Gilles Latulippe

Gilles Latulippe (31 August 1937 – 23 September 2014) was a Québécois actor, comedian and theatre director and manager. Latulippe is a central figure in the history of comic theatre in Quebec. In 1998, he was named Quebec's favorite actor by the daily tabloid Le Journal de Montréal.

Career

He was born in Montreal. In the late 1950s, Latulippe joined Yvon Deschamps and studied theatre under François Rozet. He met Paul Buissonneau who offered him his first roles. He was noticed by Gratien Gélinas who gave him a part inBousille et les justes in 1959. During the 1960s, Latulippe became a star of the cabaret and comic theatre scene in Montreal while beginning a successful television career. In 1967, he founded the Théâtre des Variétés of Montreal which was filled by happy spectators for 7000 performances. Those who showed him the ropes of his art (the burlesque) played at the Variétés, from Jean Grimaldi to Rose Ouellette, and of course his role model Olivier Guimond. The Variétés was run without any government subsidy for 33 years and closed in the year 2000.

Gilles Latulippe remained very active to the last year of his life, playing every Summer in Drummondville in a play he wrote and going on tour across the province in the Fall with a variety show.

Latulippe was the recipient of many honours over his career. He won a number of Prix Gémeaux and MetroStar Awards for his work in television, including a lifetime achievement award at the 2007 Prix Gémeaux. He was also a member of the Order of Canada (2003), a knight of the National Order of Quebec (2009) and a knight of the Order of La Pléiade (2000). He died of lung cancer in 2014.