Michel Sardou
Encyclopedia
Michel Sardou is a French singer.

He was born in Paris, the son of Fernand Sardou
Fernand Sardou
Fernand Sardou was a French singer and actor.Sardou was the father of Michel Sardou, and he married Jackie Rollin , an actress. His two grandsons are French novelist Romain Sardou and French actor Davy Sardou....

 and Jackie Rollin (Jackie Sardou
Jackie Sardou
Jackie Sardou was a French actress.She was born Jackie Rollin in Paris, and married Fernand Sardou, a singer. She is the mother of singer Michel Sardou; and grandmother of Romain Sardou, an author and of Davy Sardou an actor. She died in 1998.- Selected filmography :* Street Without a King...

). Contrary to claims common towards the beginning of his career, he is not the grandson of the dramatist Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...

. However, he is the father of the French novelist Romain Sardou
Romain Sardou
Romain Sardou , is a French novelist born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine. He is the son of the singer and songwriter Michel Sardou.-Biography:...

, and the actor Davy Sardou
Davy Sardou
Davy Sardou is a French actor. Davy is the son of French singer Michel Sardou, the grandson of actors Jackie Sardou and Fernand Sardou, and the brother of French novelist Romain Sardou....

.

He is known not only for his love songs ("La Maladie d'Amour"), but also for songs dealing with various social and political issues, such as the rights of women in Islamic countries, clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy is the discipline by which some or all members of the clergy in certain religions are required to be unmarried. Since these religions consider deliberate sexual thoughts, feelings, and behavior outside of marriage to be sinful, clerical celibacy also requires abstension from these...

, colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...

 and the death penalty. Another sometimes controversial theme found in some of his songs ("Les Ricains" and "Monsieur le Président de France" for example) is his respect and support for the culture and foreign policies of the United States. He has focused his full attention on his homeland, ignoring the prospect of an international audience, although his 1981 single "Les Lacs du Connemara" did manage to become a big international hit. A number of his hit songs were written in collaboration with Jacques Revaux
Jacques Revaux
Jacques Revaux is a French songwriter most famous for his 1968 collaboration with singer Claude François on the song "Comme d'habitude" that singer-songwriter Paul Anka reworked into the English language as "My Way". He co-founded Trema Records with Regis Talar...

, a few others (most notably "En
Chantant") with Italian singer Toto Cutugno
Toto Cutugno
Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno is an Italian pop singer-songwriter and musician.-Biography:Toto Cutugno was born in Fosdinovo, Tuscany, to a Sicilian father and a Tuscan mother. Shortly after his birth the family moved to La Spezia ....

.

Even in the 21st century, Michel Sardou remains quite popular in France, selling out 18 consecutive dates at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
Opened in 1984, Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, often abbreviated as POPB or Bercy, is an indoor sports arena on boulevard de Bercy located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris...

 in 2001, while his 2004 album "Du plaisir" went straight to the no. 1 spot on the French album charts.

He has been married three times; first (1965–1977) to a dancer Françoise Pettré, the mother of his daughters Sandrine (b. 1970) and Cynthia (b. 1973); then (1977–1998) to Elizabeth "Babette" Haas, the mother of his sons Romain (b. 1974) who is a writer and Davy (b. 1978) who is a comedian; and lastly to a lifelong friend Anne-Marie Périer (the daughter of the actor François Périer
François Périer
François Périer, , born François Pillu in Paris, was one of France's most distinguished actors.He made over 110 film and TV appearances between 1938 and 1996. He was also prominent in the theatre. Among his most notable parts was that of Hugo in the first production of Jean-Paul Sartre's Les Mains...

) who was the editor of the French version of Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...

magazine.

Childhood

He is the heir to a long family tradition of spectacle. Indeed, his paternal grandparents were comic actors in Marseille; his grand mother was a dancer. When he was a child, he spent the most of his time in cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...

s or on tour with his parents.

His school situation was not brilliant and he carried out a life behind the scene and in theaters, so he decided to stop his studies. In 1963, at 16 years old, he planned to run away in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 in order to open a Strip-tease club. His father caught him at the Airport. Then Michel announced to him his desire to work and to leave school.

While he was a waiter in his father's cabaret, he was earning his spurs on stage, he met Michel Fugain and had an audition for Eddie Barclay
Eddie Barclay
Eddie Barclay was a French music producer whose singers included Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour. He founded Barclay Records.-Life:...

.

The early stages (1965–1970)

In 1965, Michel began to sing with Le Madras, co-written with Michel Fugain
Michel Fugain
Michel Fugain is a French singer and composer. Originally he released music along with his singers and dancers entitled "Le Big Bazar" but went for a more solo approach 1977. In 1969 he published his first album: Je n'aurai pas le temps...

 and Patrice Laffont. Thanks to this song, he could be on TV for the first time but then he was completely forgotten.

In 1967, his career was really launched, thanks to a censorship: while France left NATO's military command and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 caused an anti-American sentiment in France, Michel Sardou launched Les Ricains (The Yankees), this song insists on the duty of gratitude towards the USA. Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....

 didn't like this song and he advised against broadcasting it on the air.

This conferred a new notoriety to the singer. The song allowed espacially to lay the foundations for his futur artistic style. However from 1967 to 1970, he had difficulties being a big hit.

In view of the mitigated success of his singles, in 1969, Eddie Barclay
Eddie Barclay
Eddie Barclay was a French music producer whose singers included Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour. He founded Barclay Records.-Life:...

 decided to terminate his contract, estimating that Michel was not cut out to be a singer.

So he launched the record label Tréma which would produce his records, with Jacques Revaux, who will become his most loyal composer and Regis Talar, a French record producer.

The 2000s

Michel Sardou seemed to leave the scene in order to devote to acting and to his Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin
Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin
The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10e arrondissement of Paris.- History :...

.

But Michel Sardou has proved that he has not gave up his singer career, as in 2004 he signed a contract with Universal Music for a new album entitled "Du plaisir", he took part also to the French television show Star Academy
Star Academy
Star Academy is a highly successful television show format based on the Spanish format "Operación Triunfo" produced by Endemol, that has been broadcast in over 50 countries...

 and finally he organized a big tour in 2004 and 2005, in which he sang in France, in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and in Canada.

His new double album, entitled "Hors Format" was released on 13 November 2006. This album includes 23 new songs, one of whom is a duet with Chimène Badi
Chimène Badi
-Early life:Chimène Badi was born in Melun, in the Paris suburbs but she spent her entire childhood in the south-west of France, growing up in Villeneuve-sur-Lot with her parents, Chérifa and Mohammed, her sister, Déborah, and her brother, Karim...

, "Le chant des hommes". Hors Format has reached 400 000 copies sold and it's a double platinum.

In 2007, he started his last tour, he sung in among others the Olympia and the Zénith de Paris.

Private life

Michel Sardou has been married three times :
  • with Françoise Pettré, a dancer. They got married in 1965, they divorced in 1977. They had two daughters : Sandrine (born in 1970) and Cynthia (born in 1973).
  • with Elizabeth Haas, called Babette. They got married in 1977, they divorced in 1998. They had two sons : Romain
    Romain Sardou
    Romain Sardou , is a French novelist born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine. He is the son of the singer and songwriter Michel Sardou.-Biography:...

    , writer (born in 1974) and Davy
    Davy Sardou
    Davy Sardou is a French actor. Davy is the son of French singer Michel Sardou, the grandson of actors Jackie Sardou and Fernand Sardou, and the brother of French novelist Romain Sardou....

    , actor (born in 1978).
  • with Anne-Marie Périer, the daughter of the actor François Périer
    François Périer
    François Périer, , born François Pillu in Paris, was one of France's most distinguished actors.He made over 110 film and TV appearances between 1938 and 1996. He was also prominent in the theatre. Among his most notable parts was that of Hugo in the first production of Jean-Paul Sartre's Les Mains...

    , the sister of the photographer Jean-Marie Périer
    Jean-Marie Périer
    Jean-Marie Périer is a French photographer and film director.On 22 June 1963, the magazine Salut les copains organised a concert on Place de la Nation in Paris, with singers such as Johnny Hallyday, Richard Anthony, Eddy Mitchell and Frank Alamo...

     and the former editor-in-chief of Elle
    Elle (magazine)
    Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...

    . They got married in 1999, at Neuilly-sur-Seine
    Neuilly-sur-Seine
    Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...

    .

Albums

Year Album Chart Positions
FRA
1968 Les Ricains
1970 J'habite en France 2
1971 Olympia 71
1972 Danton 2
1973 La maladie d'amour 1
1975 Olympia 75 1
1976 La vieille 1
Olympia 76 4
1977 La java de Broadway 2
1978 Je vole 1
1979 Palais des Congrès 78 34
Verdun 10
1980 Victoria 18
1981 Palais des Congrès 81
Les lacs du Connemara 1
1982 Il était là 2
1983 Vivant 83 2
Vladimir Ilitch 4
1984 Io Domenico 1
1985 Concert 85
Chanteur de jazz 5
1987 Musulmanes 1
Concert 87 8
1988 La même eau qui coule 2
1989 Bercy 89 5
Sardou 66
1990 Le privilège 2
1991 Bercy 91 9
1992 Le bac G 1
1993 Bercy 93 6
1994 Selon que vous serez, etc., etc. 1
1995 Olympia 95 3
1997 Salut 1
1998 Bercy 98 5
2000 Français 1
2001 Bercy 2001 5
2004 Du plaisir 1
2005 Live 2005 au Palais des Sports 11
2006 Hors format 12
2008 Zenith 2007
2010 Être une femme 2010 2

Emblematic songs

La Maladie d'amour (love disease) is certainly the most famous song of Michel Sardou, it remained at the top for 11 weeks. Michel drew his inspiration for this song from the Pachelbel's Canon.

Les Lacs du Connemara (Connemara Lakes) is also one of the most popular song of Michel Sardou. It is very often sung at the end of French student parties and at weddings in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

.

Theater manager

In 2001, he bought the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin
Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin
The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10e arrondissement of Paris.- History :...

, with his producer Jean-Claude Camus. In 2005, he resold his shares to his associate.

Theater actor

  • 1996 : Bagatelle(s) by Noël Coward
    Noël Coward
    Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...

    , directed by Pierre Mondy
    Pierre Mondy
    Pierre Mondy, whose real name was Pierre Cuq, born 10 February 1925 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, is a French actor and director.He began his film career in 1949 and has appeared in over 140 films. In 1960, he received international revcognition for the role of Napoléon Bonaparte in the film Austerlitz...

    , in the Théâtre de Paris
    Théâtre de Paris
    The Théâtre de Paris is a theatre located at 15, rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It includes a second smaller venue, called the Petit Théâtre de Paris.-History:...

    , with Natacha Amal
    Natacha Amal
    Natacha Amal is a Belgian actress born to a Moroccan father and a Russian mother in Brussels. She was married with Claude Rappe in 1997, but the couple divorced in 2007.-Cinema:* 1989 : Pentimento by Tonie Marshall, la dame des WC...

    , Philippe Khorsand
    Philippe Khorsand
    Philippe Khorsand was a French actor. His father was Iranian and his mother was French. He first appeared in a number of small roles in the 1970s. One of his most memorable roles as husband and father in Tableau d'honneur .Khorsand died of a hemorrhage at the age of 59 in Paris.-External links:* *...

    , Frédéric Diefenthal
    Frédéric Diefenthal
    Frédéric Diefenthal is a French actor and director.-Biography:Diefenthal began acting in the early 1990s; he held a main role in the French television series Le juge est une femme , where he first gained a degree of notoriety...

  • 1999 : Comédie privée by Neil Simon
    Neil Simon
    Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...

    , directed by Adrian Brine, in the Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell
    Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell
    The Théâtre du Gymnase or Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell, is a theatre in Paris, at 38, boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle in the 10th arrondissement .-History:...

    , with Marie-Anne Chazel
    Marie-Anne Chazel
    Marie-Anne Chazel is a French actress and occasional screenwriter, who has been active in both film and television since 1974.-Biography:...

    .
  • 2001–2002 : L'homme en question by Félicien Marceau
    Félicien Marceau
    Félicien Marceau is the pen name of Louis Carette a French novelist, playwright and essayist originally from Belgium. He was close to the Hussards right-wing literary movement, itself close to the monarchist .He received the Prix Goncourt for his book Creezy in 1969...

    , directed by Jean-Luc Tardieu, on tour and in the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin
    Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin
    The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10e arrondissement of Paris.- History :...

    , with Brigitte Fossey
    Brigitte Fossey
    Brigitte Fossey, born in Tourcoing, Nord, is a French actress.-Early years:The daughter of a schoolteacher, Fossey was five years old when she was cast by director René Clément to star in his film, Forbidden Games. Fossey played the role of an innocent child orphaned by World War II...

    , Davy Sardou
    Davy Sardou
    Davy Sardou is a French actor. Davy is the son of French singer Michel Sardou, the grandson of actors Jackie Sardou and Fernand Sardou, and the brother of French novelist Romain Sardou....

    ...
  • 2008–2009 : Secret de famille by Eric Assous, directed by Jean-Luc Moreau, in the Théâtre des Variétés
    Théâtre des Variétés
    The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1975.-History:...

    , with Davy Sardou
    Davy Sardou
    Davy Sardou is a French actor. Davy is the son of French singer Michel Sardou, the grandson of actors Jackie Sardou and Fernand Sardou, and the brother of French novelist Romain Sardou....

    , Laurent Spielvogel, Mathilde Penin, Elisa Servier and Rita Brantalou.

Movie actor

  • 1982 : L'Été de nos 15 ans by Marcel Jullian
    Marcel Jullian
    Marcel Jullian was a french writer, scenarist and TV editor.-Filmography:* 1964 : Cent mille dollars au soleil* 1965 : Le Corniaud* 1966 : Ne nous fâchons pas* 1966 : Le Saint prend l'affût* 1966 : La Grande Vadrouille...

     : Bernard. with Cyrielle Claire, Elisa Servier...
  • 1986 : Cross by Philippe Setbon : Thomas Crosky, called Cross. With Roland Giraud
    Roland Giraud
    Roland Giraud , is a French actor. He is married to the actress Maaike Jansen.Giraud began his theatrical training in the 1960s and joined Coluche's theatrical company in 1971. Around this time he worked also with the troupe, Le Splendid. His first cinematic role came in 1974 in Michel Audiard's...

    , Patrick Bauchau
    Patrick Bauchau
    Patrick Nicolas Jean Sixte Ghislain Bauchau is a Belgian actor.-Early life:Bauchau was born in Brussels, the son of Mary , a Russian-born school administrator and publisher, and Henry Bauchau, a school administrator, publisher, writer, and psychoanalyst who served as an officer in the Belgian...

    , Marie-Anne Chazel
    Marie-Anne Chazel
    Marie-Anne Chazel is a French actress and occasional screenwriter, who has been active in both film and television since 1974.-Biography:...

    ...
  • 1990 : Promotion canapé by Didier Kaminka : Bernard. With Grace de Capitani, Thierry Lhermitte
    Thierry Lhermitte
    Thierry Lhermitte is a French actor, known for his comedic roles. He was one of the founders of the comedy troupe Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian Clavier, Gérard Jugnot, and Michel Blanc...

    , Claude Rich
    Claude Rich
    Claude Rich is a French actor. He began his career as a theater actor, before his film debut in 1955 with René Clair, Les Grandes Manoeuvres.He married the actress Catherine Renaudin on 26 June 1959...

    , Patrick Chesnais
    Patrick Chesnais
    - Biography :Patrick Chesnais was born in La Garenne-Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine. He was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen.In 1989, he won the César Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in the film La Lectrice directed by Michel Deville...

    , Jean-Pierre Castaldi
    Jean-Pierre Castaldi
    Jean-Pierre Castaldi is a French actor. He is the father of French TV presenter Benjamin Castaldi.- Selected filmography :-References:...

    , Zabou, Martin Lamotte, Pierre Richard
    Pierre Richard
    Pierre Richard is a popular French actor best known for the roles of a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films...

    , Eddy Mitchell
    Eddy Mitchell
    Eddy Mitchell is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires , taking his name from the American expatriate tough-guy actor Eddie Constantine...

    ...

TV actor

  • 1993 : L'Irlandaise by José Giovanni : Régis Cassani. With Jean-Michel Dupuis
    Jean-Michel Dupuis
    Jean-Michel Dupuis is a French theatre, TV and film actor.- Filmography :* 1980 : La Boum by Claude Pinoteau* 1981 : Eaux profondes* 1983 : The Death of Mario Ricci...

    , Thérèse Liotard
    Thérèse Liotard
    Thérèse Liotard is a French actress best known for her role in the film My Father's Glory .She is known on British television for her appearance in the series Bergerac....

    ...
  • 2003 : Le Prix de l'honneur by Gérard Marx : le colonel Christian Legoff. With Alexandra Vandernoot
    Alexandra Vandernoot
    Alexandra Vandernoot is a Belgian actress. While having starred in a number of French films, her best-known role internationally is as Tessa Noël, Duncan MacLeod's girlfriend, in the fantasy television series Highlander: The Series...

    ...

Awards

External links

Official site
  • Biography of Michel Sardou, from Radio France Internationale
    Radio France Internationale
    Radio France Internationale was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France, and replaced the Poste Colonial , Paris Mondial , Radio Paris , RTF Radio Paris and ORTF Radio Paris...

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