Hélène Baillargeon (1916–1997) was a Canadian singer, actor, and folklorist probably best known as the host of the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

show ''

Chez Hélène ''Chez Hélène'' is a children's television series produced by and broadcast on CBC Television. The 15-minute weekday program was broadcast on the English television network to provide viewers with exposure to the French language. The program ...

'' from 1959 to 1973. She was born in Saint-Martin,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, on 28 August 1916 and studied singing in

Quebec City Quebec City 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 Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and then in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

with Alfred La Liberté. She went on to work as a researcher with

Marius Barbeau Charles Marius Barbeau, (March 5, 1883 – February 27, 1969), also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadians, Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthr ...

at the National Museum of Canada in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

(later the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

). In 1944, Baillargeon married André Côté, a

Crown attorney Crown attorneys or crown counsel () or, in Alberta and New Brunswick, crown prosecutors are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada. Crown attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code and vario ...

in Montreal. She performed and hosted shows on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

and Television such as ''Le réveil rural'' (1951–1955), ''Songs de chez nous'' (1952–1955), and ''Cap aux sorciers'' (1955–1958). Baillargeon was named to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1973. In 1974, she was appointed a Canadian citizenship court judge. She also recorded a number of collections of

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

folk songs. She died in Montreal on 25 September 1997.

Selected discography

* 1955: ''Songs of French Canada'' with Alan Mills (

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

) * 1956: ''French Christmas Songs: Chants de Noël'' (Folkways Records) * 1956: ''Chansons d'Acadie (Folks Songs of Acadia)'' (Folkways Records) * 1961: ''Chantons en Français; Vol. 1, Part 1–4: French Songs for Learning French'' (Folkways Records) * 1961: ''Chantons en Français; Vol. 2: French Songs for Learning French'' (Folkways Records)

References

External links

Baillargeon Discography on Folkways

Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baillargeon, Helene 1916 births 1997 deaths Members of the Order of Canada Canadian children's television personalities People from Beauce, Quebec Canadian women television personalities Francophone Quebec people