Jean Villard Gilles
Encyclopedia
Jean Villard a.k.a.
Gilles, was born on June 2, 1895 in Montreux (Switzerland
), and died on March 26, 1982 in Vevey
, next to his vineyard village of residence Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux) that is reputed for its quality Swiss white wine.
, Gilles was a French Swiss talented Chansonnier
, poet
, humorist, comedian
, actor
, cabaretist. He was friend with Édith Piaf
, Ernest Ansermet
, Jacques Brel
, Jean Poiret
, Michel Serrault
and met also with Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz. He gave his last interview in December, 1982 at his home, where he confided that « I have always tried my best to be a poet ».
One of Lausanne
parks, on the « Avenue du Théâtre », now bears his name.. He served in the Swiss Army during World War I
in Soubey
, Jura
, remembering that he had been defending the bridge that crosses the Doubs River
.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Gilles, was born on June 2, 1895 in Montreux (Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
), and died on March 26, 1982 in Vevey
Vevey
Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.It was the seat of the district of the same name until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District...
, next to his vineyard village of residence Saint-Saphorin (Lavaux) that is reputed for its quality Swiss white wine.
Swiss wine
Swiss wine is produced from nearly 15 000 hectares of vineyards, and the wines are mainly produced in the west and in the south of Switzerland, in the cantons of Geneva, Neuchâtel, Ticino, Valais and Vaud...
Biography
Originating from DaillensDaillens
Daillens is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Gros-de-Vaud.-Geography:Daillens has an area, , of . Of this area, or 65.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 19.9% is forested...
, Gilles was a French Swiss talented Chansonnier
Chansonnier
A chansonnier is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally "song-books," although some manuscripts are so called even though they preserve the text but not the music A chansonnier is a manuscript or...
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, humorist, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, cabaretist. He was friend with Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
, Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Alexandre Ansermet was a Swiss conductor.- Biography :Ansermet was born in Vevey, Switzerland. Although he was a contemporary of Wilhelm Furtwängler and Otto Klemperer, Ansermet represents in most ways a very different tradition and approach from those two musicians. Originally he was a...
, Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
, Jean Poiret
Jean Poiret
Jean Poiret, born Jean Poiré, was a French actor, director, and screenwriter. He is primarily known as the author of the original play La Cage Aux Folles. Jean Poiret was born in Paris, France, where he died of a heart attack in 1992...
, Michel Serrault
Michel Serrault
Michel Serrault was a celebrated French actor who appeared in over 150 films.-Biography :...
and met also with Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz. He gave his last interview in December, 1982 at his home, where he confided that « I have always tried my best to be a poet ».
One of Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
parks, on the « Avenue du Théâtre », now bears his name.. He served in the Swiss Army during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in Soubey
Soubey
Soubey is a municipality in the district of Franches-Montagnes in the canton of Jura in Switzerland.- References :...
, Jura
Canton of Jura
The Republic and Canton of the Jura , also known as the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is one of the cantons of Switzerland. It is the newest of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont...
, remembering that he had been defending the bridge that crosses the Doubs River
Doubs River
The Doubs is a 453 km long river in eastern France and western Switzerland, left tributary of the Saône. Its source is near Mouthe in the western Jura mountains....
.
Roles at the Theatre
- 1919 « L'histoire du soldat » from Igor Stravinski and Charles Ferdinand RamuzCharles Ferdinand RamuzCharles-Ferdinand Ramuz was a French-speaking Swiss writer.He was born in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud and educated at the University of Lausanne. He taught briefly in nearby Aubonne, and then in Weimar, Germany. In 1903, he left for Paris and remained there until World War I, with frequent...
- 1920-1930 Several roles at the "Théâtre du Vieux-ColombierThéâtre du Vieux-ColombierThe Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier is a theatre located at 21, rue du Vieux-Colombier, in the 6th arrondissement in Paris. It was founded in 1913 by the theatre producer and playwright Jacques Copeau...
" in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, directed by Jacques CopeauJacques CopeauJacques Copeau was an influential French theatre director, producer, actor, and dramatist. Before he founded his famous Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris, he wrote theater reviews for several Parisian journals, worked at the Georges Petit Gallery where he organized exhibits of artists' works... - 1920 : Cromedeyre-le-Vieil by Jules RomainsJules RomainsJules Romains, born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule , was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement...
, directed by Jacques CopeauJacques CopeauJacques Copeau was an influential French theatre director, producer, actor, and dramatist. Before he founded his famous Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris, he wrote theater reviews for several Parisian journals, worked at the Georges Petit Gallery where he organized exhibits of artists' works...
, Théâtre du Vieux-ColombierThéâtre du Vieux-ColombierThe Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier is a theatre located at 21, rue du Vieux-Colombier, in the 6th arrondissement in Paris. It was founded in 1913 by the theatre producer and playwright Jacques Copeau... - 1930 Plays in « La Compagnie des Quinze »
- 1931 «La Mauvaise Conduite d'après Plaute », Théâtre du Vieux-ColombierThéâtre du Vieux-ColombierThe Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier is a theatre located at 21, rue du Vieux-Colombier, in the 6th arrondissement in Paris. It was founded in 1913 by the theatre producer and playwright Jacques Copeau...
Chansonnier
- 1932-1939 duo « Gilles et Julien », with Julien (Aman Maistre(1903-2001)
- 1940-1948 duo with Edith Burger ,
- 1948-1975 duo with Albert UrferAlbert UrferAlbert Urfer was a pianist and chansonnier, born on 26 October 1914 in Vevey , died in Lausanne, on 29 October 1985.-Biography:...
Cabaret owner
- 1940 : he founded the cabaret « Coup de Soleil » in Lausanne with Edith Burger, an anti-Nazi, resistance, gathering place
- 1947 : he founded the cabaret « Chez Gilles » in Paris
- discovers Jacques BrelJacques BrelJacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
, then an unknown beginner whom he immediately hired.
- discovers Jacques Brel
- 1955 : « Chez Gilles » in Lausanne
Some well known works of his
- 1932 Dollar, first « chanson française engagée » of the
- 1936 La Belle France the anthem of the French Resistance Front populaire
- 1940 Les trois clochesLes trois cloches"Les trois cloches" was a Swiss song written by Jean Villard Gilles written in French. Edith Piaf and Les Compagnons de la chanson started their US-Tour in 1945/46 with this song, which was one of Ms. Piaf's greatest hits...
interpreted by Édith PiafÉdith PiafÉdith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
with Les Compagnons de la chansonLes Compagnons de la chansonLes Compagnons de la chanson were a French vocal group from Lyon, France, founded during World War II. Before 1946, they were part of a larger choir called the 'Compagnons de la musique'. The group met Edith Piaf in 1952 at an event in Paris, and recorded a French language song, "Les trois... - 1940 14 juillet
- 1948 Le Bonheur
- 1951 A L'Enseigne de la Fille Sans Cœur interpreted by Édith PiafÉdith PiafÉdith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
- 1954 La VenogeLa Venoge (poem)"La Venoge" is a poem written by Jean Villard Gilles who also wrote the popular song Les trois cloches. It refers to the River Venoge that flows in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland to Lake Léman...
- 1958 Nos Colonels
Books
- 1943, « Les Histoires de Gilles »
- 1954, « Mon demi siècle », Librérie Payot
- 1960, « La Venoge et autres poèmes » - images by Géa Augsburg, Editions du Verseau et Librairie Payot, Lausanne
- 1963, « Chansons que tout cela !», (Le meilleur de Gilles », tome I)
- 1969, « Mon demi siècle et demi », Payot
- 1971, « Le dernier mot », (Le meilleur de Gilles", tome II)
- 1978, « Amicalement vôtre, Récits, chansons et souvenir », Editions Pierre-Marcel Favre
Plays at the Théâtre du Jorat Mézières
- 1950 « Passage de l'étoile »
- 1960 « La Grange aux Roud »
External links
- Bibliographie
- Poésie La Venoge de Jean Villard-Gilles and much valuable information on "Vaudois" language. (This oeuvre is an integral part of the collective memory of a citizen of the canton of Vaud, as they were taught to recite it by heart at school from an early age).
- Vidéo Jean Villard Gilles chante et raconte des histoires vaudoises, des vidéos du site des archives de la TSR Télévision Suisse Romande TSRTélévision Suisse RomandeTélévision Suisse Romande is a TV network with 2 channels: TSR 1 and TSR 2. They are the main French language channels in Switzerland, part of SRG SSR idée suisse...