Henriette Ragon (10 June 1918 – 30 April 2015), better known as Patachou, was a French singer and actress. She was an Officier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Biography

Early life

Born in the

12th arrondissement of Paris The 12th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le douzième'' ("the twelfth"). Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is ...

, Henriette Ragon began her working life as a typist, then a factory worker, a shoeseller and an antique dealer.

Patachou

In 1948, with her husband Jean Billon she took over a cabaret-restaurant in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

, called Patachou. (Their son Pierre Billon had some success as a singer in the 1970s and wrote ''J'ai oublié de vivre'' for

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 ...

.) She began to sing in the bistro, and journalists began to call her Patachou after the name of her cabaret (pâte-à-choux means cream puff dough).

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 a ...

sang there, and together they sang the duet "Maman, papa". She was the first to interpret other songs he composed such as "Le bricoleur", "La chasse aux papillons", etc. The evening she sang them for the first time, she suggested her audience stay to the end of the show and meet the writer of these songs, and Brassens went up on to the Patachou stage for the first time and sang '' Le Gorille'' and ''P..de toi''. Sometimes she would collect half-ties (she would snip the neckties of customers reluctant to join in the singing and immediately staple them to the ceiling, a habit which has created a very original decor of the place - hundreds of neckties hanging above) – Thomas Dewey and

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...

were among her victims.

First recordings

Her first records were released in 1952. She appeared at the

Bobino Bobino at 20 rue de la Gaîté, in the Montparnasse area of Paris ( 14th arrondissement), France, is a music hall theatre that has seen most of the biggest names of 20th century French music perform there. During its long history it was also ...

, a

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...

music-hall, toured in France and then further afield. From 1953 onwards, she could be seen on-stage at the

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...

, the Waldorf Astoria, and Carnegie Hall, and throughout the United States. From the beginning of the 1970s she toured Japan and Sweden where 'L'eternal Parigot', with her cheeky Parisian register, was popular.

Awards

Patachou was made Officier of the

on 1 January 2009

Death

Patachou died on 30 April 2015 at the age of 96.Patachou, chanteuse - obituary
/ref>

Filmography

*1952: ''Jouons le jeu'' - la chanteuse (segments 'L'avarice' and 'La fidélité') *1953: '' Women of Paris'' (by Jean Boyer, Patachou sings " Brave Margot" by

) - Herself - Chanteuse *1955: ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

'' - Madame Sans-Gêne *1955: ''

French Cancan ''French Cancan'' (also known as ''Only the French Can'') is a 1955 French-Italian musical film written and directed by Jean Renoir and starring Jean Gabin and Francoise Arnoul. Where Renoir's previous film ''Le Carosse d’or'' had celebrated ...

'' (1955) - Yvette Guilbert *1983: '' Le disparu du 7 octobre'' (TV Movie, by Jacques Ertaud) - Blanche Auroux *1986: ''Faubourg St Martin'' - Madame Coppercage *1987: '' la Rumba'' (by

Roger Hanin Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

) - Madame Meyrals *1990: ''Le champignon des Carpathes'' - Madame Ambrogiano *1990: ''Les matins chagrins'' - Alice *1990: ''Night of the Fox'' (TV Movie) *1992: ''Chasse gardée'' - Madame Cygne *1993: ' (by Pierre Salvadori) - Madame Meynard *1993: '' Les Grandes Marées'' (TV Mini-Series, by

Jean Sagols Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

) - Sophie Leclerc *1999: ''

Pola X ''Pola X'' is a 1999 drama film directed by Leos Carax and starring Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva and Catherine Deneuve. The film is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel '' Pierre: or, The Ambiguities''. It revolves around a youn ...

'' (by

Leos Carax Alex Christophe Dupont (born 22 November 1960), best known as Leos Carax (), is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was '' Boy Meets Girl'' (198 ...

) - Marguerite *2000: '' Drôle de Félix'' (by

Olivier Ducastel Olivier Ducastel (born 23 February 1962) is a French film director, screenwriter and sound editor who currently works in collaboration with partner Jacques Martineau. Life and career After spending his adolescence in Rouen, Martineau moved to ...

and Jacques Martineau) - Mathilde, Grandmother *2000: ''

Les Acteurs ''Actors'' (original title: ''Les Acteurs'') is a 2000 French comedy film directed by Bertrand Blier. Plot A collection of portraits of actors (exclusively men, with the exception of Josiane Balasko interpreting André Dussollier) who meet and te ...

'' (by

Bertrand Blier Bertrand Blier (; born 14 March 1939) is a French film director and writer. His 1978 film '' Get Out Your Handkerchiefs'' won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards. He is the son of famous French actor Bern ...

) - Blind old lady *2001: '' Belphégor, le fantôme du Louvre'' (by

Jean-Paul Salomé Jean-Paul Salomé (born 14 September 1960) is a French director and screenwriter. Filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salome, Jean-Paul 1960 births Living people Film directors from Paris French male screenwriters French ...

) - Geneviève *2004: '' San-Antonio'' (by Frédéric Auburtin) - Ruth Booz

References

{{Authority control 1918 births 2015 deaths Musicians from Paris French film actresses Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Audio Fidelity Records artists 20th-century French women singers