- Jacques DesBaillets
Jacques Arthur DesBaillets (1910-1990) Was a French Canadian radio and television personality. He was an extraordinary entertainer whose work as a radio host and TV talk show host was hugely popular in his day and is considered an important figure in the early development of the two mass media in Quebec.
Biography
Early life
DesBaillets was the son of distinguished civil engineer and Swiss émigré Charles-Jules DesBaillets. His mother, was a French Canadian named Eugénie Lefevre. He was raised in Montreal in the city’s most affluent neighborhood and had a comfortable middle class upbringing. He attended
Lower Canada College as a teenager and later attendedMcGill University where he joined the student theater company.Career
After university DesBaillets was hired by CKAC to co-host a radio show with Jacques Normand (A French Canadian entertainer) called "La parade de la chansonnette Française" and consisted mainly of pop songs from France.
During the war years(1941-1943), he worked as a foreign correspondent for
Radio Canada ( French Canada’s public broadcaster) based in London where he witnessed first hand the carnage ofthe blitz . His assignments included interviewing Canadian forces stationed in England, particularly the French Canadian regiments Les Fusiliers de Montréal and theVandoos , and filing reports on the war for listeners back home. After the war, he met his wife Joan McCort, where they were both working for the CBC (English Canada's public broadcaster) in the International Radio Service.In 1949, DesBaillets was offered the position of host with CKVL radio station in Montreal by the station’s owner Jack Tietolman. The show was broadcast between 7-9 in the morning and was called "Bonjours messieurs dames".
His first TV show was called "Télé-Metro". This was a TV talk show (inspired by the
Jack Parr show) broadcast live on Canal 10 and consisted of sketch comedy, as well as interviews with celebrities, politicians and famous actors. His main co-stars over the years were Roger Baulu,Jean Coutu (actor) , Claude Séguin and Mario Verdon., The show was the first of its kind and was a brilliant success finally being cancelled after seven years on the air.DesBaillets also worked as a sports journalist for a few years, acting as host of Radio-Canada’s "Hot Stove League" program which was broadcast during hockey matches and involved a panel of experts discussing the game.
Later in life he pursued a career as an actor but was only able to find work doing small parts in movies and commercials. He also did work for the
National Film Board of Canada , as a narrator of both French and English films.Private life
He dabbled in various business ventures during his life often with mixed results. Including a wine importing business and owning a chain of barbershops in Montreal.
DesBaillets' marriage to Joan McCort was to last until his death on September 4, 1990, caused by heart failure. It produced two sons: Charles and Robert DesBaillets. He was laid to rest with his parents in
Mount Royal cemetery in Montreal.Filmography
* "Keeping Track" (1985)
* "Parlez-nous d’amour" (1976)
* "Le cas Labrecque " (1956)References
* Internet Movie Data-Base(IMDb) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089409/fullcredits]
* Radio Canada Website [http://www.radio-canada.ca/index.shtml]
* National Film Board of Canada(" Cas Labrecque le") [http://www.onf.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=2292]
* National Film Board of Canada("Front d'acier") [http://www.onf.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=3954]
* Quebec Info musique website("Biography of Jacques Normand") [http://www.qim.com/artistes/biographie.asp?artistid=259]
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