Suzanne Gabriello (24 January 1932 – 9 August 1992), born Suzanne Yvonne Henriette Marie Galopet and also known as Zizou, was a French singer and actress. She animated television programs for young people and presented contests on French television. Suzanne Gabriello was one of the partners of

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

Biography

Suzanne Gabriello was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1932. She was the daughter of French actor and comedian

André Gabriello André Gabriello (1896–1975) was a French film actor. A character actor known for his supporting roles, notable appearances included Jean Renoir's '' Partie de campagne'' (1936) and Maurice Tourneur's '' Cecile Is Dead'' (1944).Waldman p.16 ...

, whom she followed into show business. In 1955, she was an emcee, storyteller and singer, forming the trio Les Filles à Papa with two other daughters of famous cabaret performers:

Françoise Dorin Françoise Andrée Renée Dorin (; 23 January 1928 – 12 January 2018) was a French actor, comedian, novelist, playwright and songwriter. She was most successful in the 1970s, authored about 30 plays and more than 25 books as well as writing song ...

and Pierrette Souplex. During a tour organized by

Jacques Canetti Nessim Jacques Canetti (30 May 1909, Ruse, Bulgaria – 7 June 1997, Suresnes) was a French music executive and a talent agent. Born into a Sephardic Jewish family, his parents were Jacques Elias (Elieser) and Mathilde (Mazal) (née Arditti) Ca ...

, she met the Belgian

chansonnier A chansonnier (, , Galician and , or ''canzoniéro'', ) is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally " song-books"; however, some manuscripts are call ...

, who was already married. They had a turbulent relationship over the next five years, including numerous separations and reconciliations. In her capacity as an announcer at the Olympia in Paris, she lobbied for Brel to perform at the Music Hall and announced it herself at one of his early concerts. According to Gabriello, Brel wrote his song "

Ne me quitte pas "Ne me quitte pas" (''"Don't leave me"'') is a 1959 song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. A well-known ...

" for her, and sang it to her in the presence of friends. Brel later contradicted her, calling the song "the story of an asshole and a failure. It has nothing to do with any woman." Gabriello specialized in comic chanson and parodies. She parodied

Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; ; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and ...

Enrico Macias Gaston Ghrenassia (born 11 December 1938), known by his stage name Enrico Macias, is a French singer, songwriter and musician. Early years Gaston Ghrenassia was born to a Sephardic Jews, Sephardic Jewish family. His father, Sylvain Ghrenassia ...

Jean Ferrat Jean Ferrat (born Jean Tenenbaum; 26 December 1930 – 13 March 2010) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. He specialized in singing poetry, particularly that of Louis Aragon. Biography Ferrat was born in Vaucresson, Hauts-de-Seine, the you ...

Guy Mardel Guy Mardel (, born Mardochée Elkoubi; 30 June 1944, in Oran, French Algeria) is a French singer, best known for his participation in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest. Mardel lived his first 15 years in Algeria before moving to France in 1959. H ...

, and

Nino Ferrer Nino Agostino Arturo Maria Ferrari (; 15 August 1934 – 13 August 1998), known as Nino Ferrer (), was an Italian-born French singer-songwriter and author. Biography and career Nino Ferrer was born on 15 August 1934 in Genoa, Italy, but lived t ...

, among others. Later she shifted to acting and appeared in eight feature films. Gabriello was married twice, once to director Guy Lauzin (with whom she had a daughter), and once to the singer Michel Dubaile (with whom she had a son and second daughter). Gabriello died of cancer on 9 August 1992 at

Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital (, ) is a charitable hospital in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the AP-HP Sorbonne University Hospital Group and a teaching hospital of Sorbonne University. History The Salpêtrière ...

, at the age of 60.

Selected filmography

* ''

Sweet Madness ''Sweet Madness'' (French: ''Folie douce'') is a 1951 French comedy film directed by Jean-Paul Paulin and starring Lisette Jambel, Marthe Mercadier and André Gabriello.Rège p.799 The film's sets were designed by the art director Eugène Delfau ...

'' (1951) * ''

Quintuplets in the Boarding School ''Quintuplets in the Boarding School'' (French: ''Des quintuplés au pensionnat'') is a 1953 French comedy film directed by René Jayet and starring Valentine Tessier, Armand Bernard and Maurice Escande.Rège p.534 It was shot at the Billancour ...

'' (1953)

References

Bibliography

Cinémémorial
* 1932 births 1992 deaths 20th-century French women singers {{France-singer-stub