Denise Benoit

Denise Benoît (10 September 1919 – 29 May 1973) was a French actress and singer, active across a wide range of genres on the stage, radio and television. Other members of her family were musicians. From a musical family, Benoît was the daughter, grand-daughter and great-grand-daughter of musicians. Her mother (Léontine Benoît-Granier, 1890-1957) was a musician and composer who won prizes at the Paris Conservatoire, while her father Henri Benoît was a notable viola player in Paris, who was a member of the Capet Quartet in the 1920s, participating in several of their recordings during that period, and professor at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. Her brother, Jean-Christophe Benoît (1925-2019) was a popular and much recorded baritone. Born Denise Marie Armande Frédérique Benoît in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, Denise spent the bulk of her career there, and died in the same city while still active. Denise Benoît began learning the violin at the age of three from her father, later continuing with her mother. As a young woman, she began her professional life playing in Parisian theatre orchestras; while at the Théâtre Marigny a man looked into the pit and asked her whether she would not prefer to be playing on stage rather below it. Through several theatrical contacts she became the student of the actor and director Jean Meyer, spent a year at the Conservatoire and began her acting career in 1942. Her break-through came with an "unforgettable" portrayal of Natalia Stepenovna in A Marriage Proposal by Chekhov. Her first role, in Sixième étage, was as a cleaning lady, and this debut tended to type-cast her for some time as servants, concierges and domestics. On screen she became restricted to being a secretary, a domestic and a waitress, and so began to refuse this type of role. In 1945 while a student of André Brunot at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique in Paris she took part in a televised play by Courteline; at the time she was only recognized as an actress, with her singing career yet to begin. In the 1950s, living in the Boulevard Malesherbes, Paris, already well-known on disc, she had facilities for recording at her apartment. Léontine, Jean-Christophe and Denise appeared together on record in some of the 'Chants de France' folksong series on Ducretet-Thomson in the 1950s. The extensive series of records of folk songs from around France was the brain-child of her mother Léontine, so it was natural that the family were at the centre of these recordings. In the 1950s she began a long association with radio broadcasting, which at the time she expressed a preference for, including ten years on the regular programme of Louis Ducreux. While taking a respite for the birth of her first child in the early 1950s, Joseph Kosma guided her in broadening her song repertoire and wrote a few for her. After this, a career in cabaret began, with appearances at L'Écluse on the Left Bank, and she sang at other venues until the birth of a daughter in 1957. She remained active on stage, television and radio until her death in Paris, aged 53. 1941-1942: Les Pipeaux, music-hall show, Alhambra 1942: Sixième étage by Alfred Ghéri, Théâtre Hébertot (Madame Escalier) 1943: Le Théâtre de Monsieur Séraphin by Pierre-Jean Laspeyres, Théâtre Hébertot 1944: Sainte Cécile by Pierre Brasseur, Théâtre de l'Œuvre 1944: Une demande en mariage by Anton Tchekhov, Théâtre Pigalle 1945: N'importe comment ! by Noël Coward, Théâtre Pigalle (Elena Krassiloff) 1945: La Vie est belle by Marcel Achard, Théâtre de la Potinière 1946: Auprès de ma blonde by Marcel Achard, Théâtre de la Michodière 1952: Tartuffe by Molière, Comédie des Champs-Elysées 1952: Labiche et les vaudevillistes français, soirée written by Louis Ducreux, Palais des beaux-arts, Brussels 1956: Nouvelles têtes et bonnes manières, Trois Baudets 1958: La Vie parisienne by Jacques Offenbach, Théâtre du Palais-Royal (Pauline) 1960: Tartuffe by Molière, Comédie des Champs-Élysées 1960: Le Songe du critique by Jean Anouilh, Comédie des Champs-Élysées - premiere (the maid) 1960: Le Médecin malgré lui opera by Gounod after Molière, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 1961: Les Pupitres by Raymond Devos, Théâtre Fontaine 1962: Le Malade imaginaire by Molière, Théâtre du Palais-Royal 1964: Les Escargots meurent debout by Francis Blanche, Théâtre Fontaine (Mademoiselle Goutte) 1966: Les Cloches de Corneville, opéra-comique by Robert Planquette, Théâtre de la Région Parisienne and tour in Île-de-France 1967: La Courte Paille by Jean Meyer, Théâtre de la Potinière (Gilberte) also televised 1968: C'est malin ! by Fulbert Janin, Théâtre des Ambassadeurs 1968: Brève Rencontre by Noël Coward, Théâtre Saint-Georges 1968: La Courte Paille by Meyer, tour in France, Belgium and Tunisia 1969: Tchao! by Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, Théâtre Saint-Georges (Madame Martinay) 1973: Tartuffe by Molière, Théâtre des Célestins (Dorine) 1943: I Am with You (Je suis avec toi)) directed by Henri Decoin (Irma) 1944: L'aventure est au coin de la rue by Jacques Daniel-Norman (Jeanne) 1945: Seul dans la nuit by Christian Stengel 1945: La Part de l'ombre by Jean Delannoy 1946: La Foire aux chimères by Pierre Chenal 1947: Les Petites annonces matrimoniales (short) by Claude Barma (the wife) 1949: The Secret of Mayerling by Jean Delannoy (Anna Vetsera) 1951: Journal masculin (short) by Claude Barma 1963: L'Honorable Stanislas, agent secret by Jean-Charles Dudrumet (voice only) 1964: La Ronde by Roger Vadim (Yvette Guilbert) 1966: Le caïd de Champignol by Jean Bastia (Juliette) 1945: A play by Courteline, directed by Claude Barma 1960: Le Médecin malgré lui by Gounod directed by Claude Loursais (Jacqueline) 1960: Les Joies de la vie by Raymond Devos (variety show) 1962: Tartuffe (Dorine) 1962: Mardi gras - Soirée de têtes (variety show) 1963: Les Femmes savantes (Martine) 1964: Bayreuthiade, musical gala at Bayreuth 1965: Médard et Barnabé (serial) by Raymond Bailly] 1966: Kiri le clown (cartoon series) by Jean Image (voice only) 1966: Les affaires sont les affaires by Gilbert Pineau (Madame Isidore Lechat) 1966: Orion le tueur by Georges Folgoas 1968: Le Tribunal de l'impossible: Les rencontres du Trianon ou La dernière rose 1969: Au théâtre ce soir: La Courte Paille by Jean Meyer, Théâtre Marigny 1969: Les empaillés by Alberto Cavalcanti 1969: Café du square (series) by Louis Daquin (Berthe, newspaper seller) 1970: L'Oisillon du paradis by Yves Jamiaque 1970: Au théâtre ce soir: Jupiter by Robert Boissy, Théâtre Marigny 1970: Tête d'horloge by Jean-Paul Sassy 1970: Le Fauteuil hanté by Pierre Bureau (Mme Lalouette) 1971: Le Cabaret de l'histoire: Versailles, carrefour de l'histoire 1973: La Porteuse de pain (mini-series) by Marcel Camus 1973: Graine d'ortie (series after the novel by Paul Wagner) (Madame Chanule) 1973: La vie rêvée by Vincent Scotto 1950-1951: Le Journal officieux, programme by Louis Ducreux 1951: Le Carnaval des chansons, programme by Henri Kubnick 1953: Contrepoisons, programme by Louis Ducreux et Frédéric Grendel 1953: Musée de la nouveauté, programme by Pierre Lagarde 1955: Ariane, chamber opera by Georges Delerue with libretto by Michel Polac (sings Chantal and Marie) 1961: Le Piège de Méduse, comédie lyrique by Eric Satie for the programme Mémoires d'un amnésique 1962: La Gazette des Français 1967: La Petite fonctionnaire, comédie musicale by André Messager (Madame Lebardin) 1970: Gosse de Riche , comédie musicale by Maurice Yvain, Henri Falk and Jacques Bousquet 1972: J'aime, comédie musicale by Henri Christiné, Albert Willemetz and Saint-Granier 1959: Grand Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros, for "La Servante du château" 1960-1961: Grand Prix National du Disque for "Le Petit poète de Roland Bacri" 1967: Grand Prix du Disque for "Denise Benoît chante douze chansons à la (pour les) coq(s) avec sel et poivre" 1959: La Vie parisienne by Jacques Offenbach (as Pauline), with Suzy Delair, Simone Valère, Madeleine Renaud, Pierre Bertin, Jean