Chantal Jolis (29 April 1947, in

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

, France – 27 February 2012, in Îles-de-la-Madeleine) was a radio host in Québec, Canada. She was best known for her daily broadcasts ''Bouchée double'', ''L'Oreille musclée'' and ''Bachibouzouk'' presented on

Première chaîne A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

Radio Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, and for her dynamic, laid-back and accessible style.

Biography

Chantal Jolis was born in

, France. Her mother was of Italian origin and her father had Spanish lineage. She became a host on France Inter Paris public radio but felt she was only "tolerated" by her superiors. While taking part in a French-language public-radio exchange program in 1980, Jolis visited Québec for two weeks at the age of 33. She felt very welcome in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

, where her open-minded and lively tone was appreciated.

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

offered her a contract and she made Canada her new home. Upon her arrival in 1980 in Québec, Jolis exhibited great passions: reading, cinema, music, and a love of people, of life, and humour, creating a soothing atmosphere on her programmes. Journalist

Nathalie Petrowski Nathalie Petrowski (born 1954) is a French-born Canadian journalist and writer living in Quebec. She was born in Paris, lived in the Lorraine region and came to Canada at the age of five. She attended the Collège International Marie de France an ...

called her "a breath of fresh air for our public radio ..with spontaneity light years away from the psycho-rigidity Radio-Canada of the time." First in the afternoon, co-hosting ''Bouchées doubles'' with , and solo with ''C'est du Jolis''. Then, in ''L'oreille musclée'', broadcast weekdays from 1983 to 1986 at the end of the morning, she reinvented the morning box and set the way for those who succeeded her. In 1986

Guy Fournier Guy Fournier, CM (born 23 July 1931 in Waterloo, Quebec) is a Quebec author, playwright, and screenwriter. From 8 September 2005 to 19 September 2006 he was chairman of the board of directors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Personal li ...

created a late-night talk show for Jolis, ''Jolis à croquer'', on Télévision Quatre-Saisons. The series did not have the expected success with an indifferent television audience that was rebuffed by Jolis' "French accent of France", her culture and style. Jolis attempted to return to radio but found Radio-Canada hesitant, unused to private sector

raiding Raiding may refer to: * The present participle of the verb Raid (disambiguation), which itself has several meanings * Raid (military) * Raid (video games), a group of video game players who join forces * Raiding, Austria, a town in Austria * Par ...

at that time. After several years, Jolis was employed to temporarily fill-in for the programmes of others. Disappointed, Jolis agreed in 1991 to co-host a noon radio programme at

CKAC CKAC is a French-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned by Cogeco, the station operates as a commercial traffic information service branded as ''Radio Circulation 730''. Its studios are located at Place Bonaventure in ...

with Jean Cournoyer, but was released after a year. When she gained a program at Radio-Canada, it was "reduced in scope, away from prime time", with ''C'est du Jolis'' which ran from December 1999 through 2000. On

Société Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

(SRC, French-language CBC television), Jolis conducted numerous sessions of film criticism with René Homier-Roy on the show ''À première vue'', 1982–1989. She also held several memorable interviews, including with

Léo Ferré Léo Ferré (24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a French-born Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer, whose career in France dominated the years after the Second World War until his death. He released s ...

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

and (a few days before his death in the summer of 1988)

Félix Leclerc Félix Leclerc, (August 2, 1914 – August 8, 1988) was a French-Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and '' Québécois'' political activist. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 20, 1968. Leclerc was posth ...

Music and ''Les îles jolies''

Starting in the summer of 2002, Jolis hosted and produced ''Les îles jolies'' from her home in the

Magdalen Islands The Magdalen Islands (french: Îles de la Madeleine ) are a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . While part of the Province of Quebec, the islands are in fact closer to the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland th ...

. This was followed by ''Un petit air de samedi soir'' (A little air on Saturday night), ''Bachibouzouk'' and ''Quand le chat n'est pas là'' (When the cat is away). She also created ''

Espace Musique Ici Musique (stylized as ICI Musique) is the French-language music radio service of Canada's national public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (''Société Radio-Canada''). It is the French equivalent of the English CBC Music, al ...

'' on the world music web-radio channel of Radio-Canada. At the end of 2007, at the age of 60, Jolis was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. In 2009 the symptoms of this disease forced her retirement from ''Espace Musique'' though she hoped for a cure or treatment that could allow her to return to the microphone. Of a family of Catholic origin, she had spent her childhood in a religious school network in France. "I believed in God, without loving religion. I was lost and revolted," Jolis said in a September 2007 interview to ''

Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...

''. She had revealed on

's ''Pour la suite des choses'' that she had converted to Islam on the occasion of a trip to Morocco for a festival of sacred music. Jolis died of Parkinson's disease on 27 February 2012, in the Magdalen Islands, where she had made her home in June 2011. She was buried there on 2 March at the cemetery of Havre-Aubert. Jolis was survived by her mother Solange (died 28 March 2013), her two sons, Saddia and Alexis (the latter, from her marriage with the journalist and host

Michel Désautels Michel Désautels (born May 7, 1951) is a Canadian writer and journalist, best known as the host of ''Désautels'', the afternoon news and information program on the Première Chaîne radio network from 2003 to 2013.

), and six grandchildren.

Works

Radio

*''Bouchée double'',

*''L'Oreille musclée'', Première chaîne *''Bachibouzouk'', Première chaîne *''À Indicatif Présent'' (literary review), Première chaîne

Television

*''À première vue'' (1982–1989), with , SRC *''Jolis à croquer'' (1986), TQS

Film

*''

Le Jouet ''The Toy'' (french: Le Jouet) is a 1976 French comedy-drama film directed by Francis Veber. The film was remade in 1982 as the American film '' The Toy''. Plot The movie tells the story of a little boy who is trying to prove his father wrong by ...

'' (1976) French film by

Francis Veber Francis Paul Veber (born 28 July 1937) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, and playwright. He has written and directed both French and American films. Nine French-language films with which he has been involved, as either writ ...

with

Pierre Richard Pierre Richard (born Pierre-Richard Maurice Charles Léopold Defays; 16 August 1934) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, best known for the roles of a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films. Pierre Richard is considered by many, such as ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolis, Chantal 1947 births 2012 deaths People from Grenoble CBC Radio hosts Canadian television talk show hosts Neurological disease deaths in Quebec Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Canada Converts to Islam from Catholicism Canadian Muslims Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian people of Spanish descent French emigrants to Quebec French people of Italian descent French people of Spanish descent Canadian women radio hosts