Johnny Stark (talent manager)
Encyclopedia
Johnny Stark was a French "imprésario" (A&R executive) and producer, one of the most dynamic in show business in France. He is perhaps best known for working with Édith Piaf
and representing Mireille Mathieu
from the 1960s until his death in 1989, making her into an international star.
, the son of Colonel Stark, a prominent Alsatian military figure, and a Corsican
mother, born Julie Chappuit. His mother died in Nice
at the age of 33 years. He lived in Corsica until the age of 11, then the French Riviera
, between Cagnes-sur-Mer
and Antibes
. He attended school in La Bocca, Cannes
. His father became a horticulturist
and had property in Cagnes
.
In 1941, he enlisted as a volunteer in North Africa
and worked with American troops. After the Second World War, he went to Hong Kong
and returned to Cannes in May 1946. On August 15 of that year, he organized a "The Night of Stars" at the stage of the Hespérides
, in Cannes. It featured names such as Édith Piaf
, Yves Montand
, Lily Fayol
, Reda Caire
, Marie Bizet, Johnny Hess, Marcel Cerdan
, Laurent Dauthuille
and Robert Charron.
Johnny Stark then organized tours with Tino Rossi
, Luis Mariano
, Roger Pierre
and Jean-Marc Thibault, and was responsible for scouting Gloria Lasso
, Dalida
and Marino Marini
. He established the Théâtre de Verdure (Juan-les-Pins), where in 1947 he hired Édith Piaf. Loulou Gasté
asked Stark to manage Line Renaud
in 1949. Line Renaud and Gasté were married December 19, 1950, attended by Stark. In the early 1960s, Johnny Hallyday
, was at the forefront of the Yé-yé
movement while under the guidance of Stark.
In the 1960s, he worked with performers such as Michèle Torr and Mireille Mathieu
, the latter of which he made into an international star between 1965 to 1989. From 1967 to 1970, Johnny Stark was also responsible for the career of singer Michel Delpech
and in 1976, he organized François Valéry
's tour with Johnny Mathis
at more than 60 venues across France.
Stark was married twice: first to Zoe Thaddeus (divorced in 1962), second to Nicole Bertho, with whom he had a daughter, Vicenza (divorced in the 1980s). He died in Paris on 24 August 1989.
The name of Johnny Stark is related to the history of Colmar Music Festival. He was reportedly responsible for introducing the Wine Fair which in its heyday attracted some 150,000 people and the biggest names in music.
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
and representing Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu is a French chanteuse, and pop singer. Hailed in the French press as the successor to Édith Piaf, she has achieved great commercial success, recording over 1200 songs in nine different languages, with more than 120 million records sold worldwide.-Childhood to early...
from the 1960s until his death in 1989, making her into an international star.
Biography
He was born in HuningueHuningue
Huningue is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace in north-eastern France. Huningue is a northern suburb of the Swiss city of Basel. It also borders Germany . In 2008 it had a population of 6503 people...
, the son of Colonel Stark, a prominent Alsatian military figure, and a Corsican
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
mother, born Julie Chappuit. His mother died in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
at the age of 33 years. He lived in Corsica until the age of 11, then the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
, between Cagnes-sur-Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Geography:It is the largest suburb of the city of Nice and lies to the west-southwest of it, about from the center.-History:...
and Antibes
Antibes
Antibes is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It lies on the Mediterranean in the Côte d'Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is within the commune of Antibes...
. He attended school in La Bocca, Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
. His father became a horticulturist
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
and had property in Cagnes
Cagnes-sur-Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Geography:It is the largest suburb of the city of Nice and lies to the west-southwest of it, about from the center.-History:...
.
In 1941, he enlisted as a volunteer in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and worked with American troops. After the Second World War, he went to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and returned to Cannes in May 1946. On August 15 of that year, he organized a "The Night of Stars" at the stage of the Hespérides
Hesperides
In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in North Africa at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean....
, in Cannes. It featured names such as Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
, Yves Montand
Yves Montand
-Early life:Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, the son of poor peasants Giuseppina and Giovanni Livi, a broommaker. Montand's mother was a devout Catholic, while his father held strong Communist beliefs. Because of the Fascist regime in Italy, Montand's family left for France in...
, Lily Fayol
Lily Fayol
Lily Fayol was a French singer.The artistic career of Lily Fayol began shortly before World War II...
, Reda Caire
Reda Caire
Reda Caire was a popular singer of operettes in Paris in the 1930s and 1950s.-Biography:Joseph Gandhour was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1908. He took his stage name from his hometown. He starred in the movie, L'enfant de minuit.During the Second World War, he was accused of being Jewish...
, Marie Bizet, Johnny Hess, Marcel Cerdan
Marcel Cerdan
Marcellin "Marcel" Cerdan was a French pied noir world boxing champion who was considered by many boxing experts and fans to be France's greatest boxer, and beyond to be one of the best to have learned his craft in Africa...
, Laurent Dauthuille
Laurent Dauthuille
Laurent Dauthuille was a French boxer.Arriving in Montreal in the late 1940s, he was nicknamed the Tarzan of Buzenval. On September 13, 1950 he fought Jake LaMotta, a boxer he once bested by unanimous decision, for the world middleweight championship...
and Robert Charron.
Johnny Stark then organized tours with Tino Rossi
Tino Rossi
Tino Rossi was a singer and film actor.Born Constantino Rossi in Ajaccio, Corsica, France, he became a tenor of French cabaret and one of the great romantic idols of his time. Gifted with an operatic voice, a "Latin Lover" persona made him a movie star as well...
, Luis Mariano
Luis Mariano
Mariano Eusebio González y García aka Luis Mariano was a popular tenor of Spanish Basque origin who achieved celebrity in 1946 with « La belle de Cadix » an operetta by Francis Lopez...
, Roger Pierre
Roger Pierre
Roger Pierre was a French comedic actor.He often appeared in comedies with Jean-Marc Thibault.Pierre died in his native Paris, aged 86, from cancer.-Career:...
and Jean-Marc Thibault, and was responsible for scouting Gloria Lasso
Gloria Lasso
Gloria Lasso was a Spanish-born singer, long based in France. In the fifties, she was one of the major competitors to Dalida....
, Dalida
Dalida
Dalida , born with Italian name of Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was a world-famous singer and actress born in Egypt with Italian origins but naturalised French with the name Yolanda Gigliotti. She spent her early years in Egypt amongst the Italian Egyptian community, but she lived most of her adult...
and Marino Marini
Marino Marini
Marino Marini was an Italian sculptor. -Biography:He attended the Accademia Di Belle Arti in Florence in 1917. Although he never abandoned painting, Marini devoted himself primarily to sculpture from about 1922. From this time his work was influenced by Etruscan art and the sculpture of Arturo...
. He established the Théâtre de Verdure (Juan-les-Pins), where in 1947 he hired Édith Piaf. Loulou Gasté
Loulou Gasté
Louis "Loulou" Gasté was a French composer of several successful mélodies.Louis Gasté was born in Paris in 1908. In his fifty year career, he composed approximately 1,200 songs, ten of which have received international success. In 1929, he played in Ray Ventura's orchestra, and composed several...
asked Stark to manage Line Renaud
Line Renaud
- Early life :Line Renaud was born in Pont-de-Nieppe on 2 July 1928. Her mother Simone was a shorthand typist; her father was a truck driver during the week, but he played trumpet at the weekends, in a local brass band...
in 1949. Line Renaud and Gasté were married December 19, 1950, attended by Stark. In the early 1960s, Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. An icon in the French-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he was considered by some to have been the French Elvis Presley. He was married for 15 years to one of the most popular French female singers: Sylvie Vartan...
, was at the forefront of the Yé-yé
Yé-yé
Yé-yé was a style of pop music that emerged from France, Québec and Spain in the early 1960s. The term "yé-yé" derived from "yeah! yeah!" The style expanded worldwide, due to the success of figures such as the French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg....
movement while under the guidance of Stark.
In the 1960s, he worked with performers such as Michèle Torr and Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu is a French chanteuse, and pop singer. Hailed in the French press as the successor to Édith Piaf, she has achieved great commercial success, recording over 1200 songs in nine different languages, with more than 120 million records sold worldwide.-Childhood to early...
, the latter of which he made into an international star between 1965 to 1989. From 1967 to 1970, Johnny Stark was also responsible for the career of singer Michel Delpech
Michel Delpech
Jean-Michel Delpech, known as Michel Delpech, is a French singer-songwriter.-Career:In 1963, he had his debut release hit "Anatole" on Disques Vogue...
and in 1976, he organized François Valéry
François Valéry
François Valéry is a French singer-songwriter and composer.-Biography:...
's tour with Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
at more than 60 venues across France.
Stark was married twice: first to Zoe Thaddeus (divorced in 1962), second to Nicole Bertho, with whom he had a daughter, Vicenza (divorced in the 1980s). He died in Paris on 24 August 1989.
The name of Johnny Stark is related to the history of Colmar Music Festival. He was reportedly responsible for introducing the Wine Fair which in its heyday attracted some 150,000 people and the biggest names in music.