Thérèse Maria Léonie Gendebien, known by the stage name Léo Marjane (26 August 1912 – 18 December 2016) was a French singer who reached the peak of her popularity in the late 1930s and early 1940s before her career went into sharp decline after the end of World War II.

Early life

Thérèse Maria Léonie Gendebien was born on 26 August 1912 in

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

, France. Her father was a diplomat.

Career

Marjane began her career in the early 1930s singing in cabarets in Paris. She was noticed for her warm

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

voice and the clarity of her diction, and in 1936 was signed to a contract with the Pathé-Marconi label. Her early recordings – a mixture of original songs and standards of the era such as "

Begin the Beguine "Begin the Beguine" is a popular song written by Cole Porter. Porter composed the song between Kalabahi, Indonesia, and Fiji during a 1935 Pacific cruise aboard Cunard's ocean liner ''Franconia''. In October 1935, it was introduced by June Knig ...

" and " Night and Day" – were well received and popular. The peak of Marjane's career came in the early 1940s, when she was regarded as one of France's biggest female singing stars. In 1941, she recorded her signature song, the

Charles Trenet Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet (; 18 May 1913 – 19 February 2001) was a renowned French singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics to nearly a thousand songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years. These include ...

-penned "Seule ce soir" ("Alone Tonight"), which captured the feelings of the many who were experiencing wartime separation and became one of the best-loved songs of its time. Marjane's success came to an abrupt halt following the

Liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...

in August 1944. She was accused of having appeared many times at venues frequented by German officers, and her numerous performances on German- and collaborator-controlled

Radio Paris Radio Paris was a French radio broadcasting company best known for its Axis propaganda broadcasts in Vichy France during World War II. Radio Paris evolved from the first private radio station in France, called Radiola, founded by pioneering Frenc ...

were also held against her. Marjane maintained that she had been no more than naïve; nevertheless, in the immediate aftermath of the end of World War II, the allegations and negative publicity in France led her to spend a period of time in England and Belgium, where she was largely unknown.Léo Marjane biography
, chanson.udenap.org; accessed 20 December 2016. (French) On her return to France, Marjane resumed her recording career; popular opinion had turned against her, however, and she found little further success. During this period she toured extensively in the United States, Canada and South America, and also had small roles in two films: ''Les deux gamines'' (1951) and

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent film, silent era to the end of the 1960s. ...

's '' Elena et les hommes'' (1956). Marjane's legacy was kept alive by devotees of French song. Subsequent to her retirement from public life, Marjane consistently shunned most requests for television, radio, or published media interviews. She did, however, give an interview to radio channel

France Musique France Musique is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on European classical music, classical music and jazz. Hist ...

shortly before her 90th birthday in 2002.

Personal life and death

Marjane first married Raymond Gérard. After she married Baron Charles de la Doucette in 1957, she retired in

Barbizon Barbizon () is a commune (town) in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Barbizonais''. Art history The Barbizon school of painters is name ...

, outside Paris and devoted herself to

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

. She turned 100 in August 2012. Marjane died on 18 December 2016, aged 104, in

References

External links

Detailed career overview
(French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Marjane, Leo 1912 births 2016 deaths French women singers People from Boulogne-sur-Mer French centenarians Pathé-Marconi artists French jazz singers French women jazz singers French contraltos Singers from Paris Women centenarians