Thierry Le Luron (; 2 April 1952 – 13 November 1986) was a French

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and humorist.

Early life

Born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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, to Francis Le Luron (1926-2012), and Huguette Gousserey (1922-2009).

Debut

In 1969, when Thierry Le Luron was a 17-year-old student at the Lycée Emmanuel-Mounier in

Châtenay-Malabry Châtenay-Malabry () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located 10.8 km (6.7 mi) from the center of Paris. The French writer Chateaubriand lived in the estate ''Vallée-aux-Loups'' at Châtenay-Malabry. The Gar ...

, he and his friends created a band called "Les rats crevés" ("The Dead Rats") and performed a few gigs in the

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...

region. The band debuted in several Parisian cabarets, including L'Echelle de Jacob. Le Luron was featured on 4 January 1970 on the

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

"Le jeu de la chance," a segment of the TV show '' Télé Dimanche''. He won six consecutive times, first singing classic tunes before choosing to devote himself to imitation. He performed his first sketches on the same program, including the 1 February 1970 (imitation Adamo) and 15 February 1970 editions, even on the anniversary of

Jean Nohain Jean Nohain (1900–1981) was a French playwright, lyricist, and screenwriter, and a radio and television producer and presenter. He was the son of the librettist Franc-Nohain and the brother of the actor Claude Dauphin.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.118 ...

, when he sang for

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Jacques Chaban-Delmas Jacques Chaban-Delmas (; 7 March 1915 – 10 November 2000) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. He was the Mayor of Bordeaux from 1947 to 1995 and a deputy for the Gironde ''d� ...

and

. In 1971, Le Luron released his first album, ''Le Ministère patraque'' ("The Ministry out of sorts"), which became very popular. He gave his first performance as an actor in

Bobino Bobino at 20 rue de la Gaîté, in the Montparnasse area of Paris ( 14th arrondissement), France, is a music hall theatre that has seen most of the biggest names of 20th century French music perform there. During its long history it was also k ...

between February and March 1972 and opened for the

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude" (c ...

tour in the summer of 1972.

Success

From November 1972 to July 1973, Le Luron hosted his first show, "Le Luron du dimanche" ("Le Luron on Sunday"), on the first channel of ORTF. It was created the same year as his new show was premiered at the

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...

. Thierry Le Luron performed every evening with some of his friends, his last acts were poignant. The band "Le Luron" included Jacques Collard, Jacques Pessis, Pierre Guillermo, Francis Diwo, Luc Fournol, and Bernard Mabille. The portraits, sketches and imitations were refined and gave birth to very elaborate performances at the

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

(December 1976),

(February-April 1978),

Théâtre Marigny The Théâtre Marigny is a theatre in Paris, situated near the junction of the Champs-Élysées and the Avenue Marigny in the 8th arrondissement. It was originally built to designs of the architect Charles Garnier for the display of a panoram ...

(October 1979 – June 1980), ''Thierry Fééries'' at the

Palais des congrès de Paris The Palais des congrès de Paris is a concert venue, convention centre and shopping mall at the Porte Maillot in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France. The venue was built by French architect Guillaume Gillet, and was inaugurated in 1974. Nearb ...

(November 1980 – January 1981), ''De

de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

à Mitterrand'' at the

(January- December 1983), and ''Le Luron en liberté'' at the

Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell The Théâtre du Gymnase or Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell, is a theatre in Paris, at 38 Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, 10th arrondissement (métro : Bonne Nouvelle (Paris Métro), Bonne Nouvelle). History Inaugu ...

(November 1984 – March 1986). The last show attracted about 400,000 viewers. He then worked mainly with Bernard Mabille and created the character of Adolphe Benito Glandu, caretaker at 22 Rue de Bièvre, a "fairly extensive caricature of the average Frenchperson: an individual with no particular equities, influenced by calamities, and that defines Le Luron: Petainist under Pétain, Mendesist under Mendès France, and Socialist May 10 to 11!". He also pursued an intense activity on television and radio: ''

Chat en poche is a comedy in three acts by Georges Feydeau which was performed for the first time on the 19 September 1892 at the Théâtre Déjazet. Modern times commentators have remarked that even if this early play was still influenced by Eugène Marin Labi ...

'' by

Georges Feydeau Georges-Léon-Jules-Marie Feydeau (; 8 December 1862 – 5 June 1921) was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his farces, written between 1886 and 1914. Feydeau was born in Paris to middle-class parent ...

as part of the TV show ''Au théâtre ce soir'' (released 24 October 1975) and ''Numéro 1'' by Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier (March 1976 and June 1979). From 1978 to 1979, he hosted a weekly show, ''Les Parasites sur l'antenne'', on

France Inter France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...

including

Pierre Desproges Pierre Desproges (9 May 1939 – 18 April 1988) was a French humorist. He was born in Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis. According to himself, he made no significant achievements before the age of 30. From 1967 to 1970, he worked as: life insurance sal ...

Lawrence Riesner Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparato ...

, Bernard Mabille and Evelyne Grandjean as columnists. In 1981, he recorded the theme song of the animated television series '' Rody le petit Cid''. Thierry Le Luron later imitated

Gilbert Bécaud Gilbert Bécaud (, 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release t ...

on the TV show '' Champs-Elysees'' on 10 November 1984, singing and blackmailing the public's ignorance, in a song titled "L'emmerdant, c'est la rose" ("The rose is what's annoying", a parody of Bécaud's '' L'important c'est la rose''), with the rose being the symbol of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

dedicating this song to President

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

. On 25 September 1985, he "married"

Coluche Michel Gérard Joseph Colucci (, ; 28 October 1944 – 19 June 1986), better known under his stage name Coluche (), was a French stage comedian and cinema actor. He adopted ''Coluche'' as a stage name at age 26, when he began his entertainment c ...

"for better or for laughter" ("pour le meilleur ou pour le rire," a pun on the phrase "pour le meilleur ou pour le pire") to great fanfare 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 ...

. A few weeks later his "son," played by

Carlos Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

was born. Le Luron said: "I wanted Coluche to be dressed by

Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (, , ), born Pietro Costante Cardino (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shap ...

. But...for Mourousi's marriage, he has to make both dresses". This statement, and the false marriage itself, are often interpreted as a public act of vengeance, especially by Le Luron's friends, as most of the attention was focused on Coluche, although the press commended both of them for their outspokenness.

Death and legacy

Le Luron was diagnosed with AIDS at the age of 34, and cancelled his scheduled appearances in December 1985. He died on 13 November 1986.

References

External links

Biography
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Luron, Thierry 1952 births 1986 deaths French humorists French comedy musicians Parody musicians French satirists French parodists LGBT musicians from France Deaths from cancer in France French male writers 20th-century French comedians 20th-century French male singers French impressionists (entertainers) 20th-century French male writers 20th-century LGBT people