Marthe Mercadier obit

 

Marthe Mercadier, the queen of boulevard theatre, has died

Also known for her roles in film and television, the actress was also a singer and cabaret dancer. She was 92 years old.

She was not on the list.

A popular figure in boulevard theatre, Marthe Mercadier, who died on Wednesday, September 15th in Puteaux (Hauts-de-Seine), at the age of 92, was immersed in the world of entertainment from a very young age. Her paternal grandfather, Victor Mercadier, was an administrator at SACEM (the French Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers). A friend of Mistinguett, Josephine Baker, and Maurice Chevalier, he introduced her to the backstage world of theatres.

 The happy childhood of Marthe Mercadier, born on October 23, 1928, in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), was nonetheless overshadowed by a series of hardships. At the age of six, she woke up one morning unable to speak. Her muteness lasted a year and ended without explanation. In June 1936, while participating in a human pyramid, she fell badly and remained immobilized for eighteen months. Then the war arrived and definitively ended her childhood. This period, during which she delivered letters for the Resistance, "  shaped [her] character for the rest of [her] life," she would later say.

 Donation to make people laugh

On May 8, 1945, she performed on stage for the first time at the end-of-year gala for Maurice Escande's drama school and discovered her gift for making audiences laugh: "I've based my life on laughter, on that extraordinary magic when you hear a thousand people burst out laughing at the same second." She had found her calling. To hone her skills, she enrolled at the Cours Simon drama school, where she met Michel Bouquet, Robert Hirsch, and Michel Piccoli.

 In the late 1940s, she achieved her first stage successes in La Galette des rois (Roger Ferdinand), then in Le Don d'Adèle (Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Grédy). In 1952, she married her partner Gérard Néry, to whom she remained married for twenty years and with whom she had a daughter, Véronique. She triumphed on stage with Chérie noire (François Campaux), which ran from 1958 to 1961. Plays followed one after another, and she acquired the reputation of queen of boulevard theatre, "a theatre of entertainment, a satire of society, which doesn't take itself too seriously and which demands enormous rigor," she said.

“In the theater, you do your craft. In film, you depend on the craft of others,” she wrote in * I Will Rejoice Until I’m 100!* (Flammarion, 2011). Adding, “Theater people, that’s my chosen family.” This didn’t stop her from turning to film. She acted in *The Capiston Tampon* (Maurice Labro, 1950) and went on to make some thirty films in the following years, always specifying in her contracts that she would not perform any nude scenes.

 Marthe Mercadier also became a familiar face to television viewers. Alongside Micheline Presle and Daniel Gélin, she played Fanny in the cult 1960s series Les Saintes chéries , directed by Jean Becker. She also triumphed in the successful television program "Au théâtre ce soir," with plays such as Interdit au public (Roger Dornès and Jean Marsan, 1966) or, in 1977, Les Petits Oiseaux (Eugène Labiche).

 Financial debacle

Frank and energetic, Marthe Mercadier is a woman of conviction. A socialist, she actively supported François Mitterrand in 1981. In September of that same year, she was appointed special advisor to Yvette Roudy, Minister for Women's Rights. After drafting a White Paper on the role of women in broadcasting, which had no effect, she resigned. Her commitment continued in humanitarian work as president of the IFPPF association, which ships medical equipment no longer used by French hospitals to hundreds of clinics around the world. However, the association became embroiled in the Carrefour du Développement scandal, a case of embezzlement of funds intended for cooperation and humanitarian aid.

 Marthe Mercadier was also involved in production. She co-produced Sacré Léonard (by Michel Serrault and Jean Poiret) for the stage (1964-1965) and produced Et la tendresse ?… Bordel ! (by Patrick Schulmann) for the cinema (1979). From 1970 to 1971, she managed the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris, but the venture ended in financial ruin.

 At the end of her life, she acknowledged: “I made a lot of money in my life. But it would have burned a hole in my pocket if I hadn't shared it with those in need. It was by learning to manage life's small and even great misfortunes that I was able to make my life a great happiness.” Overwhelmed by debt, she launched a plea for help in 2014, as she was facing eviction from her home. A few weeks later, Marthe Mercadier's daughter revealed that her mother was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She, who had dreamed of being at the theater every night until the end of her days, was forced to give up her activities.

 

Marthe Mercadier in a few dates

October 23, 1928 Birth in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis)

 

1958-1961 "Black Darling" (theatre)

 

1965-1971 "Les Saintes chéries" (television)

 

1979 Product "And tenderness?... Damn it!"

 

1981 Project manager at the Ministry of Women's Rights

 

September 15, 2021 Death in Puteaux (Hauts-de-Seine)

 

Filmography

Year     Title     Role     Director           Notes

1950    Le tampon du capiston            Mélanie           Maurice Labro

Three Telegrams          A bandwidth    Henri Decoin  

Souvenirs perdus                     Christian-Jaque           

1951    Darling Caroline                     Richard Pottier           

Paris Vice Squad         Rose Muchet   Hervé Bromberger     

Sweet Madness           Juliette Jean-Paul Paulin         

The Night Is My Kingdom     Simone            Georges Lacombe      

The Prettiest Sin in the World Liliane Gilles Grangier           

Coq en pâte     Betty    Charles-Félix Tavano 

Chacun son tour          Ketty   André Berthomieu      

Never Two Without Three      Hélène Flouc de la Donzelle   André Berthomieu (2)

La maison Bonnadieu Mlle Clorinde  Carlo Rim      

1952    Rendezvous in Grenada          Annette            Richard Pottier (2)     

The Case Against X    Inmate-manicure          Richard Pottier (3)     

Rayés des vivants        Marcelle          Maurice Cloche          

La chasse à l'homme               Pierre Kast      Short

1953    A Caprice of Darling Caroline            Ida       Jean-Devaivre

Les Compagnes de la nuit       Ginette Bachelet          Ralph Habib   

Les détectives du dimanche    Mme. Pelle      Claude Orval  

Capitaine Pantoufle     Claire Bonavent          Guy Lefranc   

Act of Love     The girl on the terrace Anatole Litvak           

1954    Service Entrance         Hortense Van de Putte Carlo Rim (2) 

Scènes de ménage       Madame Boulingrin    André Berthomieu (3)

Obsession        Arlette Bernardin        Jean Delannoy

1955    Casse-cou, mademoiselle!       Gisèle Evrard  Christian Stengel        

Les évadés       François's wife            Jean-Paul Le Chanois

M'sieur la Caille          Bertha  André Pergament       

Les salauds vont en enfer        Germaine         Robert Hossein          

1956    The Adventures of Gil Blas    Serafina           René Jolivet

Ricardo Muñoz Suay 

La puce à l'oreille        Raymonde Chandebise           Stellio Lorenzi TV Movie

1957    Burning Fuse   The innkeeper Henri Decoin         

Élisa    Mme Clotilde  Roger Richebé

Explosice Vacation!    Marie   Christian Stengel   

1958    Les femmes sont marrantes [fr]          Yolande           André Hunebelle        

Mädchen in Uniform   Madame Aubert          Géza von Radványi    

Le tombeur      Mme Amanda Lautier René Delacroix          

1959    La prima notte Antoinette Sophronides          Alberto Cavalcanti     

Une nuit orageuse                   Marcel Bluwal TV Movie

1961    Dans l'eau qui fait des bulles  Georgette Ernzer         Maurice Delbez          

1962    Système deux              Marcel Cravenne         TV Movie

1963    Le bon roi Dagobert    Madame Pelletan / Gomatrude           Pierre Chevalier         

1965    Les enquiquineurs       Madame Hélène Eloy Roland Quignon         

Les saintes chéries      Fanny  Jean Becker

Maurice Delbez           TV Series (2 Episodes)

1966    Le train bleu s'arrête 13 fois   Mathilde          Émile Roussel TV Series (1 Episode : "Antibes: coup fourré")

L'anglais tel qu'on le parle      The hotel's manageress           Marcel Cravenne (2)   TV Movie

Les saintes chéries      Fanny  Jean Becker (2)

Maurice Delbez (2)     TV Series (2 Episodes)

Au théâtre ce soir        Solange / Nicole Guise           Pierre Sabbagh            TV Series (2 Episodes)

1967    Les Cinq Dernières Minutes   Madame Jardin            Claude Loursais          TV Series (1 Episode : "Finir en beauté")

1968    Béru et ces dames       Madame Albertine       Guy Lefranc           

Au théâtre ce soir        Anne-Marie     Pierre Sabbagh       TV Series (1 Episode : "Boléro")

1969    Aux frais de la princesse         Hélène Roland Quignon (2)   

1970    Les saintes chéries      Fanny  Jean Becker 

Nicole de Buron          TV Series (3 Episodes)

1971    Valparaiso, Valparaiso The hostess      Pascal Aubier 

La coqueluche Marie-Blanche Turgan            Christian-Paul Arrighi

1973    Au théâtre ce soir        Lucie Trévières            Georges Folgoas         TV Series (1 Episode : "Les quatre vérités")

1974    Arsène Lupin  Sophie Jean-Pierre Desagnat  TV Series (1 Episode : "Le coffre-fort de madame Imbert")

Au théâtre ce soir        Béatrice           Jean Royer      TV Series (1 Episode : "Le vison à cinq pattes")

1975    Au théâtre ce soir        Madeleine        Pierre Sabbagh       TV Series (1 Episode : "Ah! La police de papa!")

1977    Blue jeans        Jean-Luc's mother       Hugues Burin des Roziers     

Au théâtre ce soir        Éva / Henriette            Pierre Sabbagh       TV Series (2 Episodes)

1978    Once in Paris...            Jean-Paul's Wife          Frank D. Gilroy          

1979    L'hôtel du libre-échange          Angélique        Guy Séligmann           TV Movie

1980    Au théâtre ce soir        Several            Pierre Sabbagh       TV Series (1 Episode : "La chambre mandarine")

1981    La puce et le privé       Odette Rupert  Roger Kay      

Les amours des années folles  The Countess  Dominique Giuliani    TV Series (1 Episode : "Molinoff, Indre-et-Loire")

Les folies d'Élodie      Juliette André Génovès          

Belles, blondes et bronzées     The nun           Max Pécas      

1982    Te marre pas... c'est pour rire! Agathe Frémont          Jacques Besnard         

Emmenez-moi au théâtre: Lorsque l'enfant paraît      Olympe Jacquet          Guy Séligmann      TV Movie

1983    Le Braconnier de Dieu            The hotelkeeper           Jean-Pierre Darras      

Marianne, une étoile pour Napoléon  Adélaïde          Marion Sarraut            TV Series

1984    Diable d'homme!         Gilberte           Georges Folgoas     TV Movie

1985    Brigade verte   Mme Pechinpah          Gilles Grangier       TV Series (1 Episode : "Thermotel")

1987    Madame le maire        Olympe           Jean-François Claire   TV Series

1988    The Camp at Thiaroye                        Ousmane Sembène

Thierno Faty Sow      

1992    La bonne Anna            Anna   Georges Folgoas     TV Movie

1993    Le JAP, juge d'application des peines             Josée Dayan    TV Series (1 Episode : "Tirez sur le lampiste")

Soutien de famille       Mother Christophe Jacrot        Short

1996    Les surprises du chef  Largentière's wife       André Flédérick          TV Movie

2001    Les aliénés       The mother      Yvan Gauthier

2003    Le Squat                      Jean-Pierre Dravel

Olivier Macé

Jean-Philippe Viaud    TV Movie

2012    R.I.S, police scientifique         Aude Lantin    Thierry Bouteiller        TV Series (1 Episode : "Diamant bleu")