"She never got over it" : the revelations of Michel Drucker on the end of life of Romy Schneider

Emblematic presenter of the Champs-Élysées program on France 2which was still called Antenne 2 at the time, Michael Drucker will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the program. On this occasion, an exceptional documentary dedicated to this mythical meeting of French television will be broadcast in two parts on December 21 and 28, 2022, in prime time on France 3. As part of the promotion of this program, Michel Drucker was the guest ofAnne-Elisabeth Lemoine on the C à vous set on Friday December 16, 2022. During his appearance on the France 5 talk show, the host returned to several cult sequences from his former show. He notably mentioned the last appearance of actress Romy Schneider, some time before her death.

At the time, the actress was promoting her latest filmbaptized The Passage of the Sans-Souci. During his previously recorded interview with the presenter, Romy Schneider spoke about the death of her son David, which occurred a year earlier in tragic circumstances. The facts took place on July 5, 1981. On that day, Romy Schneider’s son spends Sundays with his grandparents. After a bike ride with friends, he is back home in the afternoon, around 4:30 p.m. However, the access gate, measuring two meters high, is closed. In order not to disturb his family, David made the decision to climb the perimeter wall as he was accustomed then. Unfortunately for him, he lost his balance, before impaling himself on the metal points of the grid in his fall. By a tragic combination of circumstances, David ended up with the punctured femoral artery. He then died the same evening in hospital, when he was only 14 years old.

Michel Drucker on Romy Schneider: “She died of grief, sadness and depression at the same time”

At the time, paparazzi had entered the hospital’s funeral service disguised as nurses, to photograph Romy Schneider’s son on his deathbed. A terrible shot that ended up on the front page of a magazine. Devastated by the death of her child, the actress let her anger burst against the paparazzi in the Champs-Élysées. “Leave me alone at last!“, had launched Romy Schneider, before questioning the author of the photo of her dead son, and the magazine which published it in One, on their “moral” and their “tact“.”She left us shortly after“, quickly underlined Michel Drucker, after reviewing an extract from this famous interview. “In fact, (…) she never recovered. She died of grief, sadness and depression at the same time“, added Michel Drucker, while specifying that this was the last appearance of Romy Schneider on television before his death. During his career, Michel Drucker had the opportunity to meet the actress on several occasions, by going to the shootings of his films. “I knew her well Romy“, finally concluded the host, visibly very moved.