Death of Nicole Croisille, great voice of French song, at 88 years old

It was by singing "dabadabada" that Nicole Croisille achieved worldwide success in 1966, but this woman, who was one of the famous French singers, performing the hits Parlez-moi de lui and Téléphone-moi in the 1970s, was also an actress and dancer.

Died following a long illness during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday at the age of 88, the interpreter of the haunting motif of "A man and a woman" , transformed over time into "chabada-bada" , learned to act at the Comédie-Française with the member Jean Hervé, mime with Marcel Marceau, singing at the Opera and dancing in the class where her mother played the piano before becoming a dresser at the Barraults and at the Folies Bergère.

Born on October 9, 1936, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Nicole Croisille was drawn to the stage at a young age, but her father—who taught her English by listening to the BBC—forbade her from becoming a little rat at the Opera. Resigned, she took typing classes but also practiced dance in the classes of the Comédie-Française.

At 17, she joined the company's ballet. "I appeared in " L'amour médecin " and " Le Bourgeois gentilhomme " (...) The atmosphere was good, but the members had wandering hands," she told Philippe Bouvard in 1983.

At 20, the dancer landed the lead role in "The Apprentice Fakir" , a musical comedy by Jean Marais. In 1958, she joined Joséphine Baker 's troupe. Then she met Marcel Marceau and toured with him in the United States. There, she deepened her passion for jazz and lent her soprano voice to the Playboy Club in Chicago. Her first 45 in 1961 was an adaptation of Ray Charles.

That same year, she opened for Jacques Brel at the Olympia, met Claude Nougaro, but failed to make a breakthrough on the music scene obsessed with the yéyé wave. She then left for New York and became a revue leader for two shows at the Folies Bergère on Broadway.

"Song and Greyhounds"

Her meeting with Claude Lelouch and the composer Francis Lai in 1966 was decisive. The "dabadabada" would subscribe her to the director's credits ("Living for Living", "Les uns et les autres" , "Itinerary of a Spoiled Child" , "Il y a des jours et des lunes" ). She entered her flamboyant period.

From 1970 to 1980, the hits followed one after the other: "Tell me about him" (1973), "A woman with you" (1975) and the very lyrical "Tell me" (1975)...

The "most beautiful voice of 1975" became the singer with a French variety voice, a register that would become fashionable under the impetus of her younger sisters Patricia Kaas and Lara Fabian. "I only sang love songs and I know what I brought to people," this convinced single woman told Paris Match in 2017. No husband, no children: "Nicole Croisille only has song and her greyhounds in her heart," joked Philippe Bouvard.

With the Blues du businessman – the Starmania hit that she adapted for "Itineraire d'un enfant gâté" – she scored her last major popular success in 1985. With a voice that had become more husky, she returned to jazz with Jazzille (1987), Black et Blanche (1991) and bossa-nova ( Bossa d'hiver , 2008). Then this workaholic returned to the stage, performing in various Parisian theaters. In 1992, she realized "her dream" by playing the title role in Hello, Dolly!, the American musical.

In 2019, at the age of 83, she played a former mistress of Michel Sardou in a vaudeville by Sacha Guitry: "I'm having a blast! At my age, I only like challenges."