KBLe Blond
Gad Elmaleh , compared with Kamel Bennafla
A character study of the effortlessly perfect blond guy who breezes through life and makes everyone else look clumsy.
Elmaleh built a signature show around 'le blond', a perfect man who glides through skiing, restaurants and airports while everyone else struggles. (paraphrase)
L'autre c'est moi, 2005find on YouTube ↗
Bennafla says that in the late 1990s he performed a story about a nice blond kid who does everything well and ridicules others, on air with a young Elmaleh. (paraphrase)
Europe 2 Avignon radio appearance, Festival d'Avignonfind on YouTube ↗
Both centre on a blond who does everything well while others look clumsy; Bennafla's version survives only as his own description.
- Premise 32/40
- Structure 15/30
- Punchline 10/30
- Premise32/40Both portray a blond figure who does everything well and makes others look bad.
- Structure15/30Elmaleh's is a full show built around set-piece scenarios; Bennafla's was one radio story, details not on record.
- Punchline10/30No lines or payoffs from either version are on record.
Setup
A perfect blond man who glides through life
Setup
A nice blond kid who does everything well
Turn
Breezes through skiing, restaurants and airports while others struggle
Turn
Ridicules others; specific scenarios not on record
Punchline
Specific payoff not on record
Punchline
Specific payoff not on record
Scores and beats are our editorial reading of the public record, not a ruling.
Context
When and where
Bennafla says he told the story of 'a nice blond kid, who does everything well and ridicules others' on the radio show Europe 2 Avignon during the Festival d'Avignon in the late 1990s, with Elmaleh also on. Elmaleh's 'Le Blond' character appeared in L'autre c'est moi (2005).
What followed
Bennafla claimed in 2019 that Elmaleh asked him for the tape afterwards, and that audiences later accused Bennafla of copying Elmaleh. The claim came amid the wider CopyComic scandal; Elmaleh admitted taking inspiration in general but did not concede this specific case.
Receipts
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Gad Elmaleh by Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0