Marc Mercier
Marc Mercier | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 April 1958 Bourg-la-Reine, France |
| Died | 7 September 2026 (aged 68) |
| Occupations | Wrestler Actor |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Billed height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) |
| Billed weight | 224 kg (494 lb) |
| Trained by | Guy Mercier |
| Debut | September 1977 |
| Retired | 30 December 2008[1] |
Marc Mercier (French: [mˈaʁk mɛʁsjˈe]; 11 April 1958 – 7 September 2026) was a French professional wrestler and actor.[2] He competed in the Fédération Française de Catch Professionnel (FFCP), achieving the title of World Champion from 1985 to 1989.[3]
Life and career
[edit]Born in Bourg-la-Reine on 11 April 1958, Mercier was the son of Guy Mercier, also a wrestler. His uncle, also named Marc Mercier, was a member of the French Resistance who was killed in a German ambush on 14 August 1944.[4] His first professional wrestling match was at the Élysée Montmartre in September 1977. He became French champion in 1979, European champion in 1981, and world champion in 1985, but a fractured ankle during a match in Kyiv in March 1989 forced him into early retirement.[5] He returned to the ring in 2002 with the organization Wrestling Stars before joining the International Catch Wrestling Alliance in 2005. In 2006, he re-created the FFCP, of which he was elected president, and founded the Catch Academy in Wissous.[6] There, he encouraged young wrestlers to avoid dangerous wrestling moves.[7] In 2013, he criticized the Fédération française de lutte et disciplines associées following the International Olympic Committee's decision to drop wrestling from the Olympic Games.[8] On 16 February 2014, he announced his departure from the FFCP, but returned to the role of president after his successor, Artémis Ortygie, left the country.[9]
In addition to his professional wrestling career, Mercier appeared on the screen as an actor and stuntman.[10] He held minor roles in television series such as Cordier and Son: Judge and Cop and Une femme d'honneur before serving as Gérard Depardieu's stunt double in the 1998 film Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar after the actor had suffered a car accident during the time of filming.[11] He befriended Depardieu[12] and his son, Guillaume.[13]
Mercier died of oesophageal cancer on 7 September 2026, at the age of 68.[14]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Marc Mercier". cagematch.net.
- ↑ "Former World Champion And Wrestling Legend Dies At 68 After Cancer Diagnosis Earlier This Year". NDTV. 9 September 2026. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ "Quand le catch attaque". BFM TV (in French). 2 September 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ Askolovitch, Claude (25 August 2017). "Le pari fou de Hugo Mercier, marchand de sable 2.0". Vanity Fair (in French). Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ Bergognon, Julien (5 March 2004). "Marc Mercier, tonton catcheur". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ "La «Catch Academy» fait son show". 20 minutes (in French). 29 October 2007. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ Touboul, Karine (18 November 2012). "Ecoles de catch - Attention danger !". France-Soir (in French). Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ Mercier, Marc (14 February 2013). "La lutte supprimée des JO : je suis déçu mais pas surpris, ce sport n'a pas su évoluer". Le Nouvel Observateur (in French). Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ Jacquet, Jean-Rémy (19 May 2014). "FFCP : Artémis Ortygie quitte (déjà) son poste de présidente". VoxCatch (in French). Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ Simon, Cyril (2 January 2016). "Pourquoi Hollywood s'arrache désormais les catcheurs". Les Inrockuptibles (in French). Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ Vincelot, Sophie (12 August 2015). "Depardieu a frôlé la mort dans Astérix et Obélix contre César". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ "«Depardieu, l'homme sans limites»: BFM TV essaye de suivre le train d'enfer de l'acteur voyageur". 20 minutes (in French). 18 February 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ Birden, Sébastien (5 February 2017). "Bougival : pour son premier film, il revient sur la vie de Guillaume Depardieu". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ↑ Jacquet, Jean-Rémy (8 September 2026). "L'ancien président de la FFCP Marc Mercier est décédé". VoxCatch (in French). Retrieved 10 September 2026.
External links
[edit]- Marc Mercier at IMDb