Pierre Trimouillat (1858 – 5 January 1929) was a French songwriter, comedian and singer who was active in the cabarets of Paris in the 1890s.

Life

Pierre Trimouillat was born in Moulins, Allier, in 1858. He obtained a job as an official in the Prefecture of the Seine. He appeared at '' Le Chat Noir'' by 1891, an important step in gaining recognition in the Parisian cabaret scene. He contributed to the ''Chat Noir'' journal. He often attended the soirées of

La Plume ''La Plume'' was a French bi-monthly literary and artistic review. The magazine was set up in 1889 by Léon Deschamps, who edited it for ten years and was succeeded as editor by Karl Boès from 1899 to 1914. Its offices were at number 31 rue Bo ...

, the literary and artistic review set up in 1889 by

Léon Deschamps Léon Deschamps (1864 – 28 December 1899) was a French novelist and poet, most notable as the founder of the ''La Plume ''La Plume'' was a French bi-monthly literary and artistic review. The magazine was set up in 1889 by Léon Desch ...

. He published comic verses in this journal. Trimouillat proposed to the owner of the ''Procope'' to establish a cabaret on the first floor called ''Le Gringoire''. Performers included

Paul Delmet Paul Delmet (Paris 17 June 1862 – 28 October 1904 Paris) was a French composer. He was portrayed by Tino Rossi in the 1950 film ''Sending of Flowers ''Sending of Flowers'' (French: ''Envoi de fleurs'') is a 1950 French historical dram ...

, Eugène Lemercier,

Vincent Hyspa Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

, Gabriel de Lautrec, Yan Nibor and Marcel Legay. A satirical paper, ''Le Gringoire'', was based on these soirées and published between November 1893 and July 1894. The soirées at the Gringoire were soon replaced by soirées at the ''Procope'' that Trimouillat organized with

Xavier Privas Antoine Paul Taravel, known as Xavier Privas (27 September 1863 – 6 February 1927) was a French singer, poet, goguettier and composer. Life Antoine Paul Taravel was born in Lyon on 27 September 1863. He made his debut in the goguette of the C ...

and Gaston Dumestre. In the 1890s Trimouillat belonged to the "Gardenia" dramatic circle that

Paul Fabre Paul Fabre (1867 – 18 December 1902) was a French-Canadian actor, theatre critic and journalist who was active in Paris in the 1890s. Early years Fabre was born in Montreal in 1867. He was the son of Hector Fabre (1834–1910) of Montreal, a F ...

had founded in 1887. For a long time he was one of the main performers at ''Le Chat Noir'', where his thin voice would draw laughter from the audience. He also performed at many other venues including the Feuille de Vigne, Nouvelle Athènes, Paradis Latin, La Presse, Goguette, Quat'Z'arts, Procope, Caveau, Noctambules, Lice chansonnière, Bon Bock, Arts et Lettres, Caméléon, Chanson de Paris, Conservatoire de Montmartre, Chien Noir, cabaret de la Veine, Truie qui file, Carillon and Chat Botté. Plaque Trimouillat

An 1899 reviewer said of his work that his modernist poems included elements derived from the 17th century work of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

. He had a mischievous and caustic wit. Starting in the early 1900s Trimouillat stopped performing apart from short appearances for charity. Trimouillat died in 1929. He lived at 10, rue Chanoinesse from 1890 to 1929. His home is commemorated by a plaque.

Selected works

* ''À trois pas'', monolog in verse, Paris : Tresse et Stock, 1886, in-16, 9 p. * ''L'Araignée'', monolog in verse, Paris : Tresse et Stock, 1886, in-16, 9 p. * ''Le Bandeau'', monolog in verse, Paris : Tresse et Stock, 1886, in-16, 8 p. * ''Le Bègue'', monolog in free verse, Paris : Tresse et Stock, 1886, in-16, 10 p. * ''La Corde'', monolog in verse, Paris : Tresse et Stock, 1886, in-16, 10 p. * ''Le Faux nez'', monolog, Paris : Tresse et Stock, 1886, in-16, 13 p. * ''Lettre-close'', scène in verse, Paris : Tresse et Stock, 1886, in-16, 10 p. * ''L'Octroi'', poems, Paris : Tresse et Stock, 1886, in-16, 9 p. * ''Le Vengeur'', monolog, Paris : Tresse et Stock, 1886, in-16, 10 p. * ''L'Argent'', rhyming fantasy, Paris : P. Ollendorff, 1887, in-16, 16 p. * ''Gras et maigres'', comic monolog, Paris : P. Franck, 1889, in-16, 4 p. * ''Œuvres de Pierre Trimouillat, ballades, chansons, fantaisies, monologs, parodies, poèmes divers'', sous le patronage de Maurice Donnay,

Edmond Haraucourt Edmond Haraucourt (18 October 1856 Bourmont – November 1941 Paris) was a French poet and novelist. Work His first work, ''La légende des sexes, poèmes hystériques'' (1883), under the pen-name of Le Sire de Chambley, attracted some attenti ...

Charles Léandre Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, preface by Jacques Ferny, postface by Alcanter de Brahm, Paris : Stock, Delamain et Boutelleau, 1931, in-16, 280 p.

References

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trimouillat, Pierre People from Moulins, Allier 1858 births 1929 deaths French chansonniers 19th-century French singers