Jean Lapointe 1935-2022 | The artist who made Quebec “cry”

Jean Lapointe, one of Quebec’s greatest cultural ambassadors of the past 60 years, has just breathed his last at the age of 86, Maison Jean Lapointe announced on Facebook.

This man of heart and fire, whose career began at the dawn of the 1950s, became known and admired as much for his work as a singer-songwriter as he was as a singer, impersonator, comedian and actor. .

With his legendary outspokenness and his immense tenderness, expressed both solo and in duet with his friend Jérôme Lemay within the Jérolas, Mr. Lapointe made millions of people laugh, smile, cry, move and reflect in Quebec than in French-speaking Europe.

Mr. Lapointe also distinguished himself by his social commitment, particularly in the fight against addictions, he who suffered from alcoholism. This fight, he led it to the Canadian Senate, where he sat for nine years from 2001.

As soon as his death was announced, personalities from all walks of life reacted by highlighting the different aspects of his contribution to society.

“This man with a big heart will have marked several generations by the multiple roles he will have played within the Quebec landscape. For us, he left his mark above all on what he considers to be his main legacy to Quebec society: the House and the Foundation that bear his name. His memory will remain etched in our walls and will inspire us with hope for the future,” said Maison Jean Lapointe in its Facebook message announcing his death.

In subsequent years, Mr. Lapointe took a step back and limited his public appearances. In January 2022, returning home after a stay in a CHSLD, Mr. Lapointe had granted an interview to Patrice Roy of Radio-Canada where he said he was in good shape, happy and at peace.

“I don’t feel old at all,” he said then. I sometimes have joint pains, but despite that, I have remained young in spirit and in heart. »

His long career has been mentioned or recounted in a few books, including an autobiography, cryingpublished by Éditions de L’Homme in 1995, as well as in a documentary by Jean Bourbonnais, Jean Lapointe, to life to lovereleased in 2012.

In humor and in song

Sixth in a family of seven children, Jean Lapointe was born on December 6, 1935 in the village of Price, wedged between Mont-Joli and Métis-sur-Mer, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. A few weeks before his birth, his father, Arthur-Joseph Lapointe (1895-1960), was elected Liberal MP for Matapédia-Matane riding in Ottawa. He held this position for nearly ten years. Jean Lapointe was still a child when his family moved to Quebec where he lived from 8 to 17 years old. It was there that he took his first steps into the world of song and entertainment, notably with Raymond Pacaud and Jean-Pierre Bédard in the group Les Québécaires. Already, he won prizes following a competition from the CKCV station.

In 1954, Jean Lapointe moved to Montreal to try his luck in the world of entertainment. Under the pseudonym of Jean Capri, a first contract was granted to him at the Café Caprice. The following year, he met another artist: Jérôme Lemay. The two men then form Les Jérolas. For 19 years, they will rain and shine in the industry, accumulating prizes, praise and contracts. They will even do a number on the Ed Sullivan Show on April 28, 1963.

Their humor is exported as far as Paris where they perform at the Olympia in the first part of shows by Monique Leyrac, Claude François and Dalida. They write the play Meo Leaning For the movie Golden Gloves by Gilles Groulx. The duo, which recorded twenty albums, separated in 1974.

Jean Lapointe’s drinking problems partly explain the separation of the Jérolas. These have been undermining the life of the group and of Mr. Lapointe since 1960, according to the Maison Jean Lapointe website. The artist participated in his first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1962. But he suffered several relapses, sometimes ending up in prison, sometimes in hospital. In May 1974, he entered a first time in rehab.

After Les Jérolas, Jean Lapointe’s solo career got off to a flying start with the success It’s in the songs. In 1976, he recorded his first album, Cleansedin which we find this last tube, but also My Uncle Edmund. Will follow more than twenty albums, solo or with other artists, recorded between 1977 and 2012. We will find some famous pieces including sing your song, If we sang together, Cry, Laugh until you cryetc.

Jean Lapointe’s stage success in Quebec was repeated when he set down his suitcases several times in France, Belgium and Switzerland in the 1980s. The first shows held at the Salle Bobino in Paris were followed by those at the mythical Olympia. At its premiere, on the evening of February 20, 1985, it was a triumph. “France is his”, title The Press of Thursday, February 21, 1985 in a text by… Jean-François Lisée, then a journalist with The Canadian Press. “Jean Lapointe wept with joy last night in his box at the Olympia after having greeted an audience six times where we recognized several familiar faces,” writes journalist Lisée.

golden roles

In 1966, the Jérolas made an appearance in the film YUL 871 by Jacques Godbout. Then, we will see Lapointe in two golden women by Claude Fournier (1970) and a few others. In 1974, his interpretation of Clermont Boudreau, a simple worker imprisoned following the passage of the War Measures Act in Orders by Michel Brault, will be a milestone. Lapointe delivered a remarkable performance. In his interview with Patrice Roy, he evokes the poignant scene where his character stuffs himself with a soft drink and crisps. “I took a sip and the tears naturally started to flow,” he said. The strength of this grip moved me a lot. »

The actor will play in several other films including hot water frette water by André Forcier, Ti-Mine, Bernie and the gang by Marcel Carriere, JA Martin photographer by Jean Beaudin and even alongside Olympia Dukakis in never too late, a film by Giles Walker shot in Montreal. In 2004, he won the Jutra for best supporting actor for his work in the film The last tunnel by Erik Canuel. Rebelote in 2011 when he received the Jutra for best supporting actor (Origin of a cry by Robin Aubert) as well as the Jutra tribute for his entire career. He makes a short appearance in the film My own circus by Miryam Bouchard in 2020.

If his work as an actor in the cinema has made an impression, his interpretation of former Prime Minister Maurice Duplessis in the miniseries of the same name will do so as well. Directed by Mark Blandford from a script by Denys Arcand, the series was a great success and Lapointe received praise. “I was Duplessis,” he said in an interview with the late journalist Luc Perreault of The Press, in 1996. The miracle is that I had taken a voice that was not that of Duplessis and it was this voice that ended up imposing the character. »

Social and political commitment

In the mid-1970s, Mr. Lapointe took a cure at the Maison d’Ivry-sur-le-Lac (in Sainte-Agathe) run by the Triple-A organization. He then decided to join the organization. He inaugurated the Maison Querbes in 1979; three years later, it moved to Old Montreal. Jean Lapointe, in agreement with his family, associates his name with it. He also created the Jean Lapointe Foundation, which sees to the recurring financing of the activities of the house by means of a telethon. After 13 editions, this one stops in 1998: the interest of donors has run out of steam. Despite difficulties along the way, the house still exists in the same place. On March 8, 2019, it was announced that Anne Elizabeth Lapointe, daughter of the singer and humorist, was taking over as general manager. Since its foundation, more than 40,000 people have stayed there to treat addiction problems. The organization has also done a lot of prevention work, especially with young people.

Jean Lapointe was appointed to the Canadian Senate as a Liberal senator in June 2001. “When Mr. Chrétien made this proposal to me, I started to cry,” declared Mr. Lapointe in The Press from June 14, 2001 to the day after his appointment. He added that he wanted to look into the files associated with drug addiction. And that’s what he did.

Nine years later, on his 75th birthday, Mr. Lapointe left the Senate where he tried, unsuccessfully, to pass a bill against video lottery machines in bars and restaurants. He left Ottawa bitter, saying he did not like politics and denouncing the systematic obstruction of the Conservatives since they took power in 2006. In his interview with Patrice Roy, he claimed to have become a sovereigntist, which would no doubt have delighted his great friend Félix Leclerc: “Quebec independence will come sooner or later. I wish. »

Dramas and setbacks

After their separation in 1974, Jean Lapointe and Jérôme Lemay no longer speak to each other for years. But reconciliation will come. They reformed Les Jérolas for one number in 1993. Then, in 2010 and 2011, they reformed their duo and gave around ten shows. The big return to Montreal has been announced for March 31, 2011 at the Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts. But that evening, Jérôme Lemay felt unwell just before the intermission. The second part of the show is cancelled, like the subsequent performances. He was diagnosed with anemia. Three weeks later, on April 20, Mr. Lemay died of cancer, at age 77.

According to the website Star Quebec, Jean Lapointe is the father of seven children. His son Jean-Marie, actor and host, followed in his footsteps. In 2007, they even put on a show together, Prank faces. Several tragedies crossed the life of Jean Lapointe, including the death of his wives Marie Poulin and Cécile Morin-Labelle, of his brothers Gabriel and Anselme. In 2007, he was forced to go bankrupt. In May 2016, during a meeting with The Presshe said he was recovering from lung cancer.

Despite hard knocks and setbacks, Mr. Lapointe remains one of the greatest artists in the history of Quebec.