Léo Marjane

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Léo Marjane (1940)

Léo Marjane (born August 27, 1912 in Boulogne-sur-Mer ; † December 18, 2016 in Barbizon ; born Thérèse Maria Léonie Gendebien ) was a French singer and actress . Marjane celebrated the peak of her career in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Life

Léo Marjane: Un soir ... et puis toujours (1938)

Léo Marjane was born as Thérèse Gendebien on August 27, 1912 in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Since the early 1930s she performed in cabarets in Paris, where she quickly became known for her double-alto voice and her clear pronunciation. In 1936 she got her first record deal with Pathé Records. Her best-known songs included French-language versions of Begin the Beguine or Night and Day . In the 1930s Marjane spent some time in the United States, interpreting songs by well-known composers such as Cole Porter and Duke Ellington . She herself stated that she brought jazz to France in the 1930s. In 1941 Marjane had the greatest success of her career with the song Seule ce soir written by Charles Trenet .

Leo Marjane's career ended abruptly with the liberation of France by the Allies in August 1944. In the years that followed, Marjane was often accused of regularly appearing in front of high-ranking German officers. Marjane replied that she was just plain naive. Nevertheless, the hostility brought against her forced her to spend a few years in Belgium and England , where she was largely unknown. After she returned to France, Marjane recorded songs again, but they did not sell well. Much of the population still resented her past. In addition, her style of music had gone out of fashion in France by the early 1950s. In addition to several major tours through the USA and Canada, Marjane also played supporting roles in a total of four feature films, including the film drama White Daisies from 1956.

In 1957 Marjane married the French Baron Charles de la Doucette (1912-2007) for the second time . In the same year, she decided to withdraw completely from show business. The couple moved to Barbizon and dedicated themselves to breeding horses. The singer, who had now completely withdrawn into her private life, gave her last interview in 2004. In August 2012, she celebrated her hundredth birthday.

Léo Marjane died on December 18, 2016 at the age of 104 in Barbizon, where she lived.

Filmography

  • 1943: Feu Nicolas
  • 1951: Les deux gamines
  • 1956: White daisies (Elena et les Hommes)
  • 1957: Ariane - Love in the Afternoon

Web links

Commons : Léo Marjane  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chanson singer Leo Marjane died at the age of 104. Die Presse , December 19, 2016, accessed on June 2, 2020 .
  2. ^ Léo Marjane, la voix chaude des années sombres. Curriculum vitae on movie-musical-world.blogspot.de, March 8, 2009, accessed on December 19, 2016 (French).
  3. ↑ a b Léo Marjane a 100 ans. Report on the centenary on France Culture , September 2, 2012, accessed on December 19, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Léo Marjane, chanteuse des années 40, aujourd'hui centenaire pétillante. L'Obs , August 14, 2012, accessed December 19, 2016 (French).
  5. ↑ Mort de la chanteuse Léo Marjane à 104 ans . Le Figaro , December 19, 2016 (French).
personal data
SURNAME Marjane, Léo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gendebien, Thérèse Maria Léonie (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION french singer
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Boulogne-sur-Mer
DATE OF DEATH December 18, 2016
Place of death Barbizon