Toulouse: At 93, Marcel Amont has not said his last word
This Wednesday evening, he will dedicate his first novel “Adieu ma belle Marguerite” (Ed. Cairn) at the Maison d’Occitanie in Toulouse. At 93, Marcel Miramon alias Marcel Amont has not said his last word.
You were born in Bordeaux on April 1st. Is that why your whole life has been full of laughter and schoolboy jokes?
May be. But it is true that I have always liked to make people laugh, to give a good mood, to move, to be in motion. I am not a melancholy person.
Do you have a special connection with the region?
Absoutely. Before settling in Bordeaux, my parents came from a long line of shepherds from the upper Aspe in Béarn, the valley of the bears. At home, on the spoke Béarnais. And then when I was in Bordeaux, I dreamed of living in Toulouse, of playing at the Grenier Théâtre, of going to the Capitol. Toulouse moved more than Bordeaux. And then I had my great friend Nougaro who lived in the Pink City and whom I often visited.
“Adieu ma belle Marguerite” is your first novel but not your first book?
No. This is my 10th, especially after “Letters to friends” in 2015 and “Behind the scenes of my life” in 2019, written with my son Mathias. There is also a collection of songs and poems “Mirlitontaines and forgotten songs” also released this year. Writing has always haunted me. I have always taken notes, ideas. I wrote “Farewell my beautiful Marguerite” during the confinement. I’m bored. My tours were canceled. Being inactive is not in my nature. I had to take care of it. From there to write a block of 200 pages … I am the first to write.
What does this novel tell?
A story of thwarted and jostled love against a backdrop of war between Béarn, Bordeaux, Reims and Germany.
Comment have you become a variety singer?
After my baccalaureate, I enrolled simultaneously at the Institute of Physical Education and at the Conservatory of Dramatic Art. The second won over sport. After that, one day it was a valet in a piece by Molière, the other orchestral singer. Then like any good provincial I went to Paris in 1951.
From the start it was a success. How do you explain it?
I had an incredible chance to please. You can imagine making a name for yourself in the Parisian jungle …. and yet after the Alhambra, it was the Olympia on the program of Edith Piaf, then at the top of the bill. The press praised me and dedicated me “revelation of the year”. Everything went very quickly afterwards: first recording dedicated by the Grand Prix du Disque in the company of Serge Gainsbourg and Juliette Gréco. Without forgetting her debut in the cinema with Brigitte Bardot in “The bride is too beautiful”. Unbelievable. But going back in time would take too long. We can simply say that I had an intense professional life with great encounters. And in 2019, I celebrated my 90th birthday at the Alhambra with all my friends: Maxime le Forestier, Lenorman, Serge Lama, Jonasz or even Ivan Levaï or André Bercoff to name a few.
You have the successes: The Mexican, Mireille’s hat, Blue, white, blond, etc. What song always appeals to audiences?
All always like. They are very visual songs. The public loves it. He goes into a story.
What is your take on variety today?
There are, in my opinion, too many texts in English. Our language is so beautiful. After that, there is obviously no longer any connection with my time. Today I am a was. But be careful not a nerdy!
What talents do you like?
There are quite a few: I love Alain Suchon: inventor of a language: the strain. Francis Cabrel, Florent Pagny, Maxime le Forestier and closer to us, Stromae. A beautiful talent.
How do you see our time?
On lives a great time of change. In the street, in transport, out of ten people, eight have their noses in their cellphones. We phone while walking, we photograph ourselves in a selfie and we can love each other through a screen, etc. Why not ? It is the inexorable march of society. They also say that the times are hard, intolerant … perhaps no more than mine with wars, hatred … You know, Man has always been capable of the worst as well as the best.
Are you celebrating your hundredth birthday on stage?
And why not ? For the moment everything is well. I have minor injuries but nothing serious. Yet I have enjoyed life well. I think fantasy protects against the worst. My only concern is to have fewer and fewer friends: Brassens, Brel, Nougaro, Jean Rochefort … They are all gone. Of course I have a wonderful family who pamper me but I miss them all the same. This is aging.
This Wednesday from 6.30 p.m. at the Maison d’Occitanie, 11, rue Malcousinat in Toulouse. Reservation recommended on 05 61 22 13 31 or [email protected]