Marie-Louise Damien - Felix Mayol and Loie Fuller

Felix Mayol and Loie Fuller

After being seen by Félix Mayol, one of the leading male singing stars at the time, he hired her to perform at his concerts. Despite this, her career evolved slowly, taking second billing for a number of years but with help in her stage presentation from the American dancer, Loie Fuller, she eventually became a singing star. At the beginning of World War I she opened Le Concert Damia, in Montmartre, where she became the first star ever to have a single spotlight trained on her face, bare arms and hands. From this point in her career she became the most important exponent of the chanson réaliste genre until Édith Piaf came along in 1936. Her nickname was "la tragédienne de la chanson", and amongst her big hits were "Les goélands", "Johnny Palmer", "C'est mon gigolo" and "Tu ne sais pas aimer"--the latter song became a theme for French sufferers of AIDS.

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Famous quotes containing the words felix and/or fuller:

    Careless credulity makes them the prey of those they trusted; and then they repeat their
    mistake by suspecting all alike.
    —Marcus Minucius Felix (2nd or 3rd cen. A.D.)

    Stop usin’ your hands, Skip, and start usin’ your head.
    —Samuel Fuller (b. 1911)