Marie-Louise Damien (born Louise Marie Damien; 5 December 1889 – 30 January 1978), better known by the stage name Damia, was a French singer and actress.
Early life
Louise Marie Damien was born on 5 December 1889 to Marie Joséphine Louise (née Claude) and Nicolas Damien on rue Jeanne d’Arc in the
13th arrondissement of Paris
The 13th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''treizième''.
The arrondissement, called Gobelins, is situated ...
. Her father was a police sergeant in Lorraine and she was raised in a family of eight siblings. Running away from home after being sent to a reform school, Damien arrived in Paris when she was fifteen.
Career
Damien initially worked as a model and actress playing bit parts with the
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...
, but by 1909 was performing as a dancer, using the stage name Marise Damia, with
Max Dearly in London. After returning from London, she was encouraged to sing by the
impresario
An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer.
Hist ...
Robert Hollard, who used the stage name "Roberty". Hollard was the husband of the singer,
Fréhel
Fréhel (; born Marguerite Boulc'h; 13 July 1891 – 3 February 1951) was a French singer and actress.
Biography
Born in Paris to a poor and dysfunctional Breton family, Marguerite Boulc'h was a child left to a life on the streets in the sordid ...
, at the time and his affair with Damia ended his stormy marriage. Her singing debut occurred in 1911 at the Pépinière and was followed by a performance at the
Alhambra
The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...
, which was arranged by
Harry Fragson
Harry Fragson (2 July 1869 – 31 December 1913), born Léon Philippe Pot, was a British music hall singer, songwriter and comedian. Born in London of French parentage, he moved to Paris, where he developed an act imitating French music hall pe ...
. He also arranged for her to perform at the
Alcazar d'Été
The Alcazar d'Été was a Café-concert which opened in 1869, at 8 Avenue Gabriel in Paris, and closed in 1914.
The old Café Morel behind the Élysée Palace was acquired in 1869 by Arsène Goubert who at the time was owner of the " Alcazar" a ...
, where she worked with
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...
. When Fragson was murdered by his father, Damia left France in 1913 and went to the United States. Performing on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
until 1916, she returned to France and during the remainder of the war sang on the war front.
Felix Mayol and Loie Fuller
After being seen by
Félix Mayol
Félix Mayol (18 November 1872 – 26 October 1941) was a French singer and entertainer.
Career
Mayol was born in Toulon, France. His parents, amateur singers and actors, arranged for Felix to make his debut stage at six years of age. In 1895, ...
, one of the leading male singing stars at the time, he hired her to perform at his concerts. Despite this, her career evolved slowly, taking second billing for a number of years but with help in her stage presentation from the American dancer,
Loie Fuller
Loie Fuller (born Marie Louise Fuller; January 15, 1862 – January 1, 1928), also known as Louie Fuller and Loïe Fuller, was an American actress and dancer who was a pioneer of both modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques.
Career
Born ...
, she eventually became a singing star. At the beginning of World War I she opened Le Concert Damia, in
Montmartre
Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...
, where she became the first star ever to have a single spotlight trained on her face, bare arms and hands. From this point in her career she became the most important exponent of the ''
chanson réaliste ''Chanson réaliste'' (, ''realist song'') refers to a style of music performed in France primarily from the 1880s until the end of World War II.Sweeney, Regina M. (2001). ''Singing Our Way to Victory: French Cultural Politics and Music During the G ...
'' genre until
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars.
Pia ...
came along in 1936. Her nickname was "la tragédienne de la chanson", and amongst her big hits were "Les goélands", "Johnny Palmer", "C'est mon gigolo" and "Tu ne sais pas aimer"—the latter song later became a theme for French sufferers of AIDS.
Eileen Gray
Around 1922, Damia became the lover of the architect
Eileen Gray
Eileen Gray (born Kathleen Eileen Moray Smith; 9 August 187831 October 1976) was an Irish architect and furniture designer who became a pioneer of the Modern architecture, Modern Movement in architecture. Over her career, she was associated w ...
, who was a member of a circle of lesbians which included Fuller and her lover
Gab Sorère
Gabrielle Bloch (17 February 1870 – 14 July 1961), known professionally as Gab Sorère, was a French art promoter, set designer, mechanical innovator, filmmaker and choreographer of the Belle Époque. Collaborating with her partner, Loïe ...
,
Natalie Barney and
Romaine Brooks
Romaine Brooks (born Beatrice Romaine Goddard; May 1, 1874 – December 7, 1970) was an American painter who worked mostly in Paris and Capri. She specialized in portrait painting, portraiture and used a subdued tonal Palette (painting), palette ...
. Upon Fuller's death in 1928, Damia and Sorère became lovers.
Films
In 1927, she appeared in the film, ''
Napoléon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
'' directed by
Abel Gance
Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J ...
with early
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
stars
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...
,
Philippe Hériat
Philippe Hériat (15 September 1898 in Paris – 10 October 1971) was a multi-talented French novelist, playwright and actor.
Biography
Born Raymond Gérard Payelle, he studied with film director René Clair and in 1920 made his debut in silent ...
,
Annabella, and
Suzanne Bianchetti
Suzanne Bianchetti (24 February 1889 – 17 October 1936) was a film actress.
Suzanne Bianchetti appeared in her first film in the early 1900s and quickly became one of France's most loved and respected actresses. She appeared as Marie Antoine ...
. Her other film successes included "Sola" and "Notre Dame De Paris", alongside Anthony Quinn. Damia had enduring appeal that stretched to audiences as far away as Japan where she toured in 1953.
Farewell tour
A few years later she did a farewell tour, ending her more than forty-year career in a double bill with
Marie Dubas
Marie Dubas (3 September 1894 – 21 February 1972) was a French music-hall singer, diseuse and comedian.
Biography
Born in Paris, France, Marie Dubas began her career as a stage actress but became famous as a singer. Using the great Yvette Guil ...
in front of a full house at the
Paris Olympia
The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra G ...
. Her actual swansong, however, was singing "Les Croix" on "La joie de vivre d'Edith Piaf", in 1956.
When asked in 1974 by the Anglo-French biographer
David Bret
David Bret (born 8 November 1954) is a British author of show business biographies. He chiefly writes on the private life of film stars and singers.
Life
Born in Paris, France, in 1954, Bret was adopted by an English couple and raised in Wath ...
to divulge the secret of her long life and fabulous voice, Damia replied, "Three packs of Gitanes a day!"
Death
Damia died on 30 January 1978 at
La Celle-Saint-Cloud
La Celle-Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the Yvelines department of the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a western suburb of Paris, from the center.
Population
Transport
La Celle-Saint-Cloud is served by two stations on th ...
, a western suburb of Paris, and was interred in the
Cimetière de Pantin. Today, she is considered to be the second greatest singer of ''
chansons réalistes'', after
Edith Piaf
Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...
.
Selected filmography
* ''
Calais-Dover
''Calais-Dover'' (french: Calais-Douvres) is a 1931 French-German comedy film directed by Jean Boyer and Anatole Litvak and starring Lilian Harvey, André Roanne and Armand Bernard.Bock & Bergfelder p. 455 It is the French-language version of th ...
'' (1931)
* ''
Alone'' (1931)
* ''
La tête d'un homme'' (1933)
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Damien, Marie-Louise
1889 births
1978 deaths
Singers from Paris
French film actresses
20th-century French actresses
People of Montmartre
20th-century French women singers
Lesbian musicians
LGBT singers from France