''La famille Plouffe'' was a Canadian television drama, more specifically a
téléroman
A téléroman ("telenovel" or ''annual drama series'') is a genre of French-language drama television series in Canada, similar to a soap opera or a Spanish language telenovela. In France, the ''téléroman'' genre is known as feuilleton télév ...
, about a
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
family that first aired in the French language 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. ...
in 1953. The show was created to fill a void in
francophone
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...
television in Canada. Whereas the English Canadian television branch of the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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. ...
could broadcast English-language shows from American stations, the francophone component of the CBC, Radio-Canada had to develop its own programs for
French Canadian
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
viewers from the earliest days of television in Canada. This show was one of the few that helped to launch the téléroman genre of programming in French Canada, around the same time the first
telenovelas
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include ''teleserye'' (P ...
aired in Latin America.
The series was also broadcast live in English as ''The Plouffe Family'' on
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
the following year and ran on both networks until 1959. The series was revived in the 1980s as a
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
.
The series was based on the novel ''
Les Plouffe Plouffe is a French surname. People with the surname include:
* David Plouffe (born 1967), American campaign manager
* Katherine and Michelle Plouffe (born 1992), Canadian basketball players and twin sisters
* Maeve Plouffe (born 1999), Australian ...
'', by
Roger Lemelin
Roger Lemelin, (April 7, 1919 – March 16, 1992) was a Quebec novelist, television writer and essayist.
Biography
Lemelin was born in Quebec City. From 1944 to 1952, he was a Canadian correspondent for the American magazines ''Time'' and ...
. It chronicled the daily life of a working-class family in the years following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The family included patriarch Théophile, a former provincial cycling champion who had settled into life as a plumber, his wife Joséphine, a naive but kind-hearted mother who doted on her adult children Napoléon, Ovide, Cécile and Guillaume.
It was designated and preserved as a "masterwork" by the
Émile Genest
Émile Genest (July 27, 1921 – March 19, 2003) was a Canadian actor.
Career
Born in Quebec City, Quebec, as a young man Genest served with the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. At war's end, he worked for a time in radio in his hometown ...
* Ovide Plouffe –
Jean-Louis Roux
Jean-Louis Roux, (May 18, 1923 – November 28, 2013) was a Canadian politician, entertainer and playwright who was briefly the List of lieutenant governors of Quebec#Lieutenant Governors of Quebec, 1867–present, 26th Lieutenant Governor of Que ...
,
Marcel Houben
Marcel may refer to:
People
* Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel
* Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder
* Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...
* Guillaume Plouffe –
Pierre Valcour
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
* Cécile Plouffe –
Denise Pelletier
Denise Pelletier, Order of Canada, OC (May 22, 1923 – May 24, 1976) was a Canadian actress.
Early life
Pelletier was born in 1923 in Saint-Jovite, Quebec to Albert Pelletier, a literary critic, and Marie-Reine Vaugeois. She had a brother, Gille ...
* Gédéon Plouffe –
Doris Lussier
Doris Lussier (15 July 1918, Fontainebleau, Estrie, Quebec – 28 October 1993) was a French Canadian comedian and actor, and political activist. He was for many years the personal secretary of Georges-Henri Lévesque, but became famous as a com ...
* Démérise Plouffe –
Nana de Varennes
Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name
* Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname
* Nana ...
* Onéisme Ménard –
Rolland Bédard
Rolland is a surname and masculine given name which may refer to:
Surname
* Alain Rolland (born 1966), former Irish rugby union footballer and current international referee
* Andy Rolland (born 1943), Scottish former footballer
* Antonin Rollan ...
Lucie Poitras
Lucie is the French and Czech form of the female name Lucia. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Lucie Ahl, British tennis player
* Lucie Arnaz, American actress
* Lucie Aubrac, member of the French Resistance
* Lucie Balthaza ...
* Jeanne Labrie –
Thérèse Cadorette
Thérèse Cadorette (1925 – 2007) was a Québécois writer and actress. A square in Montreal, Quebec, was renamed to honour her in 2016, as part of the Toponym'elles initiative.
Career
Thérèse Cadorette began her career in theatre with t ...
* Stan Labrie –
Jean Duceppe
Jean Hotte-Duceppe (1923–1990) was a stage and television actor from Montreal, Quebec.
Born on 25 October 1923 to a family of local shopkeepers in working-class Montreal, Jean Duceppe came to the theatre with no formal training and was compl ...
* Père Alexandre –
Guy Provost
Guy Provost, (May 19, 1925 – February 10, 2004) was a French Canadian actor.
In 2002, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for being a "giant of the performing arts, admired and respected for his sensitivity and discipline, eis also ...
* Martine Plouffe –
Margot Campbell Margot (; ) is a feminine French given name, a variant of Marguerite. It is also occasionally a surname. Persons named Margot include the following:
People with the given name Margot
* Margot Asquith, countess of Oxford and Asquith
* Marguerit ...
Ginette Letondal Ginette may refer to:
Music
* "Ginette", a song by Têtes Raides.
* "Ginette", a song by Beau Dommage.
People
* Ginette Leclerc (1912–1992), French actress
* Ginette Mathiot (born 1946), French chef
* Ginette Moulin, French billionaire heiress
* ...
* Agathe Plouffe –
Clémence DesRochers Clémence DesRochers OC (born 23 November 1933) is a Canadian actress, humourist, singer, and author.
Life
She was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec on 23 November 1933.
At the age of 17, she went to Montreal where she entered the normal school. She the ...
* Rosaire Joyeux –
Camille Ducharme Camille may refer to:
Fictional entities
* a Power Rangers Jungle Fury character
* Camille Wallaby, a character in Alfred Hedgehog
* a character from ''League of Legends'' video game voiced by Emily O'Brien
Films
*''Camille (1912 film)'', a s ...
* Jacqueline Sévigny –
Amulette Garneau
Amulette Garneau (August 11, 1928 – November 7, 2008) was a Canadian actress living in Quebec.
She was born Huguette Laurendeau in Montreal and was educated at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, going on to study acting at the school of ...
* Alain Richard –
Guy Godin
Guy or GUY may refer to:
Personal names
* Guy (given name)
* Guy (surname)
* That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart
Places
* Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet
* Guy, Arkansas, US, a city
* Guy, Indiana, US, an unincorpo ...
* Hélène Giguère –
Françoise Graton
Françoise Graton (4 June 1930 – 7 November 2014) was a Québécoise actress who lived and worked in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She contributed much to the advancement of theatre in Montreal and particularly in involvement with children.
Bio ...
* Alphonse Tremblay –
Ernest Guimond
Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People
*Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...