Théo Sarapo
Théo Sarapo , actually Theophánis Lamboukas (born January 26, 1936 in Paris , † August 28, 1970 in Limoges in the Haute-Vienne department , Limousin region ) was a French chanson singer and actor . He was the second husband of the French singer Édith Piaf .
Theophánis Lamboukas was born the son of a Paris-based Greek Orthodox hairdresser . He started singing at an early age, took part in a singing competition at eighteen, but then attended a business school to work in his father's beauty salon. In 1956 he was drafted into the military and sent to Algeria for thirteen months .
Returning to Paris , he spent his evenings in the St Germain des Près district , where he met Edith Piaf through a friend , who soon passed him off as her secretary . The very successful singer, divorced from her first husband in 1956, became aware of his remarkable voice, encouraged him to take a professional vocal training and gave him the stage name Théo Sarapo.
On October 9, 1962, the 26-year-old Théo Sarapo married the seriously ill, twenty years older Édith Piaf in Paris in the mayor's office of the 16th arrondissement. The church wedding took place in the Greek Orthodox Church.
After the wedding he performed in a duet with Édith Piaf. The couple achieved worldwide success with the chanson À quoi ça sert l'amour written by Michel Emer . Other joint tour plans could only partially be carried out due to Édith Piaf's health condition. Sarapo rented a villa on Cap Ferrat and later in Plascassier near Grasse, where he devoted himself to caring for his wife until her death on October 10, 1963. He then remained unmarried and only made plans of his own as a singer and actor after a long period of mourning.
Théo Sarapo died on August 28, 1970 at the age of 34 in a car accident near Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat . He rests next to Édith Piaf in the Paris Père Lachaise cemetery .
Filmography
- 1963: Judex (Judex)
- 1970: A bull sees red (Un Condé)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sarapo, Théo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lamboukas, Theophánis (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French chanson singer and actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 26, 1936 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 28, 1970 |
| Place of death | Limoges , Haute-Vienne department , Limousin region |