimate (perhaps) one man show No more laughing! We are closing!. This funny and touching show has been delighting its audience for months with new and famous déjà vus. Always on the wrong foot, the always alert dean of humor, who perfectly holds the ramp of the Théâtre de Passy, in Paris, every Sunday until June, confides to the amused eye: “I have seen too many artists push themselves to the limit. I think it’s better to stop in the middle of glory than in the middle of shit…”
With his famous Yiddish accent, his frock coat and his bowler hat, Popeck has sketched since 1968 the daily worries of his character, an eternal complainer inspired by his father, by wonderfully combining Jewish humor with that of a Parisian titi. “I’m unhappy to be the age I am, especially since I feel better now. You have to be reasonable and Ashkenazi Jews are pessimistic by nature…”adds Popeck, born Judka Herpstu, admitting in passing that he feels more and more stage fright.
Also read: No more laughing, we’re closing! by Popeck: the (good) review of Le Figaro
His father, a Romanian Jew, emigrated to France before 1914. His mother, Polish, was deported and killed at Auschwitz. Young Judka becomes a cabinetmaker, a courier for a bailiff and a seller of fleece underwear to pay for his theater lessons with René Simon, his “second father”.
“I, who wanted to have a great career as an actor, the character of Popeck invaded me… I have always had a sense of humor without realizing it. I was born with it, like a gift…”estimates the comedian who considers himself “demographic overshoot”, with regard to life expectancy for a man of his generation. Popeck’s most famous projections? “Praise be to God but at reasonable prices…”; “It’s better to have 50% of people who don’t like you than 100% who don’t even know you”; “I spent a third of my life knowing nothing, another third trying, and the last pretending.”…
“In 1968, I played the valet in The Idiot by Dostoyevsky at the Théâtre de l’Atelier. One evening, after the performance and still in my stage clothes, I told my father’s funny stories. The play’s headliner, Charles Denner, took me straight to L’Écluse, the cabaret where Barbara got her start. I was immediately hired!”he says, choosing to call himself Popeck, a Yiddish nickname for “simple” or “charlot”.
The «flemmingite» by Popeck
The success of his character in valet outfit and white shoes quickly pushed him to abandon the classical repertoire. However, we will find him on the big screen for small roles with the pseudonym Jean Herbert, notably in The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (1973) directed by Gérard Oury or in The pianist by Roman Polanski, on the Shoah.
In the theater, Popeck continues boulevard plays with Robert Lamoureux, Francis Joffo and in recent years Laurent Baffie or Olivier Lejeune.
In his last show, Popeck finds himself suffering from «flemmingite», the fault of teleworking. He repeats his cult sketches like Boulogne wood, Dinner at Maxim’s, but also presents new situations and reflections on the passing of time. Even if he regrets that “the era is not really a laughing matter”, Popeck sees Gad Elmaleh, Jamel Debbouze and Alex Vizorek as his worthy successors. Does he have a message for his audience, after almost 60 years of career?“Thank you for everything ! How much do I owe you?”…
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