Thunderball actor Andre Maranne dies aged 94
15-May-2021 • Bond News
French actor André Maranne, who appeared in 'Thunderball', has died at the age of 94.
Born on 14 May 1926 in Toulouse, France, Maranne famously portrayed Sgt. François Chevalier in six Pink Panther movies over a span of 20 years and is also known to British sitcom fans as the French chef who prepares duck in the beloved 'Gourmet Night' episode of Fawlty Towers. He also played Roger Benoit in the Doctor Who serial 'The Moonbase.'
He will be remembered by James Bond fans as playing Number Ten of SPECTRE in the 1965 film 'Thunderball'. In the SPECTRE cabinet meeting in Paris, he was the second member to give his financial report to Blofeld. Number Ten was in charge of the assassination of Perringe, a French anti-matter specialist who had defected to the Russians, and resulted in a payment of 3,000,000 Francs to SPECTRE.
André Maranne died April 12th, 2021 in Bristol, England. He is survived by his wife, Moira.
