Polaire
Template:Short description Template:Infobox person Émilie Marie Bouchaud<ref name="memoirs">Polaire par elle-meme, Éditions Eugène Figuière (1933), Paris. chapter 10: She calls herself Émilie Marie Bouchaud. [1]. In 1930 her identity card was issued in the name "Emilie Polaire" [2]</ref> (14 May 1874 – 14 October 1939), better known by her stage name Polaire, was a French singer and actress, who became internationally known. She performed also in the United States and London, and in films.
She was notable for her wasp waist which, achieved through corsetry, reportedly measured less than 16 inches (41 cm). She was also known for her eccentric stage presence, which generated mixed receptions.<ref name=lunatic>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
BiographyEdit
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Early lifeEdit
Émilie Marie Bouchaud was born in Agha, Algiers, French Algeria on 14 May 1874; according to her memoirs she was one of eleven children. Only four – Émilie, her two brothers Edmond and Marcel, and a sister, Lucile – survived infancy. Their father died of typhoid fever when Émilie was five. Their widowed mother, unable to support the four children, temporarily placed them with their grandmother in Algiers. Bouchaud's brother Marcel died shortly after.<ref name="memoirs"/>
In 1889, after their mother began a relationship with a man named Emmanuel Borgia, she took her children with her when she moved with him to Paris. There her mother found work, and also tried to find domestic employment for her eldest daughter. Eventually however, after her sister Lucile fell sick and died, Émilie was sent back to her grandmother in Algiers.
Borgia, her mother, and Edmond, the only surviving sibling, remained in Paris. Émilie was unhappy and in September 1890 ran away to rejoin her mother in France. Afraid of meeting her mother's partner, Borgia (whom she accuses in her memoirs of having tried to molest her), she first approached her brother Edmond.
He had already gained some fame as a café-concert singer under the name of 'Dufleuve'. With his help Bouchard at about age 17 auditioned successfully for her first job as a café singer.<ref name="polaire">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="memoirs"/>
CareerEdit
Polaire's career in the entertainment industry stretched from the early 1890s to the mid-1930s, and encompassed the range from music-hall singer to stage and film actress. Her most successful period professionally was from the mid-1890s to the beginning of the Great War (First World War).<ref>Le Figaro, 15 October 1939, p. 2: "Polaire est morte"</ref>
Adopting the stage name Polaire ("Pole Star"),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}. According to her 1933 memoirs she had been star-gazing the night before her debut and decided to name herself after "l'étoile polaire" (Polaris, the Pole star).</ref> she worked first as a music-hall singer and dancer. One of her earliest hits was performing the French version of "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay".<ref>Le Matin, 5 October 1892, p. 3: "...Mlle. Polaire, la chanteuse excentrique qui, cet été, a obtenu un si grand succès dans Ta-Ra-Ra-Boum..."</ref> Having quickly made a name for herself – artist Toulouse-Lautrec portrayed her on a magazine cover in 1895 – Polaire briefly visited New York, appearing there as a chanteuse at various venues, but without achieving major success.<ref>“At Koster and Bial's...Mlle. Polaire was a new performer. She is one of those Parisian importations known as “chanteuses eccentriques(sic).” Everybody who has been in the up-to-date New-York music halls knows what that means”, New York Times, 19 November 1895.</ref>
On her return to Paris, she extended her range and gained acting roles in serious theatre. Her first major appearance was in 1902, at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, in the title role of a play based on Colette's Claudine à Paris. A comedic actress, Polaire became one of the major celebrities of her day. Later, as cinema developed, she appeared in several films.
In 1909, Polaire was cast in her first silent-film role in Moines et guerriers (Monks and Warriors). In 1910 she returned to the stage, appearing in London and later in New York. (1910 was the date of her first visit as a celebrity to the U.S.; publicity releases did not mention her earlier appearances in 1895.) In 1912, back in France, she was offered a role in a film by the up-and-coming young director Maurice Tourneur. She appeared in six of his films in 1912 and 1913. After returning to the musical stage, she sailed back to the US for a second tour.
Crossing the Atlantic again, she returned to London to perform at the Coliseum Theatre. In 1915 Polaire made frequent appearances in London, and was involved in wartime fund-raising efforts.<ref>"Court Circular." Times [London, England], 14 April 1915: 11. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 9 July 2012.</ref> She returned to films in 1922 but, in the declining years of her career, had to be content with lesser roles.
Her precise filmography is difficult to determine due to confusion between her and a younger Italian actress with the screen name "Pauline Polaire", who also featured in early films.<ref>Pauline Polaire was the screen name of Italian actress, Giulietta Gozzi.{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her last film appearance was in 1935 in Arènes joyeuses, directed by Karl Anton.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
AppearanceEdit
Polaire was skilled in using her appearance to attract attention.<ref>"If no-one laughs at my hat in the street," said the French actress Polaire, "I know it's a failure." Jane Shilling. "The Look-and how to get it." Times [London, England] 23 Apr. 1997: 18. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 9 July 2012.</ref> In her early days as a café singer in the 1890s, she wore very short skirts and also cropped her hair, fashions that did not become common in the rest of society until the 1920s. A brunette,<ref>Her identity card, issued 30 October 1930, describes her hair as dark brown ("chatain foncé"), eyes as brown ("brun") and skin tone as tanned ("mat"). http://www.polaire-1900.com/</ref> she wore unusually heavy eye makeup, deliberately evocative of the Arab world.<ref>"Ses regards, qui n'évoquent pas l'Orient comme les yeux de Polaire, − ces admirables yeux de fellahine" Colette, Claudine s'en va, 1903, p. 208.</ref> At a time when tightlacing among women was in vogue, she was famous for her tiny, corsetted waist, which was reported to have a circumference no greater than Template:Convert.<ref>In her memoirs Polaire stated that, when young, her waist could be encircled by a normal shirt collar size 41–42, equivalent to between 16 and 16.5 inches. Polaire par elle-meme, Éditions Eugène Figuière (1933), Paris</ref> That accentuated her large bust, which was said to measure Template:Convert.<ref name="Jenner2015">Template:Cite book</ref> She stood Template:Convert tall.<ref>Her identity card gave her height as Template:Convert http://www.polaire-1900.com/.</ref> Her striking appearance, both on and off stage, contributed to her celebrity.
For her 1910 supposed "debut" in New York, she provocatively allowed herself to be billed in the advance publicity as "the ugliest woman in the world".<ref>New York Times, 3 July 1910</ref> When departing on a transatlantic liner, she was apparently accompanied by a "black slave".<ref>In her memoirs Polaire claimed the so-called "slave" was a 14-year-old boy named Jimmy. Her admirer "Adolf Pawenstead" (Adolph Pavenstedt, a German financier based in America) was said to have paid him to act as her page on the voyage home to Paris. In publicity shots Jimmy wore a silver medal inscribed with "I belong to Polaire". According to her account, he remained with her for some time in Paris, until he became distracted by city life and they parted company.(Polaire par elle-meme, Éditions Eugène Figuière (1933), Paris)</ref>
Returning to America in 1913, she brought a diamond-collared pet pig, Mimi, and wore a nose-ring.<ref>New York Times, 17 August 1913.</ref> Talk of her figure and her lavish overdressing in fur coats and dazzling jewels preceded her appearances wherever she went. Jean Lorrain said of her:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
She was a frequent subject for artists;<ref>Images http://artyparade.com/focus-on/29</ref> those who painted her include Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Antonio de La Gandara, Leonetto Cappiello, Rupert Carabin, Mme. Dreyfus Gonzales<ref>"PICTURES IN PARIS.-Our Paris Correspondent." Times [London, England], 26 May 1902: 14. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 9 July 2012.</ref> and Jean Sala.
DeathEdit
Polaire's finances suffered from a series of actions by the French tax authorities, and she struggled to find stage or screen roles as she aged.<ref>Polaire par elle-meme, Éditions Eugène Figuière (1933), Paris.</ref> She may have suffered from depression.<ref>Reporting a 1938 accident in which Polaire's wrist was badly cut, a newspaper suggested she may have been attempting suicide, claiming she had suffered nervous breakdowns and made a similar attempt after her mother's death. Template:Cite journal</ref>
She died on 14 October 1939, aged 65, in Champigny-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne, France.<ref name=imdb>[https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0688787
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}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}</ref> Her body was buried at the Cimetière du Centre, in the eastern Paris suburb of Champigny-sur-Marne.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Article and photo of grave, landrucimetieres.fr; accessed 2 July 2015.Template:In lang</ref>
Partial discographyEdit
All songs are included in the compilation album, Eugénie Buffet et Polaire: Succès et Raretés (1918-1936), released under a French record label, Chansophone.<ref name=rare>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Allo Chéri (Boyer–Stamper) - Pathé 4970 - Matrix No. 2485 - 8 May 1918
- Pour être heureux (Yvain) - Aérophone - No. 1467 - 1920
- La Glu (Richepin–Fragerole) - Aérophone - No. 1468 - 1920
- Tchike Tchike (Scotto) - Odéon 75143 - 1923
- Pour être heureux (Yvain) - Odéon 75143 - Matrix No. K1-510 - 1923
- Nocturne (Nozière) - Gramophone K-5798 - Matrix No. BS 4432-1 et 4433-2 - 1929
- La Glu (Richepin–Fragerole) - Polydor 521531 - Matrix No. 2170 BK - 1929
- Le P'tit Savoyard - Polydor 521531 - Matrix No. 2170 BK - 1929
- Le Train du rêve (Aubret–Lenoir) - Parlophone 22716 - Matrix No. Pa 106124-2 - 1930
- Le Premier Voyage (Lenoir) - Parlophone 22716 - Matrix No. Pa 106165-2 - 1930
- La Prière de la Charlotte (Jehan Rictus; arr. Warms) - Cristal 6263 - Matrix No. CP 2082 and 2083 - 1936
Selected filmographyEdit
- Le dernier pardon (1913)
- Les gaîtés de l'escadron (1913)
- Soeurette (1914)
- Monsieur Lecoq (1914)
- Le masque du vice (1917)
- Amour... amour... (1932)
- Happy Arenas (1935)
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 9216151
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