Racing driver for three decades - notably with a victory in the prestigious Monte-Carlo Rally in 1981 in his Renault 5 - Jean Ragnotti, 75, was also for many years the traveling companion of Rémy Julienne, the ace of stuntmen who died on the night of Thursday to Friday as a result of the Covid-19.
Together, they have appeared in more than 20 films and numerous commercials.
"The acrobat", one of Ragnotti's nicknames, confides in the disappearance of his friend.
How did you react to the disappearance of Rémy Julienne?
JEAN RAGNOTTI.
I heard the sad news this Friday around 5:30 am.
I was sent a first message and his great friend Jean-Pierre Door, former mayor of Montargis and current deputy of Loiret, also warned me.
He's been through a lot of health issues lately - cancer, heart trouble - he's been close to death several times on set, but each time he's been fine.
He was strong.
He was recovering quickly until this Covid… He was so strong I thought he would still do despite his age… Unfortunately, that was not the case.
How did your relationship come about?
The first time I saw him I must have been 13 or 14 years old.
In 1960, I lived in Carpentras and every year there was a motocross World Championship round nearby.
I went there because I was passionate about mechanics.
While walking in the paddock, I met him, I did not ask him for an autograph but we exchanged a few words.
The second time, a few years later, was during the Star Racing Team races organized by Mustache.
There were people from the show biz, singers or actors, like Johnny Hallyday, André Pousse or Jean-Louis Trintignant.
It was Jean-Louis who put me in touch with Rémy.
I told him that I would love to attend a shoot with him.
He invited me on one of them in Italy.
Stunt driving expert Rémy Julienne has passed away at the age of 90. "Rémy has been a legendary force in the action sequences of so many films. We were lucky to have worked with him on six films: For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights ... pic.twitter.com/v9whCMDlHb
- James Bond (@ 007) January 22, 2021
And you never left each other after ...
I had come as a spectator, but at one point they needed a driver to drive a scooter.
They disguised me as a delivery man and it was off to my first shoot with him.
He thought I did well as a newbie stuntman, so he offered to work with him.
Between 1974 and 1980, we must have made about twenty films and numerous commercials ...
Together, have you worked with the greatest actors?
Thanks to Rémy, I met a lot of them.
I have often overtaken Alain Delon, but only once Jean-Paul Belmondo.
It was a film with Raquel Welch where you had to go down the stairs with a big American car (Editor's note:
for "The Animal"
).
We got along well with Belmondo but the concern is that he wanted to do everything on his own.
It bothered Remy.
Belmondo was a real crack, he wanted to do all the stunts.
Delon didn't want to do it.
It was fun.
How was Rémy on the set?
There was a good atmosphere but Remy was very, very meticulous in his job.
He was very stuck on what he asked for.
You had to respect the waterfall to the nearest meter.
I think Rémy liked me because I was quite precise.
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What was your relationship?
We had mutual respect and esteem.
I was living in Paris at the time but, as he wanted me to be on hand, he convinced me to move to Montargis, where he lived.
During these six years, we made a lot of films and, outside, we saw each other very often.
In the early 1980s, I had to stop because my professional contract with Renault prevented me from taking risks before the races.
We saw each other less after… The last time was in 2019 in Angoulême, during a vintage car race.
VIDEO. Rémy Julienne, the “daredevil of French cinema” stuntman died at the age of 90
You were with him during the drama on "Taxi 2", the shooting of which was bereaved by the death of a cameraman ...
I worked on the first three films, he only worked on the second.
It was Luc Besson who contacted me because he wanted real professional pilots in pursuit: there was Jean-Louis Schlesser, Gérard Larousse… This accident had a profound impact on him.
There had been a take that the director did not like so they decided to do it again and, because of the sun, the driver landed further than expected and hit a cameraman.
It was not Rémy who did the stunt but we pointed the finger at him during the trial.
It is as if we told him that before he was the best and, afterwards, he became bad.
I wouldn't say he wasn't the same after this drama, but it undermined him a lot.
What trace will it leave with the general public?
He was the benchmark. Number 1. He has inspired generations of stuntmen. He has toured with great actors, French and foreign, and for James Bond. Everyone trusted him. An American magazine had named him the best stuntman in the world of cinema. He was a physical beast and a true pro.