MAURICE CHEVALIER, MISTINGUETT,
GAY PARIS... AND
THEIR TIMES
By Maximillien de Lafayette
In
1918, the
first world war constant bombardments forced « Le Casino de Paris » to close
its doors. Around the end of the war, the Casino resumed its operations and
offered a sensational show to inaugurate and celebrate its comeback. The two
headliners were Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguett. It was an obvious choice.
Every six months, their show was renewed and enlarged to include various
acts by other Parisians singers and dancers. Volterra, the mastermind of the
Casino’s attractions and shows kept the show and other artistic
presentations going for 12 consecutive years. Quite a record. He produced 24
productions of superb beauty. Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguett wrote four
of those memorable shows.
Mistinguett
became a big star. She was a character, an extremely ambitious artist and
very demanding one. One day, she went to Volterra and asked him to place her
name before the name of Maurice Chevalier. She told him that she was better
than Chevalier and her name was the reason why people came to see the show.
Volterra refused.
Mistinguett got upset and left “Le Casino de Paris” for a while. Chevalier
got upset too, for he heard that Volterra might one day agree with Mistinguett
and consider her as the first headliner, so hee left
the Casino too and went to London. Same troubles and gossips charades will happen one day between Mistinguett and Josephine Baker.
Photos
from L to R: #1.
Maurice Chevalier with Sophia Loren in
"A Breath of Scandal" (1960). #2. Maurice
Chevalier with Audrey Hepburn in "Love in the Afternoon" (1957).
# 3. Maurice
Chevalier with Jeanette MacDonald in "Love Me Tonight" (1932).
MAURICE CHEVALIER: SUPER STAR OF
"LE CASINO DE PARIS"
Maurice
Chevalier was the superstar of “Le Casino de Paris”. He shared fame and
fortune with his co-female superstar Mistinguett. They had different
personalities and divergent characters, yet they were friendly on the set.
Mistinguett was very jealous and envious of the success of any female or
male Parisian artist who was a threat to her. Chevalier was a perfect gentleman on and off stage. He had a lot
of class and was very permissive by nature. Mistinguett was a very
loving and generous person but, a shrewd, tough cookie artiste.The French
never considered Mistinguett
as a “great singer”. They saw in her the perfect Cabaret artiste with a very
unique stage presence. She had legs! She had charisma! She was outrageous!
And she was multi faceted. Chevalier was looked upon as the perfect Parisian
music hall singer, artist and entertainer. Both had national and
international hits. Chevalier had his “Gigi”, “Valentine”, “Mimi”, “Louise”
and “Thanks for the Little Girl”. Mistinguett had “Ca C’est Paris” and “Mon
Homme”, a song which became an international success. Almost all the great
French singers one day will sing her song, including Patachou the protégé of Edith
Piaf, and decades later, Barbra Streisand will record it too
under “My Man”.
Photo:
Mistinguett and Maurice Chevalier at the dawn of their shows
collaboration at “Le Casino de Paris”
Maurice
Chevalier was born in 1888 in Paris, France. He began his artistic career in
1901 as a comedian and a singer. He made a dozen of movies in France and in
Hollywood. His first motion picture was in
fact his first Hollywood musical "Innocents of Paris", released in
1929. His
two motion pictures “The Love Parade” and “The Big Pond” both shot in
1929-1930 made him an international motion pictures star. His fame and talent
as a solid cinema actor were cemented in the 1950’s “Gigi” and “Love in the
Afternoon”. In 1959 he was honored by the Academy of Motion Pictures and received a
special Oscar for his contributions to the world of entertainment and life
achievements. He kept on performing and entertaining millions around the
globe until his late seventies. Maurice Chevalier’s 1921 first appearance at
“Le Casino de Paris” was coincidental. The Casino had its own superstar, the
one and only Mistinguett.
The
"Casino de Paris"
did not need Chevalier’s talent. But, one night, Mistinguett could not perform, for she had to attend a private party given at her honor at “Théâtre
de la Porte St. Martin”. It was a perfect timing for Chevalier to step in. The
Casino asked him to replace Mistinguett for the night and the rest is history.
To be fully accurate, Chevalier never thought that one day, he will be
performing at the Casino. Replacing Mistinguett for one single night was not really the beginning of his
illustrious career, for he was already very famous and did not need to work at
“Le Casino de Paris”. But his performance that night was so captivating and
mesmerizing, the public kept on asking for more and more “encores”. The
Casino’s management took notice and almost immediately tried to strike a deal
with Chevalier. This is exactly how Chevalier’s career began at the
"Casino de Paris" behind the back of Mistinguett.
Purely coincidental. When Mistinguett knew about this, she went
bananas. She knew that Chevalier is a hard act to follow and a tough
competition to beat. But she had no choice. Business is business. And business
it was.
Meanwile,
outside the world of “Le Casino de Paris” other famous stars of “La Chanson
Française” and “L’Art du Nu” were doing very well.
Esther Lekain had a big success with her “ La
Petite Tonkinoise”. Fréhel made it big with his Tango show. Damia was a
sensation. Yvonne Printemps took Paris by storm. Eugénie Buffet became a national figure. The Spanish Raquel Meller triumphed in Paris.
Jane Aubert’s voice was recognized as the most beautiful voice in town. So,
everybody was doing well.
Photos from L to R:
Fievre
Serpentine,
Gaby Deslys, Marie Dubas.
Also, at
that time in history, the
sensational Lucienne Boyer was considered a national treasure and her song
« Parlez-moi d'amour »
received the prestigious award « Grand Prix du Disque ».
Yvonne George became the first Parisian
singer of the left bank. Some other talented artists made briefly their way to
the glamorous world of entertainment and faded away as fast as they entered
it. They are still remembered but are not what you might call “artists to remember”.
Later, newcomers will come, shine for a while and vanish for ever. Some will be
forgotten for good, while others will make their mark and cause their seal on
the world of entertainment. “Fievre Serpentine” the queen of “Iconic
Burlesque”, Lilly Lamont who shined for a certain period are completely
forgotten now. Others gained fame throughout the years and the many years to
come, such as Corinne Calvet who once upon a time was considered the Diva of
the silver screen, Marie Dubas, the Grande Dame Line Renaud,
Gaby
Deslys, Zizi Jeanmaire, etc.
Lilly
Lamont
Corinne Calvet
Photo: Josephine Baker.
In
1925, Mistinguett left « Le Casino de Paris » and returned with Jacques
Charles to « Le Moulin Rouge ».
Volterra had to find a high caliber
“vedette” to replace Mistinguett. The only obvious choice was Maurice
Chevalier. In
1926, Chevalier returned to “Le Casino de Paris” as the sole and principal
star of the show. At that time, Mistinguett regained her throne as the queen
of Parisian Cabaret at “Le Moulin Rouge”. She switched quite often
between "Le Casino de Paris" and "Le Moulin Rouge". She could afford to play
hardball, because she was a hot commodity and in constant demand. In that
sense, Mistinguett is also to be considered as the first French Cabaret Prima Dona!
She became extremely famous and powerful. Quite often, she managed to break contracts
she signed with proprietors of legendary establishments and did
not "give a damn". Her lack of commitment and disrespect for signed
contracts drove Volterra crazy!
In
1929, Volterra had enough with showbiz. "Le Moulin Rouge" and
"Le Théâtre Marigny"
became a tough competition to beat.
He sold “Le Casino de
Paris” for nine million Francs.
Oscar and Varna
Dufrenne became the new proprietors of the Casino. In 1930, Joséphine Baker
began her illustrious career at the Casino. She made her début in " Paris Qui Remue" which lasted 13 consecutive months. The Parisians began to call her "Reine
du Music-Hall" (Queen of the Music-Hall). In 1937, some six year later, Mistinguett returned once again to
"Le Casino de Paris". In 1940, the Nazis
closed down the Casino. And both, Chevalier and Mistinguett were out of
business.
Around
September 1941, the Germans reopened "Le Casino de Paris". But no French artist was willing to
perform at the Casino because it was under the control of the Gestapo and SS. Almost all the Parisian artists, singers and entertainers boycotted the
Casino; a show of solidarity with the French resistance was en vigeur.
The Germans forced Maurice Chevalier to perform at the Casino. He could not
refuse. Later on, Mistinguett joined him too, and together they
collaborated on two shows. But, they made a deal. And the deal went like that: Each one will star
independently and solely in one separate show. So, Maurice Chevalier starred
in the first show and Mistinguett in the second. The collaboration lasted
until the end of 1941.
Photo: Chevalier and
Jerry Lewis in Paris.
Photos from L to R:
#1. Mistinguett’s Poster as a Recording Artist at Columbia. #2. Mistinguett’s Poster as the Star of “Theatre Mogador”.
After
the second world war, “Le Casino de Paris” adopted a new formula and a new
style of variety shows. To some, it was an innovative artistic creativity
needed to metamorphose with the change of time. To many others, it was a
betrayal. What we see today at the Casino is a faithful continuation of the
1946’s shows and spectacles and to a certain extent, a conformity with the concept developed
in 1941. In 1959, Line Renaud made her début at the Casino. More shows were
added and constantly revised. They grew in variety and size. Some of the
musical shows had 110 performers, dancers, singers and artistes on stage!
In 1970, Zizi Jeanmaire was
the superstar of « Le Casino de Paris ». She starred in the variety show of
Roland Petit. In 1975, Petit left the Casino. Jean Bauchet, a veteran of Cabarets and ex-director of operations and entertainment
at “Le Moulin Rouge”, “Casino de Marrakech” and “Tabarin” began to worry about
the future of the Casino which was left without headliners and major stars.
Line Renaud and her husband Louis Gasté began to reshape the variete shows.
Because Line Renaud was highly respected in the showbiz and her name was
familiar to the public, customers began to return to the Casino.
Unfortunately, in 1978, the Casino’s proceeds began to drop drastically. And
finally, on January 5, 1980, the Casino went out of business.
In1982,
the Casino reopened its door.
Photos
from L to R: #1. Juliette Greco. #2. Lucienne Boyer.
After 1983, a
new concept was born: No more nudity shows, no more scandalous
women, no more prima donnas. Jazz and Rock N Roll took over. In fact,
anything that could or would help the Casino was considered, even
if it was NOT French. No more consideration was exclusively
given to Parisian traditional shows. Thus, American Jazz, “Le Boogie-Woogie”,
Rock mixed with ballets from the Opera of Rome, and appearances by old icons
like Tino Rossi (who was already 75 year old) did the trick. Surprisingly
enough, the formula worked. Particularly the show of Tino Rossi who brought
back a flair of nostalgia and romance. Encouraged by this success, the
Casino’s management began to incorporate large American productions and
Broadway’s musicals like “Hair”. In 1984, the Casino officially adopted this
formula. It is still implemented to this day. The
style of Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguett became obsolete.
FAMOUS ARTISTS FROM THE TIMES
OF CHEVALIER AND MISTINGUETT
Line Renaud
Line Renaud
Tino Rossi Nicole
Croisille