Léon Xanrof
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Léon Alfred Fourneau (9 December 1867, 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 ...
– 17 May 1953, in Paris) was a French humourist, music-hall artist,
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...
and
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. ...
. Originally trained as a lawyer he invented the stage- and
pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
Xanrof by inversion of the Latin ''
fornax Fornax () is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere, partly ringed by the celestial river Eridanus (constellation), Eridanus. Its name is Latin for furnace. It was named by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1756. Forna ...
'' of his French surname ''
fourneau Fourneau is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Ernest Fourneau (1872–1949), French medicinal chemist * Jean-Claude Fourneau (1907–1981), French surrealist painter *Léon Fourneau Léon Fourneau (17 March 1900 &ndas ...
'' ("furnace"), before finally legally changing his name to Léon Xanrof.
Yvette Guilbert Yvette Guilbert (; born Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, 20 January 1865 – 3 February 1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque. Biography Emma Laure Esther Guilbert was born in Paris on 20 January 1865 to a modestly w ...
experienced early success singing Xanrof's songs at
Rodolphe Salis Louis Rodolphe Salis (29 May 1851 – 20 March 1897) was the creator, host and owner of the ('The Black Cat') cabaret (known briefly in 1881 at its beginning as ) in the Montmartre district of Paris. With this establishment, Salis is remembered ...
' cabaret
Le Chat Noir (; French for "The Black Cat") was a 19th century entertainment establishment in the Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard de Rochechouart by impresario Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 not long ...
. Born in an bourgeois upper middle class environment, with his father a wealthy physician,young Leon Fourneau was inclined to a literary and poetry career, but his family insisted on him graduating (
Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
) and taking up further éducation (he obediently undertook successful law studies and registered at the paris bar, aged 23), but he still felt inclined to song and opérette writing. The Xanrof alias was a measure of appeasement towards his family and the bar authorities as léon Fourneau kept writing and publishing songs for cabaret singers. A bizarre incident then occurred: As he was crossing the bustling rue Lepic (Lower
Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...
)he was almost run down by a closed winter Fiacre (French
Hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safet ...
with a closed body). The reason for the cab driver being neglectful was both salacious and funny: As Leon Fourneau was dusting himself he saw one of the cab's blinds briefly lifted and got a glimpse of a half-naked couple gazing at him . The cab-ride was what was termed a "course d'alcôve" (lovebed-ride),a not unfrequent instance in "Belle époque"Paris where illegitimate couples enjoyed "comprehensive flirtation" in the intimacy of a cab (At least two short humoristic tales by
Alphonse Allais Alphonse Allais (20 October 1854 in Honfleur – 28 October 1905 in Paris) was a French writer, journalist and humorist. He was also the editor of the '' Chat Noir,'' a satirical magazine. Life From 1879, Alphonse Allais attended the ″Hydrop ...
harp on this particular theme). Leon Fourneau quickly wrote a witty and somewhat racy song called 'Le Fiacre'', he was paid 50 gold francs for it and the song was inserted in a comic intermede in an operette called "''Les Mohicans de Paris''"adapted from a novel By
Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...
about Paris underworld. In this song a cuckolded old man walking in a Parisian street hears kisses, moans, and his wife's voice coming from inside a suspiciously rolling and pitching cab. He rushes forward, trips on the slippery wooden paved road ad is squashed to death by the cab. The lady then opens the door and rejoices, telling her lover that they do not need hiding any more. She then urges her lover to pay the princely tip of cent sous (Five gold francs) to the cab driver. The song then rocketed to French and international success when it was sung by the then-beginner
Yvette Guilbert Yvette Guilbert (; born Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, 20 January 1865 – 3 February 1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque. Biography Emma Laure Esther Guilbert was born in Paris on 20 January 1865 to a modestly w ...
. Yvette Guilbert's career as a singer was definitely launched and most of her best-remembered songs where written by Léon Fourneau who undertook official action to have his pen name duly registered as his official surname. In time he would resign from the bar, taking up full time operette and song writing work and being elected at the SACEM board (SACEM stands for Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs de Musique and is the mutual organisation in charge of music author's rights).Derek B. Scott - ''Sounds of the Metropolis'' 2008 p69 "In Paris,
Yvette Guilbert Yvette Guilbert (; born Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, 20 January 1865 – 3 February 1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque. Biography Emma Laure Esther Guilbert was born in Paris on 20 January 1865 to a modestly w ...
represented bourgeois vices humorously in chansons like "Le Fiacre" (words and music by Léon Xanrof) and "Je suis pocharde!" (words by Léon Laroche, music by Louis Byrec)."


Works

; Songs * ''À présent qu'on n'est plus ensemble'', dittie, lyrics by Léon Xanrof, music by E. Jaquinot. *''Rive gauche, chansons d'étudiants'' (1888) *''Chansons sans-gène'' (1890) *''Chansons parisiennes'', répertoire du
Chat noir (French language, French for 'black cat') is a cabaret and revue theatre in Oslo, Norway. It was established in 1912 by Bokken Lasson. The current director is Tom Sterri. Establishment Chat Noir was established as a cabaret in 1912 by singer B ...
(1890-1891) *''Chansons à Madame'' (1891) *''Pochards et pochades, histoires du Quartier Latin'' (1891) *''Chansons à rire'' (1892) * ''L'Anarchiste'', lyrics and music by Léon Xanrof. P. Dupont, (1892). *''L'Amour et la vie'', nouvelles (1894) *''Lettres ouvertes'' (1894) *''Bébé qui chante'' (1894) *''Chansons ironiques'' (1895) *''La Forme ! la fô.. ô.. orme !'' (1897) *''Juju'', recueil de nouvelles et de saynètes (1897) *''L'Œil du voisin'', recueil de contes (1897) *''De l'autel à l'hôtel'' (1902) *''Une et un font trois'' (1903) *''C'est pour rire'' (1911) *''Le Mécanique de l'Esprit'' (1931) *''Chacun treize à la douzaine'' (1933) ;Theatre *1888: ''Chez le peintre'', farce d'atelier in 1 act, with M. Bernac, Paris, Théâtre d'Application, 8 March *1896: ''Ohé, l'amour !'' revue in 2 tableaux, with Cellarius, Paris, Scala, 18 April *1897: ''Madame Putiphar'', three-act
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...
, with Ernest Depré, music byEdmond Diet, Paris,
Théâtre de l'Athénée The Théâtre de l'Athénée () is a theatre at 7 rue Boudreau, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Renovated in 1996 and classified a historical monument, the Athénée inherits an artistic tradition marked by the figure of Louis Jouvet who di ...
, 27 February *1901: ''Pour être aimée'', three-act comedy, with Michel Carré, Paris, Théâtre de l'Athénée, 27 February *1903: ''The Prince Consort'', three-act comedy, with Jules Chancel, Théâtre de l'Athénée, 25 November, which was used to create the 1929 film ''Parade d'amour'' (''
The Love Parade ''The Love Parade'' is a 1929 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code musical comedy film, directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald, involving the marital difficulties of Queen Louise of Sylvania (MacDonal ...
''). *1905: ''Son premier voyage'', comedy in 1 act and 2 tableaux, Paris, Théâtre des Deux Masques, 5 November *1906: ''En douceur'', one-act comedy, with
Pierre Veber Pierre-Eugène Veber (15 May 1869 – 20 August 1942) was a French playwright and writer. Biography Pierre Veber was the brother of the painter Jean Veber, and the brother-in-law of both René Doumic and Tristan Bernard. His family was quite l ...
, Paris,
Théâtre des Mathurins The théâtre des Mathurins (), also called Les Mathurins, is a Parisian theatre located at 36, rue des Mathurins, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It was established in 1897. Directions * 1898–1901: Marguerite Deval * 1901–1908: Ju ...
, 23 October *1908: ''Un coup de foudre'', three-act vaudeville, Paris,
Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques The Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques () was a theatre in Paris in the 19th and 20th centuries. Opened first in 1832 in the site of the old Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique on the Boulevard du Temple, under Frédérick Lemaître it became a noted ...
, 16 April *1908: ''S.A.R. (Son Altesse royale)'', three-act
musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
, with
Jules Chancel Jules Chancel (25 September 1867 – 20 January 1944) was a French journalist and writer, particularly active in books for children. Biography A nephew of Jules Charles-Roux, he is the father of Jean-Louis Chancel and Ludovic Chancel. Volu ...
, music by Ivan Caryll, Paris,
Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers ...
, 11 November *1910: ''Rève de valse'', three-act
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...
, adaptation by Léon Xanrof and
Jules Chancel Jules Chancel (25 September 1867 – 20 January 1944) was a French journalist and writer, particularly active in books for children. Biography A nephew of Jules Charles-Roux, he is the father of Jean-Louis Chancel and Ludovic Chancel. Volu ...
, after et , music by Oscar Straus, Paris, Théâtre de l'Apollo *1911: ''Les Petites étoiles'', three-act operetta, with Pierre Veber, music by Henri Hirchmann, Paris, Théâtre Apollo, 23 December ;Cinema *
1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...
: ''La Fête de Marguerite'', script by Léon Xanrof, Pathé frères


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Xanrof, Leon Writers from Paris 1867 births 1953 deaths 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights French chansonniers Burials at Montmartre Cemetery