Les B 3
(CHANTEURS ET CHANTEUSES)
8 Rue Coustou, 75018 Paris, France

Mystery French Ye-ye girl group Les B 3 released just one 7”, Tout Ce Bleu. Their contact at this address was Marcel Elsassi, who I can only presume was their manager.

Erik Montry
(CHANTEURS ET CHANTEUSES)
11 Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris, France

Born in 1937 in Florensac (Hérault), Eric Montry made a name for himself, as did many singers of the 1960s, on the label of the great Eddie Barclay. His songs are remembered with fondness by a generation of 1960s listeners, particularly the self-penned Euridyce Et Orphée. He sang at the Fête du Muguet, Chaville in 1967 alongside 60s icons Eddy Mitchell, The Yardbirds, Percy Sledge, Michel Sardou and Hugues Aufrey. Later he would tour with Marcel Amont, Anne-Marie Royer and the dancers of Barry Collins.

Perrette Souplex
(COMÉDIENNES)
7 Rue Cauchois, 75018 Paris, France

Actress Perrette Souplex (b.1930) is the daughter of the actor and chansonnier Raymond Souplex. She studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique. In the 1960s she was part of the trio Les Filles à papa formed with Suzanne Gabriello (daughter of André Gabriello) and Françoise Dorin (daughter of René Dorin). She appeared on TV, on stage and in the cinema, a career that spanned 70 years. She played the lead role in the 1950 film Zone Frontière, directed by Jean Gourguet.

See an object related to Perrette Souplex HERE

Raymond Souplex
(CHANSONNIERS and COMÉDIENS)
7 Rue Cauchois, 75018 Paris, France

Born in Paris in 1901, Raymond Souplex is an actor, screenwriter and chansonnier. In his early days he sang in many Parisian cabarets and café-théâtres, including the Caveau de la République, the Théâtre du Coucou and the Théâtre des Deux nes . In 1957, Claude Loursais chose him as the lead actor on the crime television series Les Cinq Dernieres Minutes, one of the masterpieces (with Maigret) of French TV. He played the role of inspector Antoine Bourrel for 56 episodes from 1958 to 1972.

Fernand Clare
(CHEFS D’ORCHESTRES)
6 Imp. Marie Blanche, 75018 Paris, France

Fernand Clare (1911-1971) was a jazz musician (tenor saxophone and clarinet), arranger, composer and bandleader. He made a name for himself in Nice as an accompanist to American pianist Herman Chittison. In the early 1940s he was a soloist with the Lanigiro Hot Players, a Swiss jazz and dance orchestra. Later in the decade he returned to Paris, and led his own band in a large dance hall called Le Dancing de l’Olympia, situated under the Olympia Theatre. Playing six days a week he employed the vocal talents of Yolande Cora and Robert Clary. He was well regarded as a composer, his film score for the film Chaleurs d’été (1959, directed by Louis Félix ) is very much sought after by vinyl collectors.

Michel Stany
(DANSEURS)
5 Rue Constance, 75018 Paris, France

In the early 1960s dancer Michel Stany was based in Paris. In the Guide du Show Business he described himself as “1.70 metres, Classique, moderne”. The critics were more enamoured with his physicality, calling him a muscular dynamic dancer. He appeared on stage at the Théâtre de la Gaîté Lyrique in Visa pour l’amour by Raymond Vincy et Francis Lopez. By the end of the 1960s Stany was working in the United States with Minsky’s Burlesque Follies under the directorship of Morton Minsky.

Jean-Pierre Marielle
(COMÉDIENS)
52 Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris, France

Jean-Pierre Marielle (1932-2019) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films in which he played very diverse roles, from a banal citizen (Les Galettes de Pont-Aven), to a World War II hero (Les Milles), to a compromised spy (La Valise), to a has-been actor (Les Grands Ducs), to his portrayal of Jacques Saunière in The Da Vinci Code. He was well known for his distinctive cavernous voice, which is often imitated by French humourists who considered him to be archetypical of the French gentleman. In parallel to cinematic roles he had a brilliant stage career and received the highest French award for a theatre actor, the Molière, in 1994.

Andre Certes
(COMEDIENS)
9 Rue Tholozé, 75018 Paris, France

Andre Certes (1909-1989) was a champion of youth theatre. He was a theatre and cinema actor but also one of the most successful producers in France. Before WW2 he formed the Jeunes Comédiens Associés (Association of Young Actors). In the first year of the group their 105 young members put on 320 performances, including at the Théâtre Pigalle, Théâtre de l’Etoile and Théâtre Antoine. During the war he formed another troupe, La Comédie de Paris. In 1956, Certes left the touring life to settle at the Comédie de Paris, renaming it the Théâtre d’Essai, a theatre space to showcase plays by young authors. During the season they presented, A Corps Perdu (the first play by Henri Roux with Valentine Tessier), Ce Pauvre Gulliver (the first play by Simone Dubreuilh with Lola Maddalena), and Litanie pour des Gisants (the first play by Paul DeBock). As a cinema actor he appeared in more than 20 films, the 1960s being an especially productive period, including L’aîné des Ferchaux (1963) with Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Studio 28
(Cinema)
10 Rue de Tholoze, Paris 75018

Mythical venue Studio 28 was converted from cabaret to cinema in the 1920s. Since then it has specialised in presenting art movies, attracting artists, painters and writers to hang out in its stylish bar and garden. The auditorium seated 200 on the floor level and was decorated by light fixtures designed especially by Jean Cocteau. Still open and screening films today, it has earned a special place in the Parisian filmscape.

Keith Lee
(DANSEURS)
27 Rue Tholozé, 75018 Paris, France

Keith Lee is a master teacher and choreographer originating from the Bronx, New York where he trained at the High School of Performing Arts in NYC. In 1968 Lee joined American Ballet Theatre and was promoted to the rank of soloist the following year. He then pursued his career at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre as their ballet master.