Yves Lecoq (born Yves Louis Georges Lecoquierre on May 4, 1946) is a French

humorist A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business e ...

known especially for his voice impersonations.

Early life and education

Yves Lecoq was born in the

15th arrondissement of Paris 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious nu ...

, from a

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

francilian family. He became interested at an early age in the comic field, and rather than a career as a lawyer or a journalist, he did not follow his parents and began a career in theater at the age of 16. During his studies at the Lycée Georges Clémenceau in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, he played his first theater role in 1965.

Career

During the 1980s, he was the host of several television programmes, such as ''Suivez Lecoq'' (1980-1981), ''L'académie des neuf'' (1987-1991 on

Antenne 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 Ap ...

), and ''Tout le monde il est gentil'' (1989-1990 on

La Cinq La Cinq () was France's first privately owned free-to-air television network. Created by politician Jérôme Seydoux and Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, the network broadcast from 1985 to 1992. The contract for France's fifth terrest ...

). He also hosted the Miss France contest in 1990 and 1991 on FR3. From September 1988 to June 2018, he was the main vocal impersonator of ''

Les Guignols de l'info ''Les Guignols'' (, ''The Puppets''), formerly ''Les Guignols de l'info'' (, ''The News Puppets''), was a daily satirical latex puppet show broadcast on the French television channel Canal+. It was created in 1988, inspired by '' Le Bébête Sho ...

'' broadcast on Canal+, in which he lent his voice to the puppet of show's host Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, as well as the puppets of nearly 200 other public figures. His impression of former French

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

, one of the show's most popular caricatures, was one of the biggest contributors to Lecoq's public fame. He participated to the concerts of Les Enfoirés from 1994 to 2000, as well as in 2005. He has also presented various programs such as ''Graines de star'' in 1996 and 1997 on M6, and ''Les Grands du Rire'' on France 3 from 2005 onwards. He took part in 2019 in the french port of the famous '' Masked Singer'' TV franchise, inside the Dino character. He was eliminated in the fourth episode, aired 29 November 2019, and unmasked to overall surprise as he wasn't found by the panelists or live audience.

Personal life

He bought in 2008 the Château de Chambes in Roumazières-Loubert,

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

, the county where his maternal grandparents came from. In December 2011, he also bought the Château de Chalais, in the same department. He is also the owner of the Château de Maisonseule in Saint-Basile, Ardèche.

Books

*''Mémoires d'un Guignol'',

Éditions Robert Laffont Éditions Robert Laffont is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by Robert Laffont. Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium. It is considered one of the most ...

, 2007, *''Fou de châteaux'', Yves Lecoq, Roland Beaufre, Éditions du Chêne.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lecoq, Yves 1946 births French humorists French comedians Mass media people from Paris Living people French male writers French impressionists (entertainers) Beauty pageant hosts