Jean Grimaldi
Jean Grimaldi (born October 7, 1898 in Bastia , † October 14, 1996 in Montreal ) was a Canadian actor, singer and author.
Live and act
Grimaldi took part in the First World War and from 1919 lived with his twin brother François in Marseille, where he worked as a cabinet maker ( cabinet maker ). He began his artistic career as a singer at the Théâtre Alcazar and continued it in Parisian clubs. In 1926 he emigrated to Quebec and became a member of Honoré Vaillancourt's Société canadienne d'opérette . After several shorter engagements, he had his breakthrough in 1929 at the Théâtre National in musical productions by Hector Pellerin at the side of singers such as Juliette Béliveau , Olivier Guimond , Raoul Léry and Pizzi Wizzi .
Paul Hébert later hired him as the lead actor and singer of his troupe, with whom he appeared at the Théâtre Arcade and Théâtre King Edward , among others . In the early 1930s he became tour manager and factotum for the singer Mary Bolduc (La Bolduc) . After their serious car accident in 1937, he temporarily took over the management of their touring troupe. In 1943 he married Fernande Dalcourt , who became his closest collaborator.
In 1948 Grimalde bought the Canadin Theater in the building of the famous Ouimet-O-Scope , where he staged successful productions with artists such as Olivier Guimond , Manda Parent , Paul Desmarteaux , Aline Duval , Mistair Pat (Pat Gagnon) and Claude Blanchard . In 1953 he acquired the Théâtre Gayety (Théâtre Radio-Cité), which allowed the performance of spectacular shows in which young singers such as Paolo Noël , Margot Lefebvre , Jean Lapointe and Jérôme Lemay as well as dancers and comedians such as Rose Ouellette (La Poune) and Juliette Pétrie , Lilian Dawson , Paul Berval and Roland Reynaldo contributed.
The advent of television, which pulled artists and audiences away from the variety theaters, forced him to sell his theater in 1956. He worked for the Théâtre National for some time and in 1967 became artistic director and actor at Gilles Latulippes Théâtre des Variétés . He held the position until 1970 and was active as a writer of chansons and comedies until the early 1990s.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Grimaldi, Jean |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian actor, singer and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 7, 1898 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bastia |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 14, 1996 |
| Place of death | Montreal |