Thérèse Maria Léonie Gendebien, known by the stage name Léo Marjane (26 August 1912 – 18 December 2016) was a French singer who reached the peak of her popularity in the late 1930s and early 1940s before her career went into sharp decline after the end of World War II.
Early life
Thérèse Maria Léonie Gendebien
was born on 26 August 1912 in
Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Department ...
, France.
Her father was a diplomat.
Career
Marjane began her career in the early 1930s singing in cabarets in Paris.
She was noticed for her warm
contralto
A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type.
The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...
voice and the clarity of her diction, and in 1936 was signed to a contract with the
Pathé-Marconi label. Her early recordings – a mixture of original songs and standards of the era such as "
Begin the Beguine" and "
Night and Day" – were well received and popular. The peak of Marjane's career came in the early 1940s, when she was regarded as one of France's biggest female singing stars. In 1941, she recorded her signature song, the
Charles Trenet-penned "Seule ce soir" ("Alone Tonight"), which captured the feelings of the many who were experiencing wartime separation and became one of the best-loved songs of its time.
Marjane's success came to an abrupt halt following the
Liberation of France in August 1944. She was accused of having appeared many times at venues frequented by German officers, and her numerous performances on German- and collaborator-controlled
Radio Paris
Radio Paris was a French radio broadcasting company best known for its Axis propaganda broadcasts in Vichy France during World War II.
Radio Paris evolved from the first private radio station in France, called Radiola, founded by pioneering Fren ...
were also held against her. Marjane maintained that she had been no more than naïve;
nevertheless, in the immediate aftermath of the end of World War II, the allegations and negative publicity in France led her to spend a period of time in England and Belgium, where she was largely unknown.
[Léo Marjane biography](_blank)
, chanson.udenap.org; accessed 20 December 2016. (French)
On her return to France, Marjane resumed her recording career; popular opinion had turned against her, however, and she found little further success. During this period she toured extensively in the United States, Canada and South America, and also had small roles in two films: ''Les deux gamines'' (1951) and
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s. His films '' ...
's ''
Elena et les hommes'' (1956).
Marjane's legacy was kept alive by devotees of French song. Subsequent to her retirement from public life, Marjane consistently shunned most requests for television, radio, or published media interviews. She did, however, give an interview to radio channel
France Musique shortly before her 90th birthday in 2002.
Personal life and death
Marjane first married Raymond Gérard.
After she married Baron Charles de la Doucette in 1957, she retired in
Barbizon, outside Paris and devoted herself to
horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...
.
She
turned 100 in August 2012.
Marjane died on 18 December 2016, aged 104, in
Barbizon.
References
External links
Detailed career overview(French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marjane, Leo
1912 births
2016 deaths
French women singers
People from Boulogne-sur-Mer
French centenarians
Pathé-Marconi artists
French jazz singers
French women jazz singers
French contraltos
Singers from Paris
Women centenarians