Simone Langlois
(CHANTEURS ET CHANTEUSES)
5 Vla Dancourt, 75018 Paris, France

Simone Langlois was a French author and singer born in Paris in 1932. From the age of four she sang with her mother on the streets and in cafes. Simone Langlois was the first performer to sing Jacques Brel’s Ne me quitte pas after meeting the young singer in 1957.

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Enrique Ibarreta
(DANSEURS)
5 Vla Dancourt, 75018 Paris, France

In 1955 Enrique “Quique” Ibarreta began his artistic journey as a dancer and choreographer in revues and musicals in his home country of Argentina. After crossing the globe, he made Paris his home, working at Le Lido and at the Folies Bergère in the city. As an actor he starred in films that straddled the continents of his old and new life, including the 1964 production Un Momento muy largo.

Georges Matis
(CHANSONNIERS)
112 Blvd Marguerite de Rochechouart, 75018 Paris, France

Chansonnier, composer and pianist Georges Matis is probably best remembered for his songwriting collaborations, particularly those with Jean Loysel and Raymond Souplex. He was well connected within music circles being the accompanying pianist for many chansonniers, including René Dorin. He died in 1967, the same year he was listed as living here.

Madame Arthur
(CABARETS)
75B R. des Martyrs, 75018 Paris, France

The drag cabaret venue Madame Arthur opened its doors in 1946 and is widely thought of as the “first transvestite cabaret in Paris”. The cabaret’s name comes from the synonymous song written in 1860 by Paul de Kock and performed by Yvette Guilbert. The inspirational transgender performer Coccinelle began her entertainment work at Madame Arthur, and the boulevard named after her is just a high kick away.

Elga Andersen
(CHANTEURS ET CHANTEUSES / COMÉDIENNES)
6 Bd de Clichy, 75018 Paris, France

Elga Andersen (1935-1994) was a German actress and singer. She starred in a series of memorable French films in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps she’ll be best remembered for her roles in the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone, and alongside Steve McQueen in the film Le Mans (1971). Her singing career was fairly short lived, concentrated mostly in the 1960s around a handful of EPs.

Manuel Pizzaro/Pizarro
(CHEFS D’ORCHESTRES)
6 Bd de Clichy, 75018 Paris, France

Bandoneonist, composer, and orchestra director Manuel Pizzaro (1895-1982) was one of a number of Argentinian tango specialists living in Montmartre. Together they helped promote a better understanding of tango music (and Argentine culture to a certain extent) in France. Pizzaro’s time in Paris was punctuated by WW2. Before the war he formed orchestras that combined Argentine musicians with Frenchmen from the jazz scene. He brought over his five brothers from the mother country to play with him. He performed throughout Europe, in Spain, England, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium but had to leave Paris in 1939. In 1951 he returned to Paris and was obviously still running his orchestra in the later 1960s when he was living here.

Pierre Still
(CHANTEURS ET CHANTEUSES)
8 Bd de Clichy, 75018 Paris, France

Counted among the elite of chansonniers Pierre Still was often found on stage amongst his fellow singers and raconteurs. A regular in the cabarets of Montmartre, my favourite photo of him is at the Moulin Rouge, alongside Gabriello, Maurice Horgues, Pierre Gilbert and Michel Mery. Like many chansonniers Still was an excellent humourist and mimic, he particularly enjoyed poking fun at the church and religion. A multifaceted performer he appeared on the small and big screen, including alongside Raymond Souplex in the 1971 film Clodo.

Maurice Vamby
(CHANSONNIERS)
8 Bd de Clichy, 75018 Paris, France

French comedian and actor Maurice Vamby (1927-2014) was a chansonnier whose audience never knew whether to laugh or cringe when his sharp wit was its most direct. In the 1960s he appeared with Jean Yanne and Daniel Prevost in the radio soap opera Le Syndicat du Grime, a parody of the TV series The Untouchables starring Robert Stack. He worked alongside collaborator Yanne in the cinema too, memorably in Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ (1982) and Moi y’en a vouloir des sous (1973). He will be known to a generation of children as the narrator on Disney’s French vinyl output during the 1970s. These included Mickey (Mouse) And The Beanstalk, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Guy Trejean
(COMÉDIENS)
10 Bd de Clichy, 75018 Paris, France

The life and work of actor Guy Tréjan (real name Guy Treichler) took him between his native city of Paris and Geneva, where his father was from. Both cities gave him the opportunity to hone his craft in theatre, radio, operetta, cabaret, music hall and television. From 1966 to 1970 he played the role of Commissaire Lambert in the TV series Allô Police. He won a Molière (the equivalent to the American Tony Award or the British Olivier Award) for best actor in 1991 for his performance in Thomas Bernhard’s Heldenplatz.