Biography

In 1967 (according to other sources already in 1960) he created the comical and somewhat simple-minded character of "Abderraouf" based on the example of a former schoolmate known to generations of Moroccans.

After attending the Koran school in the mosque in his neighborhood in the old town of Casablanca, he attended an elite school that only accepted a few Moroccan students - in addition to Tounsi, the future Prime Minister Maati Bouabid and the politician Abdellatif Semlali. However, Tounsi had to leave school after primary school to support his family financially.

Tounsi was a Moroccan actor and comedian.

In 1953 he joined the national liberation movement against the French colonial power and was imprisoned for a year. In prison, he began acting out theater scenes with other inmates.

After his release from prison, he first worked in a cemetery, then as a laborer at the car manufacturer SOMACA. He also founded a theater company with friends and former fellow prisoners, which appeared in cafés and performed adaptations of Molière's texts.