- Theophanis Lamboukas
Theophanis Lamboukas, known as Théo Sarapo (
26 January 1936 inParis –28 August 1970 inLimoges ,Haute-Vienne ,France ), was the last husband of the French singerÉdith Piaf . Formerly a hairdresser, he was 26 years old when he married the 46-year-old Piaf, having been introduced to her by his lover, Claude Figus, who was Piaf's secretary.A handsome actor-singer of Greek heritage, Sarapo scored a hit with Piaf in 1962 with the song "À quoi ça sert l'amour?" (What Good Is Love?). Having by Gallic law inherited Piaf's 7 million francs worth of debts, Sarapo was evicted from the apartment they shared on Boulevard Lannes on Christmas Day 1963, and recorded "La maison qui ne chante plus" (The house which no longer sings), which also became a hit: another big hit was "Le jour viendra", which became in English "Our Day Will Come". When he began singing with Piaf, his voice was very nasal, but he developed this over the next few years until he acquired a tone which was breathtakingly mellow. His other hits included "La Ronde" and "Nous n'étions pas pareils". An able actor, his best known film, which he was shooting at the time of Piaf's death, was
Judex , directed byGeorges Franju . Sarapo died at the side of the road following an automobile accident in 1970. He is buried beside Piaf and her daughter Marcelle (to lover Louis Dupont) inPère Lachaise Cemetery inParis . Their motto on their tomb translates as "Love Conquers All".What makes their relationship even more special was that Sarapo was openly gay--his lover, Figus, committed suicide in July 1963. Sarapo was the last in a long line of Piaf discoveries (Yves Montand ,Les Compagnons de la Chanson ,Georges Moustaki , etc, who, had she lived a little longer almost certainly would have become much better known.His stage name "Sarapo", as pronounced in French, is Greek for "I love you" (Σ‘αγαπώ, "s'agapo") and was chosen by Piaf herself for Lamboukas.
External links
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* [http://www.christielaume.com/biography_theo.html A biography by Theo's younger sister, Christie Laume]
*david bret [http://www.davidbret.com]
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