Thierry Le Luron (; 2 April 1952 – 13 November 1986) was a French

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and humorist.

Early life

Born 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 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, to Francis Le Luron (1926–2012) and Huguette Gousserey (1922–2009).

Debut

In 1969, when Thierry Le Luron was a 17-year-old student at the Lycée Emmanuel-Mounier in

Châtenay-Malabry Châtenay-Malabry () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the center of Paris. The French writer Chateaubriand lived in the estate at Châtenay-Malabry. The Garden City in the Butte Rouge, the , is one of t ...

, he and his friends created a band called "Les rats crevés" ("The Dead Rats") and performed a few gigs in the

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

region. The band debuted in several Parisian cabarets, including L'Echelle de Jacob. Le Luron was featured on 4 January 1970 on the

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

"Le jeu de la chance," a segment of the TV show '' Télé Dimanche''. He won six consecutive times, first singing classic tunes before choosing to devote himself to imitation. He performed his first sketches on the same program, including the 1 February 1970 (imitation

Adamo Adamo is both a masculine given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Adamo Abate (c. 990 – 1060–1070), Italian medieval Benedictine abbot and saint, a promoter of the unification of the Southern populatio ...

) and 15 February 1970 editions, even on the anniversary of Jean Nohain, when he sang for

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jacques Chaban-Delmas Jacques Chaban-Delmas (; 7 March 1915 – 10 November 2000) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. He was the Mayor of Bordeaux from 1947 to 1995 and a deputy for the Gironde ''d ...

and Jean Nohain. In 1971, Le Luron released his first album, ''Le Ministère patraque'' ("The Ministry out of sorts"), which became very popular. He gave his first performance as an actor in Bobino between February and March 1972 and opened for the

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of " Comme d'habitude" ( ...

tour in the summer of 1972.

Success

From November 1972 to July 1973, Le Luron hosted his first show, "Le Luron du dimanche" ("Le Luron on Sunday"), on the first channel of ORTF. It was created the same year as his new show was premiered at the

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés () is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History The theatre owed its creation to Mademoiselle Montans ...

. Thierry Le Luron performed every evening with some of his friends, his last acts were poignant. The band "Le Luron" included Jacques Collard, Jacques Pessis, Pierre Guillermo, Francis Diwo, Luc Fournol, and Bernard Mabille. The portraits, sketches and imitations were refined and gave birth to very elaborate performances at the Olympia (December 1976), Bobino (February-April 1978),

Théâtre Marigny The Théâtre Marigny () is a theatre in Paris, situated near the junction of the Champs-Élysées and the Avenue Marigny in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement. It was originally built to designs of the architect Charles Garnie ...

(October 1979 – June 1980), ''Thierry Fééries'' at the Palais des congrès de Paris (November 1980 – January 1981), ''De

de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

à Mitterrand'' at the

(January- December 1983), and ''Le Luron en liberté'' at the Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell (November 1984 – March 1986). The last show attracted about 400,000 viewers. He then worked mainly with Bernard Mabille and created the character of Adolphe Benito Glandu, caretaker at 22 Rue de Bièvre, a "fairly extensive caricature of the average Frenchperson: an individual with no particular equities, influenced by calamities, and that defines Le Luron: Petainist under Pétain, Mendesist under Mendès France, and Socialist May 10 to 11!". He also pursued an intense activity on television and radio: '' Chat en poche'' by

Georges Feydeau Georges-Léon-Jules-Marie Feydeau (; 8 December 1862 – 5 June 1921) was a French playwright of the Belle Époque era, remembered for his farces, written between 1886 and 1914. Feydeau was born in Paris to middle-class parents and raised in a ...

as part of the TV show ''Au théâtre ce soir'' (released 24 October 1975) and ''Numéro 1'' by Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier (March 1976 and June 1979). From 1978 to 1979, he hosted a weekly show, ''Les Parasites sur l'antenne'', on

France Inter France Inter () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is the successor to Paris Inter, later known as France I, and created as a merger of the France I and France II networks, first as RTF Inter in October 1963, then ren ...

including

Pierre Desproges Pierre Desproges (; 9 May 1939 – 18 April 1988) was a French humorist. He was born in Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis. According to himself, he made no significant achievements before the age of 30. From 1967 to 1970, he worked as: life insurance s ...

, Lawrence Riesner, Bernard Mabille and Evelyne Grandjean as columnists. In 1981, he recorded the theme song of the animated television series '' Rody le petit Cid''. Thierry Le Luron later imitated

Gilbert Bécaud François Gilbert Léopold Silly (24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001), known professionally as Gilbert Bécaud (), was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-know ...

on the TV show '' Champs-Elysees'' on 10 November 1984, singing and making the public sing along a song titled "L'emmerdant, c'est la rose" ("The rose is what's annoying", a parody of Bécaud's '' L'important c'est la rose''), with the rose being the symbol of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

dedicating this song to President

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

. On 25 September 1985, he "married"

Coluche Michel Gérard Joseph Colucci (, ; 28 October 1944 – 19 June 1986), better known under his stage name Coluche (), was a French stage comedian, cinema actor, activist and philanthropist. He adopted ''Coluche'' as a stage name at age 26, when he ...

"for better or for laughter" ("pour le meilleur ou pour le rire," a pun on the phrase "pour le meilleur ou pour le pire") to great fanfare in

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 ...

. A few weeks later his "son," played by Carlos was born. Le Luron said: "I wanted Coluche to be dressed by

Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...

. But...for Mourousi's marriage, he has to make both dresses". This statement, and the false marriage itself, are often interpreted as a public act of vengeance, especially by Le Luron's friends, as most of the attention was focused on Coluche, although the press commended both of them for their outspokenness.

Death and legacy

Le Luron was diagnosed with AIDS at the age of 34, and cancelled his scheduled appearances in December 1985. He died on 13 November 1986.

References

External links

Biography
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Luron, Thierry 1952 births 1986 deaths French comedy musicians Parody musicians French satirists French satirical musicians French parodists French LGBTQ musicians Deaths from cancer in France French male writers 20th-century French comedians 20th-century French male singers French impressionists (entertainers) 20th-century French male writers 20th-century French LGBTQ people Comedians from Paris