- He loved speed, especially motorcycles. He even earned a record in the Guiness book of records on September 29th, 1985, on the race circuit of Nardo (Italy), when he reached the speed of 252.087 kilometers per hour (156.546 mph) on a Yamaha 750cc. Sadly, he died in a motorcycle accident only nine months later (and while he wasn't going too fast).
- Candidate for the presidence of French Republic in 1981
- Founded the French charity association "les Restos du Coeur" and launched the first "Tournée des Enfoirés" for this association in the mid-80s.
- He adopted Coluche as a stage name at age 26, when he began his entertainment career.
- He became known for his irreverent attitude towards politics and the establishment, and he incorporated this into much of his material.
- He also founded the charity "Les Restaurants du Coeur" which still provides free meals and other products to people in need.
- He was one of the first major comedians to regularly use profanities as a source of humor on French television.
- In March 2011, a bronze statue of Coluche, dressed in his trademark striped dungarees, was unveiled in his hometown of Montrouge (suburb of Paris).
- He was sacked by the radio stations Europe 1 and Radio Monte Carlo for vulgarity.
- He died after crashing his Honda 1100 VFC into a truck on the "route de Cannes" a road in the commune of Opio, Alpes-Maritimes in southeastern France. He was 41. This event provoked national grief and inspired the album Putain de camion ("damn truck") by his close friend Renaud. Some conspiracy theories have since surfaced, mainly in the book Coluche, l'accident: contre-enquête,[4] alleging that Coluche might have been murdered.
- In 1968 he met Romain Bouteille with whom he founded the "Café de la Gare", a theatre where Gérard Depardieu, Patrick Dewaere, Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko and lots of other French comedians made their debut. Then Coluche started his first one-man-show in 1973 : "Mes adieux au music-hall".
- Father of Marius Colucci.
- Is portrayed by François-Xavier Demaison in 'Coluche: l'histoire d'un mec' (2008), and by Alexandre Zacharia in 'Enfoiré de président' (2009).
- His mother, Simone Bouyer (called "Monette"), worked as a florist in the Boulevard du Montparnasse. His father, Honorio Colucci, from Casalvieri in Lazio, Italy, was a painter and decorator.
- In 1984 Coluche was awarded the César Award for Best Actor for his role in the film Tchao Pantin (1983) directed by Claude Berri, a film that mirrored his chaotic personal life.
- Coluche's first sketch C'est l'histoire d'un mec (It's the story of a guy) was about the difficulties of telling a funny story. He quickly found success, but alcohol problems forced him to leave the group of Café de la Gare.
- At the end of the 1960s he tried his luck as a singer in cafes, then turned to comedy.
- He founded the group, Le vrai chic parisien (The true Parisian chic) and it was then that he met his future wife, Véronique Kantor. They married in 1975 and had two sons, Marius and Romain Colucci. His behaviour and addictions forced him to leave the new group and launch his solo career.
- Coluche won the César Award for "Best Actor" for his role in Tchao Pantin (So Long, Stooge, 1983), one of his few dramatic roles.
- On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his death, from 6 October 2016 to 14 January 2017, an exhibition about Coluche was held in Hôtel de Ville, Paris.
- In 1964 he joined the 60th Infantry Regiment de Lons-le-Saunier, but was imprisoned for insubordination.
- Coluche showed little promise at school, and left after completing his primary studies (June 1958). He tried various temporary jobs, and had several run-ins with authorities. During this time his mother bought him a guitar, which he taught himself to play.
- His father died in 1947 at age 31 from poliomyelitis; his wife struggled thereafter to raise the young Michel and his sister (Danièle, 18 months older than Michel) on a meagre salary.
- The main-belt asteroid 170906 Coluche, discovered by Swiss astronomer Michel Ory in 2004, was named after Coluche.
- In 1969, with Romain Bouteille he was present at the start of the Café de la Gare, meeting place of a group of young comedic actors practically all of whom were to become famous: Patrick Dewaere, Henri Guybet, Miou-Miou, Martin Lamotte, etc. Among the patrons of the Café de la Gare were Georges Moustaki, Raymond Devos, Jean Ferrat, Jacques Brel, Leni Escudero, Pierre Perret and Jean Yanne. Later they were joined by Gérard Lanvin, Renaud, Rufus, Diane Kurys, Coline Serreau, Anémone, Gérard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko and Gérard Jugnot.
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