Robert Marcy
(COMÉDIENS)
76 Bd Barbès, 75018 Paris, France

Actor, theatre troupe co-founder, and theatre director Robert Marcy has had a 70 years career in the creative arts. Well respected for his work in the theatre world he is also an author, singer and songwriter. Perhaps the best known song he wrote is La Queue du chat, made famous by Les Frères Jacques. Marcy was married to the actress Denise Bosc. Like many French actors he dubbed foreign films, his voice is the race reporter’s in the French version of Wacky Races.

Silvio (Sylvio) Gualda
(Accessoires vibra timbales)
69 Rue de Clignancourt, 75018 Paris, France

Born in Algiers in 1939 Sylvio Gualda is a classical percussionist who cut his musical teeth in the Orchestre Pasdeloup, Orchestre Colonne and Orchestre Lamoureux. He played at the Lido under the direction of Jacques Hélian, and accompanied the accordionist André Verchuren. In 1968 he became the tympani soloist of the Paris Opera Orchestra and in the same year gave the first performance on stage of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s ballet, Zyklus. It was the year that launched his solo career, and about the same time he lived here in Rue de Clignancourt.

Robert Verany
(COMÉDIENS)
69 Rue de Clignancourt, 75018 Paris, France

In the 1950s Robert Verany appeared on stage in Paul Dunand’s Terre Brûlante at the Théâtre Osiris in Porte d’Orléans, Paris. His voice could be heard on French public radio in the 1960s. Productions included the radio play Jésus-la-Caille by Francis Carco (adapted by Frédéric Dard). The play was performed by the troupe Théâtre Populaire Juin 44 and set amongst the pimps and prostitutes of Montmartre. An area that was right on his doorstep.

Jean D’Agostino
(Saxophone)
37 Rue Ramey, 75018 Paris, France

Jean D’Agostino was a multi-instrumentalist and arranger who studied at the Ecole Bréguet in the 1930s. The school would became the ESIEE (École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs en Électrotechnique et Électronique) in 1968. D’Agostino would later become the accompanist for the cabaret singer Blanche Darly, famous for her witty repartee.

Philippe Clair
(CHANTEUR)
19 Rue Ramey, 75018 Paris, France

Philippe Clair was an important French humourist, actor and director. In 1965 he directed his first film, Déclic et des claques, the comic tale of the misadventures by a young pied-noir in Paris. He recorded his 7” single Si..naï M’était Compté.. at the Élysée Montmartre located on Boulevard Marguerite de Rochechouart. Most of his films were commercial successes, although they didn’t always please the critics who thought them vulgar or overacted.

SERGE-PAUL
(CHANSONNIER)
12 Rue Lécuyer, 75018 Paris, France

Singer, poet, man of letters, painter, draughtsman, playwright and journalist Serge-Paul (real name Marcel Boullet b.1906) was a regular performer at cabarets across Paris and France, but most often on his home patch of Montmartre. His story is entwined with the history of the district, as a regular performer at the La Vache Enragee evenings, a name that captures the very spirit of La Butte. Once a famous carnival procession organised by artists in 1896 the name La Vache Enragee resurfaced as the newspaper that represented the Commune Libre de Montmartre. Both newspaper and cabaret evenings operated under the guidance of poet and anarchist singer Maurice Hallé.

Georges Giriel
(CHANSONNIER)
14 Rue Lécuyer, 75018 Paris, France

Chansonnier, humourist, author and songwriter Georges Giriel was the Mayor of the Commune Libre de la Butte-Montmartre, a spin-off of the famous Commune Libre de Montmartre. Formed in 1921, the original Commune Libre was a parody association formed to maintain the village spirit of the district, raising funds for various local causes. Giriel, a popular touring entertainer, formed his own charity, Chanson au Sanatorium in 1923, for which he was awarded the Légion d’honneur. The charity organised weekly free concerts for patients undergoing treatment in sanatoriums across France. In 1932 he began his tenure as the mayor of the Free Commune of Butte Montmartre, a position he held for more than 20 years. Giriel was dedicated to the poulbots (street urchins) and elderly of Montmartre, even erecting the annual Christmas tree at the Moulin Rouge for their pleasure.

Poulbot, meaning ragamuffin or street urchin. Derived from the artist Francisque Poulbot who was known for his drawings of Paris street children, and for opening a dispensary on Rue Lepic to help needy children of Montmartre.

See an object relating to Georges Giriel.

Jean Gobet
(COMÉDIEN)
9 Rue Custine, 75018 Paris, France

The career of French stage and film actor Jean Gobet (1888-1980) largely predates the 1960s. The majority of his cinema appearances were in the 1930s, including Kiki (1932), En plein dans le mille (1932) and Prince de minuit (1934). On the theatre stage he was a regular at the Théâtre du Grand-Guignol from the 1920s to the 50s.