Odette Laure(1917-2004)

Odette Laure, an actress and cabaret singer, had been born Odette Roussillon on February 28, 1917, to the owners of the Café des Arts in Belleville. At the age of 4, she already climbed up on the tables of the establishment to sing Damia and Mistinguett's songs, while at school, her fantasy and her fun were a hit. Accustomed to be the star of school revues, she participated in radio contests: on one of these occasions, Saint-Granier, the host of Le Poste Parisien, noticed her and advised her a career as a fancy singer. In spite of her natural disposition, her father refused to allow her to enter the Conservatory. To please her parents, she became a hairdresser and beautician and got married. But her husband turned out to be unfaithful, which led her to divorce him. After the Second World War, now free of all parental and marital influence, she decided to pursue her lifelong passion. Knocking on the door of Suzy Solidor's cabaret proved a right move since she soon became, and for a long time, one of its stars. Exuberant, full of energy, with a cheeky acidulous voice, the show-woman invariably made audiences burst with laughter. In 1954, her greatest commercial success "Ca tourne pas rond dans ma petite tête" written by Francis Blanche, earned her into the bargain the Charles Cros Prize. After such recognition, The singer started appearing on bigger scenes (The Olympia and Bobino music-halls). She also worked for the radio and the French television (Jean Nohain's « C'est arrivé à 36 chandelles »). during the same period she became an actress, playing in more than 50 films and television shows between 1949 and 2001. Her film debut was a bit part opposite Jean Gabin in Carné's 1949 « La Marie du port ». All this buzzing activity came to an abrupt halt - and for a period of a dozen years. Odette Laure's status as a successful singer was indeed swept away by the yé yé wave. In 1961, disoriented, she decided to make an intellectual and metaphysical retreat to Japan. Back in France, things picked up again thanks to Jean-Laurent Cochet. Not only did he invite her to assist him in the new drama class he had just opened (which would train future stars such as Depardieu, Huppert, Giraudeau, or Lucchini) but he also sponsored her theatrical debut in « Boudu sauvé des eaux ». Many plays followed, as well as the operetta « Véronique », after André Messager (1977) and television (TV movies, series and a noted participation in Michel Drucker's TV show « Télé Gabriel » where her volubility once again proved irresistible). Without forgetting the cinema, where she always made'em laugh, especially in "Le Viager" by Pierre Tchernia (1971), "Les nanas" (1984) and "La Dilettante" by Pascal Thomas (1999). Of all the roles of the second half of her career one stands out in particular, that of Jane Birkin's mother (and widow of ... Dirk Bogarde) in Tavernier's moving" Daddy Nostalgie " (1990). She was even nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for it. Having to live with a heart condition, the multi-talented performer was forced to slow down on her activities. She died in her sleep in Paris on June 10, 2004 of a heart attack.