François Pérusse (born October 8, 1960) is a
Québécois comedian and musician famous for his radio sketches featuring
puns and absurd humour. His best-known sketches are from the series ''
Les 2 minutes du peuple'' (''The Peoples' 2 Minutes'').
Biography
Pérusse was born to Charlotte and Adélard Pérusse. At 12 he made his debut in local radio, and by age 17 he was playing as a bassist in bands with his older brother Marc.
''Les 2 minutes du peuple'' first aired in August 1990 on
CKOI-FM
:For the CKOI radio network, see ''CKOI (network)''.
CKOI-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Verdun, Quebec and serving the Greater Montreal area, airing a CHR/Top 40 radio format.
Owned and operated by Cogeco, CKOI-FM bro ...
as part of the program ''Y'é trop d'bonne heure'' (''It's Too Early''). After a little over a year, a compilation of his best sketches and songs was released, ''L'Album du peuple – Tome 1'' (''The Album of the People – Volume 1''), which has sold more than 80,000 copies. Pérusse released nine more "Albums du peuple" in the main series, plus two albums in France and a spinoff titled ''L'Album pirate'' (''The Pirated Album''). His fourth album, which he expected to be his last and which he called ''L'Album du peuple final – Tome 4'' (''The Final Album of the People – Volume 4''), sold well, prompting him to continue making albums.
''Les 2 minutes du peuple'' made its debut in France in autumn 1995 on
Europe 2
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
radio, with Pérusse changing his accent and vocabulary to imitate
European French European French (french: français d'Europe, français européen) is the variety of French spoken in Europe, either in French speaking countries or area.
Geographic distribution
Among varieties of European French, we can find:
*French of Fran ...
. His work has been broadcast in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
since 1998 and in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
since 2002. He moved into television on February 8, 1999 with ''Le JourNul de François Pérusse'' (''The LameNews by François Pérusse''), a satirical news program. Animated versions of his sketches "Le Spécial du peuple" ("The Special of the People") and "La Série du peuple" ("The Series of the People") aired on the
TVA network. He has released a DVD, ''Le DVD du peuple'' (''The DVD of the People''), containing highlights of ''La Série du peuple'' and ''Le JourNul de François Pérusse''.
New sketches in the ''Les 2 minutes du peuple'' series air on the FM network
Énergie as part of ''C't'encore drôle'' (''It's Still Funny'', alternatively ''It Could Surprise You'') broadcast across
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. In 2006, his ''JourNul'' characters returned in a talkshow style segment called ''On s'écoute parler'' (''Listening to Ourselves Talking''). A great
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
fan, he was hired by the
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...
to work on the show ''
The Beatles: LOVE'' in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
He received three
Ruban d'or from the
Canadian Association of Broadcasters in the humour category.
In 2022, he had his first significant film role in his entire career, playing Alain Lamothe in the film ''
Niagara
Niagara may refer to:
Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada
*Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River
*Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border
*Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...
''.
[Émilie Côté]
"Un road trip qui part dans trop de directions"
'' La Presse'', September 15, 2022.
Discography
*1991 : ''
L'Album du peuple – Tome 1'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*1992 : ''L'Album du peuple – Tome 2'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*1994 : ''
L'Album du peuple – Tome 3'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*1995 : ''L'Album du peuple final – Tome 4'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*1996 : ''L'Album du peuple – Tome 5 – La poursuite'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*1997 : ''L'Album du peuple – Volume 1'' (Made for France) (France and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*2002 : ''L'Album du peuple – Volume 2'' (Made for France) (France and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*2002 : ''L'Album pirate'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
) – (
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
)
*2003 : ''L'Album du peuple – Tome 6'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*2004 : ''Le DVD du peuple'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and France)
*2007 : ''
L'Album du peuple – Tome 7'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*2011 : ''L'Album du peuple – Tome 8'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*2013 : ''L'Album du peuple – Tome 9'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*2015 : ''L'Album du peuple – Tome 10'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*2017 : ''Best Ove!'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
*2020 : ''L'Album du peuple – Tome 11'' (
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
)
See also
*
Culture of Quebec
*
List of Quebec comedians This is a list of Québécois people, Quebecers who have performed as comedians on stage, on television, or on the radio.
This list also includes Acadians, Acadian humorists and French Canadians, Franco-Canadian humorists who have mostly worked in ...
References
External links
François Pérusse's official website (in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perusse, Francois
1960 births
French Quebecers
Living people
Comedians from Quebec
Musicians from Quebec City
Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year winners
20th-century Canadian comedians
21st-century Canadian comedians
Canadian stand-up comedians
Canadian male comedians