Guy Marchand

Actor, singer, musician and writer, Guy Marchand is the epitome of the American crooner. Born in Paris on May 22, 1937, he grew up in the Belleville district and in the Sarthe region, before returning to Paris for his studies. A jazz enthusiast, he learned the piano, saxophone and clarinet, which he played in the clubs of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. It was during his military service in the paratroopers that he took part as a technical advisor in the filming of Le Jour le plus long (1962), before launching his singing career with the summer 1965 hit "La Passionata", among other titles leading up to the albums Je Cherche une Femme (1969) and Chante Fragson (1970). Between film and television, her filmography as a supporting player grew with roles in Boulevard du rhum (1970), Truffaut's Une belle fille comme moi (1972), Coup de torchon (1981), L'été en pente douce (1987) and the comedies L'Hôtel de la plage (1977) and Les Sous-doués en vacances (1982), whose soundtrack by Vladimir Cosma included the song "Destinée", which became her signature tune. Destinée", which became his signature crooner song in a second-degree spirit, and was repeated in the play and film Le Père Noël est une ordure. Nominated for several César awards, for Loulou (1980), Coup de foudre (1983), Noyade interdite (1987) and Dans Paris (2006), Guy Marchand won the Best Supporting Actor trophy in 1982 for Garde à vue. He played the lead character in the Léo Malet-inspired television series Nestor Burma between 1991 and 2003, and was awarded the Prix Spécial at the Festival des créations télévisuelles de Luchon in 2019. This accomplished sportsman, who published his autobiography Le Guignol des Buttes-Chaumont in 2007, resumed his singing career, between chanson and jazz covers, with albums by Claude Bolling and Guy Marchand (1988), Buenos Aires (1995) and Nostalgitan (1998), L'Homme Qui Murmurait à l'Oreille des Femmes (2000), Demain J'Arrête (2002), Emilio (2005), devoted to Latin standards, followed by Dernière Vague (2006), A Guy in Blue (2008), Aujourd'hui On S'Taille (2010), Chansons de Ma Jeunesse (2012) and Né à Belleville (2020). He publishes several other books and tours until 2023 in La Plus Belle pour aller danser. On December 15, 2023, Guy Marchand died at Cavaillon hospital (Vaucluse), aged 86.