Can friendship overcome everything? In an interview with Paris Match, actress Michèle Laroque talks about the relationship she had with her playmate at the theater, Pierre Palmade.
The 54-year-old comedian has been indicted for “manslaughter” and placed under judicial supervision after causing a road accident on February 10 which claimed the life of a pregnant woman’s baby and plunged a man in the coma.
“He had ups and downs,” recalls Michèle Laroque today, referring to the time when they shared the stage at the theater. She herself admitted having had addiction problems during her adolescence. But “it is not comparable. We don’t have the same construction,” she said. “The problem is to know why it came to this tragedy,” continues Michèle Laroque. Before confiding: “It is for me an immense sorrow, in many respects, for all the people concerned by this accident.” A sorrow and a surprise since according to her, “Pierre never drove, whatever his condition”.
Before the accident, the actress nevertheless tried to help her friend, who sometimes arrived in a sad state before the performances where they played together. “I tried a lot of things: care advice, therapy.” According to her, the comedian has long fought against his demons. “He really tried and I can see that. But we are all different. I tried to understand, which does not mean to excuse.
The state of Pierre Palmade on stage has never forced them to cancel a performance. This did not prevent the actress from being “sad for him”, which sometimes “made him stop because he could not bear to see me sad, with tears in his eyes”. His partner has often said that he intends to quit drugs. “I have always believed in it. And him too,” promises Michèle Laroque. Today, the actress, resigned, no longer believes. “I can’t act on his life. I have often tried to ease the pain of my loved ones with love and understanding. But you can’t prevent the other from following a dramatic trajectory, ”she explains, visibly bitter.
