Born in Paris to a poor and dysfunctionalBreton family, Marguerite Boulc'h was a child left to a life on the streets in the sordid side of Paris. In her teens, she got a break when she met one of the female music-hall performers who heard her sing and introduced her to show business promoters.
She began performing under the stage namePervenche, and soon met and married Robert Hollard, a performer who used the nom de guerre "Roberty". Alcohol entered her life at an early age and her drinking became a problem for her husband. Their marriage did not last long and her husband left her for another Parisian singer, Damia. Fréhel then began a relationship with Maurice Chevalier but that too did not last long and after he left her for the much older megastar Mistinguett. At 19 years old, she attempted suicide.
Following her suicide attempt, in 1911 she tried to escape her pain and travelled to Bucharest, Turkey and then to Russia where she remained for more than ten years. She suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction, and returned to Paris in 1923. She then signaled a new beginning by switching to the stage name "Fréhel", taking the name from Cap Fréhel in Brittany where her parents had been born. Singing as Fréhel, at the Paris Olympia in 1924 she gave a powerful performance and was soon headlining at the most popular venues in the country. As part of what is now referred to as the bal musette, Fréhel often sang accompanied by bagpipes and/or an accordion player.
In the 1930s, she appeared in several motion pictures, almost always portraying a singer in a minor or supporting role. The most notable films in which she performed were 1931's Cœur de Lilas, based on the Tristan Bernard play, and Pépé le Moko that starred Jean Gabin. While her alcohol abuse continued, she nevertheless was a major show business force of 1930s France. Of all her songs, her 1939 La Java Bleue, with music by Vincent Scotto, proved her most popular.
Despite being one of Europe's most sought-after performers, her addictions led her to drop out of public view for years. She died in 1951, alone in a hotel in Pigalle. She was interred in the Cimetière de Pantin, near Paris.
about the French writer Robert Giraud and his relationship with Fréhel (in French)
January 01, 1970
fréhel, town, brittany, côtes, armor, french, fʁe, born, marguerite, boulc, breton, bulx, july, 1891, february, 1951, french, singer, actress, contents, biography, songs, selected, filmography, external, linksbiography, editthis, section, does, cite, sources, . For the town in Brittany see Frehel Cotes d Armor Frehel French fʁe ɛl born Marguerite Boulc h Breton bulx 13 July 1891 3 February 1951 was a French singer and actress Frehel Contents 1 Biography 2 Songs 3 Selected filmography 4 External linksBiography editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed March 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message Born in Paris to a poor and dysfunctional Breton family Marguerite Boulc h was a child left to a life on the streets in the sordid side of Paris In her teens she got a break when she met one of the female music hall performers who heard her sing and introduced her to show business promoters She began performing under the stage name Pervenche and soon met and married Robert Hollard a performer who used the nom de guerre Roberty Alcohol entered her life at an early age and her drinking became a problem for her husband Their marriage did not last long and her husband left her for another Parisian singer Damia Frehel then began a relationship with Maurice Chevalier but that too did not last long and after he left her for the much older megastar Mistinguett At 19 years old she attempted suicide Following her suicide attempt in 1911 she tried to escape her pain and travelled to Bucharest Turkey and then to Russia where she remained for more than ten years She suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction and returned to Paris in 1923 She then signaled a new beginning by switching to the stage name Frehel taking the name from Cap Frehel in Brittany where her parents had been born Singing as Frehel at the Paris Olympia in 1924 she gave a powerful performance and was soon headlining at the most popular venues in the country As part of what is now referred to as the bal musette Frehel often sang accompanied by bagpipes and or an accordion player In the 1930s she appeared in several motion pictures almost always portraying a singer in a minor or supporting role The most notable films in which she performed were 1931 s Cœur de Lilas based on the Tristan Bernard play and Pepe le Moko that starred Jean Gabin While her alcohol abuse continued she nevertheless was a major show business force of 1930s France Of all her songs her 1939 La Java Bleue with music by Vincent Scotto proved her most popular Despite being one of Europe s most sought after performers her addictions led her to drop out of public view for years She died in 1951 alone in a hotel in Pigalle She was interred in the Cimetiere de Pantin near Paris Her 1934 recording Si tu n etais pas la was featured in the 2001 soundtrack of the film Le Fabuleux Destin d Amelie Poulain Amelie She is portrayed by Yolande Moreau in the Gainsbourg bio pic Gainsbourg A Heroic Life in which she encounters the young Serge Gainsbourg and accompanies him in a song Songs editComme un moineau 1925 Ou est il donc 1926 A la derive 1932 Si tu n etais pas la 1934 Ou sont tous mes amants 1935 Tel qu il est 1936 La Der des der 1939 La Java bleue 1939 Selected filmography editLilac 1932 Street Without a Name 1934 Le Roman d un tricheur Confessions of a Cheat 1936 Pepe le Moko 1937 The Innocent 1938 La Rue sans joie 1938 Berlingot et compagnie Berlingot and Company 1939 L Entraineuse Nightclub Hostess 1940 Maya 1949 A Man Walks in the City 1950 External links editWorks by or about Frehel at Internet Archive Frehel at IMDb Le Temps des cerises page on Frehel Blog about the French writer Robert Giraud and his relationship with Frehel in French Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frehel amp oldid 1186131345, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
