Rose-Alma Ouellette OQ, (August 25, 1903 – September 14, 1996) also known by her stage name La Poune was a

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

actress, comedian, theatre manager and

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

. Ouellette was born to François Ouellette and Josephine Lasanté in the faubourg à M’lasse, a working-class neighbourhood in

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In her teens, she dropped out of school and worked at a shoe factory in order to provide income for her large family. In the later part of her career, she appeared in film and on television, but she is most remembered for her work on stage. She is known as the first woman ever to have directed two individual playhouses in North America.

Career

Ouellette began her career at the age of 12, when she won several local singing and theater contests. At age 19, she was noticed by Paul Hébert after performing at the Ouimetoscope and Lune rousse theatres in Montréal. She formed a duo with Olivier Guimond (père), which quickly became popular throughout Québec. Ouellette called herself "Casserole" at first, but eventually took the stage name "La Poune" in order to complement Guimond's own stage name, "Ti-Zoune." Ouellette was a leading figure of the very popular

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

genres which dominated the theatrical scene in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

from the 1920s until the 1960s. From 1936 to 1953, Ouellette was in charge of the Théâtre National. In 1958 she launched a career in cabaret that lasted more than 20 years. In the late 60s and early 70s, she worked with

Gilles Latulippe Gilles Latulippe Order of Canada, CM Knight of the National Order of Quebec, CQ (31 August 1937 – 23 September 2014) was a French-speaking Quebecer, Québécois actor, comedian and theatre director and manager. Latulippe was a central figure in ...

at the Théâtre des Variétés of Montreal. Between 1971 and 1980, she played opposite Juliette Pétrie, Gerry Morelle, Simone Mercier, Gaston Boileau and Louis Armel. In 1982, she appeared as madame Jeanne Renoir in '' Scandale''; she has also made various television appearances. Her 75-year career eventually made her a

cultural icon A cultural icon is a person or an cultural artifact, artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture. The process of identification is subjective, and "icons" are judged by the extent to which they can be seen ...

in Quebec.

Television roles

She made her television debut in "Les Deux Valses," a play by André Laurendeau presented by the SRC in 1960. Later in 1960 she appeared in the comedy series "Télé-surprise" ( CFTM). She played occasional roles in the TV soap operas " Rue des pignons" (SRC, 1966–1977), " Chère Isabelle" ( TVA, 1976–1977), " Les Brillant" (TVA, 1979–1982) and " Les Moineau et les Pinson" (TVA, 1982–1985).

Awards

In 1985, Rose Ouellette was awarded the Rose d'or, a prize given by popular vote. In 1990, she was the recipient of the Ordre national du Québec.

Publications

Journalist Philippe Laframboise collected some biographical remarks, which were published in ''La Poune'' (Éditions Héritage, 1978. 139 pages). Oulette published several works including ''Vous faire rire, c'est ma vie'' (1983) and ''Comment atteindre le bel âge en grande forme'' (1985).

Death

Ouellette died on September 14, 1996, at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

at the age of 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouellette, Rose 1903 births 1996 deaths Comedians from Montreal Actresses from Montreal Canadian women comedians 20th-century Canadian actresses 20th-century Canadian comedians Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery