Robert Jean-François Joseph Pascal Lapointe (; 16 April 1922 – 29 June 1972), better known by his stage name Boby Lapointe (), was a French singer,

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and actor. As a singer and songwriter, he was noted for his humorous texts,

alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a literary device. A common example is " Pe ...

sSee the titles: ''Aubade à Lydie en do'', ''Ta Katie t'a quitté'', ''Madam' Mado m'a dit'' and plays on words.

Biography

Lapointe was born in Pézenas, in the

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

département of southern France. A brilliant pupil, he prepared for the entrance exam to the Centrale (engineering school) and Sup-Aero at

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, but was conscripted into the Youth Building Projects in 1942 and sent to

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, Austria, in 1943 for compulsory work service. He escaped the same year, and found work as a diver in

La Ciotat La Ciotat (; ; in Mistralian spelling ''La Ciéutat''; 'the City') is a Communes of France, commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southern France. It ...

, a suburb of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, in 1944. In 1946, he married Colette Maclaud. They had two children, Ticha (born 1948) and Jacky (1950). His first published work, ''Les douze chants d'un imbecile'', appeared in 1951. He moved to Paris and opened a fashion and baby clothes shop, still writing and producing plays. Later, he switched to being a fitter of TV aerials and began singing. His fame grew when the actor Bourvil sang Lapointe's song ''Aragon et Castille'' in the 1954 film ''Poisson d'avril''. In 1960, film director

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

offered him a part in '' Tirez sur le Pianiste'' in which he sang ''Framboise'', accompanied by Charles Aznavour on piano. This marked the start of a career that saw Lapointe perform at major venues throughout France. His joyful character led him to build friendships with the likes of Anne Sylvestre, Raymond Devos, Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens. Lapointe was also a math enthusiast, and developed the bibi-binary system (also known in French as the ''système Bibi'') in 1968.

Gallery

The town of Pézenas contains a monument to Lapointe (in the Place Boby Lapointe) and 7 carved stone sculptures relating to the man and his songs.

List of songs

Filmography

Filmography as actor: * 1960: '' Shoot the Piano Player'', as The Singer * 1970: ', as The Farmer * 1970: '' The Things of Life'', as the driver of the animal transporter * 1970: '' Chapaqua's Gold'', as Chapagua * 1971: '' Max et les ferrailleurs'', as Lui Serafino / 'P'tit Lu' * 1971: '' Les assassins de l'ordre'', as Louis Casso * 1971: ', as Honoré * 1971: '' Appointment in Bray'', as the inn keeper * 1971: '' The Widow Couderc'', as Désiré

Notes

External links

Boby Lapointe
at the Internet Movie Database
''Vidéo:'' Boby Lapointe
in 1967, singing ''Saucisson de cheval'', an archive of Télévision Suisse Romande * Bibibinary system in French Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapointe, Boby 1922 births 1972 deaths People from Pézenas 20th-century French male actors 20th-century French male singers French World War II forced labourers French escapees Escapees from German detention French male singer-songwriters French singer-songwriters French comedy musicians