Husbands and lovers in the life of the legendary French singer Edith Piaf

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

About legendary destiny French singer Edith Piaf you can talk indefinitely. Born in poverty, she died in poverty. In early youth, she experienced the death of a little daughter, and at the dawn of years - the death of a loved one. In childhood, she fought against blindness, in old age - with cancer. And she also survived two car accidents, underwent seven operations, three comas, an attempted suicide; throughout her life, suffering from alcohol and drug addiction, she suffered several attacks of delirium tremens and an attack of insanity. Isn't this too much for one fate that fell on the shoulders of a little woman? …

And, taking her hard part, without regret, Edith spoke

Birth Legend

In addition to the above, the name of the famous Parisian diva Edith Piaf is shrouded in many legends, one of which says that she was born on the street, or more precisely, on the steps of house number 72, in the poor Parisian quarter of Belleville.. And it happened on a cold December day in 1915 year.

And it is quite possible that this story is a fiction of the most eccentric singer, who once again wanted to emphasize that she is really a child of Parisian streets.

Hard childhood

The girl from birth was named Edith Giovanna Gassion, her father was a circus acrobat, her mother was a street singer. And since, soon after her birth, the head of the family was mobilized for the war, and the mother had absolutely nothing to do with the newborn daughter, little Edith was raised by her maternal grandmother, a Moroccan Berber, until she was one and a half years old. The woman loved to drink well and so that the baby slept more and did not interfere with her, she poured wine into a bottle of water for her granddaughter. The terrible conditions in which the little girl was kept led to eye inflammation and gradual loss of vision. And who knows how it would have ended for Edith if her father had not returned from the war and took her to his mother in Normandy, where she kept a brothel.

Miracle of healing

So, among prostitutes, little Edith had to spend her childhood. Everyone loved and pampered her. And when it turned out that the girl was completely blind, the whole brothel decided to make a pilgrimage to Saint Teresa in the city of Lisieux and beg her to be healed. The grandmother also made a vow to donate 10,000 francs to the church in the event of her granddaughter's recovery. A miracle happened, and at the appointed time - Edith regained her sight. Since then, she considered Saint Teresa her patroness, her little icon was with her all her life.

The beginning of an artistic career

And when it came time to go to school, Edith had a hard time. She was immediately disliked there for her wayward disposition, but to a greater extent due to the fact that she lived at a brothel. At the age of 9, her daughter is taken to her by her father, who performed in a wandering troupe of circus performers. On this, Edith's studies ended, but the career of the future star began. The girl, accompanying the wandering artists, sang songs on the Parisian streets and walked in a circle with a hat in her hands, collecting money from the audience. By the way, the lack of education made itself felt - the singer wrote with mistakes all her life, in particular, the lyrics of the songs that she composed herself.

And by the age of 15, earning a living, Edith sang on the streets of Paris, in bars, night dens and even in the soldiers' barracks.

Husbands, men and lovers of the Parisian diva

Edith Piaf had many novels that she started and broke up, without hesitation, and without regret. As soon as this tiny woman began to feel that her feelings were cooling down, she immediately left the man and went in search of new adventures. - said the singer.

She also admitted:

Louis Dupont - the first husband of young Edith

At the age of 16, in one of the bars, Edith met the 17-year-old courier Louis Duppont, in a civil marriage with whom Piaf gave birth to a daughter, Marcel. This marriage for the future star turned out to be very painful - her husband demanded that she refuse to work in dubious institutions. However, Edith, disobeying, took her daughter and left her husband. But soon Louis kidnapped the baby in the hope that the rebellious wife would return to him. But she did not return. Moreover, a 2-year-old child unexpectedly contracted meningitis. The result was tragic - the girl died. The singer had no more children.

Albert is a pimp

Piaf's next lover was the pimp Albert. He tried to make a prostitute out of her, and when it did not work out, he adapted the girl for another occupation: she tracked richly dressed women for him in entertainment establishments, whom Albert later fascinated and robbed to the skin. When Piaf, having come to her senses, decided to end this relationship, he tried to shoot her - she miraculously survived.

Louis Leplet is a good genius

At the age of 20, the street singer was spotted by Louis Leple, the owner of the Gernis nightclub, and invited to audition. He was the first kind genius of the future star, who taught her to work with an accompanist, dress with taste, behave correctly on stage, follow facial expressions and gestures. It was this man who came up with her stage name - "Piaf", which means "sparrow". Apparently, such an association in Leplet arose due to Edith's small stature - 142 centimeters. Posters of that time were full of portraits of Edith with the caption - "Baby Piaf". It was an overwhelming success for a girl who escaped the poverty of the Parisian streets.

As Leplet later recalled:

Until the end of her life, Piaf considered this meeting fateful, which is why Leple's murder suffered so hard. By the way, the police for a long time considered her indirectly involved in this crime. Only months later, all charges were dropped against Piaf.

Raymon Asso - Pygmalion, who created Galatea

Acquaintance with the poet Ramon Asso was also fateful for the sparrow, he gradually and slowly created a star from a talented, but at the same time very vulgar and sloppy girl. He was the first man to whom she obeyed unquestioningly. Literally everything: both songs, and his advice, and tough remarks brought new beautiful features to her image. It was at this time that her amazing talent as a singer blossomed.

She already sang not empty chansonnets, she sang about quivering love, experiencing this deep and wonderful feeling in reality. Gradually, she turned into one that the whole world would soon admire. However, not so much time will pass and this relationship will tire Edith, since it was not in her nature to be led. After living with him for three years, she left him for the sake of another - the singer Paul Meriss. Their short-term romance was full of constant quarrels and fights.

And she still appreciated Raymond Asso, respected and remained grateful to him until the end of her days, not missing an opportunity to note that it was he who "made a person out of her" and "a real actress."

Yves Montand - the star that Piaf lit

Having broken with a fleeting passion for the singer, a young chansonnier Yves Montand appeared in Piaf's life. And it's not that she fell in love with him, it's just that the already accomplished singer suddenly decided to "take part in it." Now she, in the role of a mentor, made Yves change his repertoire and image, as well as get rid of a strong southern accent, which allowed the promising artist to break through to the big stage. Passionately in love, Montand was unbearably jealous of her - and, it should be noted, she really gave him a lot of reasons. Edith did not tolerate this for a long time and two years later broke off their relationship, putting Willow out the door.

It is worth saying that, "having gotten out of the way", little Piaf has repeatedly provided assistance to talented men, helping them climb the career ladder.

Marcel Cerdan - the love of your life

Once, while touring America, the star met the famous French boxer Marcel Cerdan. It was he who became the main man in the life of baby Piaf. However, there was one "but" that darkened their happiness - Serdan was married and had three children. Until the end of his days, he was torn between his family and his beloved woman. At her first call, he rushed to his little sparrow to the ends of the earth. Such an impulse once tragically ended his life. Their romance lasted only a year, starting in 1948, it ended on October 28, 1949. It was on this day that Serdan flew from Paris to her in New York.

Read more about this amazing love story in the review: Edith Piaf and Marcel Cerdan: Escaping Love.

I would only like to add that after his tragic death, the singer fell into a deep depression, from which she saved herself with morphine and alcohol. The unbearable pain in the singer's heart after the tragedy did not leave her for a second. She totally blamed herself for what had happened, she said. This loss literally consumed her mental strength day after day. She began to drink shamelessly, wandered through the streets in torn clothes, and had accidents several times. The result was numerous fractures that required treatment with strong pain relievers. It even went as far as a suicide attempt.

Theo Sarapo is Piaf's second and last husband

With her health undermined, Edith practically stops communicating with the outside world, burying herself alive in her house. She often went to the hospital to support her wounded and fractured body. It is there that she will meet her late love - Theo Sarapo. Somehow a tall, attractive young man who was 20 years younger than Piaf brought a doll to her ward. Then after a week of visiting her in the hospital, he proposed to the 47-year-old singer. Later, Piaf will say:

At the same time, Theo knew in advance that the bride was very sick, and "the wedding will bring him nothing but grief and debts." Shortly before his death, Piaf was diagnosed with cancer. Indeed, their marriage lasted a matter of months. Piaf died soon after, leaving Theo in debt of seven million francs. This was the result of this sad love story.

And in conclusion, I would like to quote the words once said by a famous little woman about what love was in her life: “She always eluded me,” the singer lamented. - I have never been able to keep in my arms for a long time the one I loved. Every time I began to believe that I had found someone who would be everything to me, everything collapsed, and I was left alone."

You can read more about the late love for Theo Sarapo and the last days of the life of the great star of the French scene of the middle of the last century in next review.

No less surprising is the fate of the predecessor of the "Parisian sparrow" - Sarah Bernhardt, a French actress, sculptor and writer. Read about this in the review: Sarah Bernhardt's Unknown Talents: As an outrageous actress, she sculpted sensual sculptures and wrote books.