Luc Merenda, born Luc Charles Olivier Merenda (Nogent-le-Roi, September 3, 1942), is a French actor and former model. Very active in the 1970s, he worked for several years in Italian cinema, starring in numerous crime films from that period.
Luc was born in Nogent-le-Roi, a small town in the Eure-et-Loir department, near Paris.
Of Italian descent from his paternal grandfather, he spent his childhood in Morocco, due to his parents' work. After thirteen years, he returned to Paris, attended high school, and developed a passion for combat sports, particularly French boxing, becoming an expert in this discipline. At 24, Luc decided he wanted to break into show business and, with only a few dollars in his pocket, emigrated to New York in search of fortune, defying his parents' opposition.
His life in New York proved very tough, and in the meantime, he found work as a dishwasher. Aware of his good looks and sculpted physique, he asked a friend to take some photos of him to send to a modeling agency. Luck was on his side, and he was contacted by the agency to be a spokesperson for various American products. His fame as a model also reached his native France, leading him to decide in 1970 to return to his homeland.
In 1971, during a vacation in Rome, Luc became passionate about cinema and wanted to succeed in this field. In 1972, Luc married Rita Agostini, from whom he would divorce ten years later. After several auditions, he was chosen to play the role of the hero in service of the law and inflexible with crime.
After appearing in various photo-novels and minor films (such as La ragazza fuoristrada by Luigi Scattini), Merenda caught the public's attention in 1973 with the film Milano trema: la polizia vuole giustizia, directed by Sergio Martino, where he portrayed a fearless policeman dealing with organized crime. The success of the film made him popular in Italy, and along with another icon of the genre, Maurizio Merli, he became a symbol of 1970s crime cinema.
His rise continued with other films such as I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale (1973), La città gioca d'azzardo (1974), and La polizia accusa: il servizio segreto uccide (1975), one of the first films to address the issue of deviated services (it was released during one of the darkest periods in Italian history, the years of lead and the strategy of tension).
Merenda also took on the role of the corrupt character in films such as Il poliziotto è marcio, shedding light on some negative aspects of the Italian police forces. His career continued to flourish with La banda del trucido (1977), returning to the role of the defender of justice and acting alongside Tomas Milian, another emblem of this cinematic expression. He followed up with roles in films such as Napoli si ribella (1977), Il commissario Verrazzano (1978), and Bersaglio altezza uomo (1979), which marked the end of Merenda's career in the crime genre.
With the arrival of the 1980s, the genre that had brought him popularity became outdated, and Luc needed to diversify his cinematic role, moving to comedy with Il ficcanaso (1980) and to sceneggiata with Pover'ammore (1982). In the latter part of the 1980s, Merenda's appearances became increasingly sporadic, often linked to minor roles in other comedic films such as Superfantozzi (1986) and Missione eroica - I pompieri 2 (1987).
After appearing in the TV series L'edera (1992), Luc left the film industry. Returning to Paris, he opened a store selling Chinese and Japanese antique furniture at the Marché Biron, along with his partner Annie Minet. After many years away from the spotlight, in 2007 Merenda made a comeback to cinema, playing a detective in the horror film Hostel: Part II, alongside other icons of 1970s Italian cinema like Edwige Fenech and Ruggero Deodato.
He currently lives in Saint-Ouen, continuing his work as an antiquarian.
