Edith Piaf - biography, information, personal life. The best songs of Edith Piaf
1. Edith Giovanna Gassion (that was the last name of her parents) was a born Parisian, but her childhood and youth were spent on the darkest and most impoverished streets of this “city of light.” Only later, under the pen of a journalist who secretly received his fee from famous singer, a legend was born that she was born right on the steps of house 72 on Belleville Street, where the newborn was taken into the arms of a local gendarme. Today tourists come to stand on these steps and look at the memorial plaque at the entrance.
2. Edith’s mother, a cabaret singer, left her acrobat husband two years after the birth of her daughter, gave her up to her parents, and she, as they say, “went downhill.” But the grandmother had neither the strength nor the desire to take care of the child: when the girl cried from hunger, instead of milk, she could pour wine into the bottle, which she was a big hunter of. Having learned how things were, Edith’s father took her to his own mother, the owner of the brothel.
3. The girl was three years old when it was discovered that she had practically lost her sight. The pious (or superstitious?) grandmother, together with her “girls,” decided to take her granddaughter to the relics of Saint Teresa in the hope of healing. Legend has it that the miracle happened after little Edith wore a blindfold with soil brought from the saint’s grave for a week. From then on, throughout her life, Edith Piaf wore a medallion with her image around her neck and always went to church to pray - wherever her touring life took her.
4. At the age of 9, Edith began performing: her father returned from the army and took her with him to go on a trip with street circus performers. And at the age of 15, the independent girl sang on the sidewalks and in courtyards with her “sworn friend” Simone Berto. Two years later, Edith fell madly in love with a small businessman, Louis: the couple settled in Montmartre, Paris, and the 17-year-old mistress gave birth to a daughter, Marcelle, who, unfortunately, died of meningitis, having lived only two years in the world. As a result, Edith broke up with her lover Louis, and the singer never had any more children.
5. The name Piaf, now known throughout the world, was given to the singer by Louis Leple, the owner of one of the Parisian cabarets. It was thanks to his efforts that her first resounding success came: in 1936, Edith Piaf recorded her first disc. But soon Louis was found murdered in his own bed, and one of Edith’s (probably offended by her) lovers whispered her name to the investigator during police interrogation. However, sufficient evidence was never found against Edith Piaf.
6. Right up until the very beginning of World War II, Edith Piaf triumphantly conquered the most famous music halls, sang on the radio, played in the theater, fell in love and endlessly changed lovers. She continued to perform in German-occupied Paris, and in 1943 she even went to Berlin on a “promotional tour” of a French song, along with other French artists. All this did not stop her from helping Jews hiding from the occupiers or her compatriots-prisoners of war: legend has it that from the group “memory photo” taken in the camp, individual photographs were then taken for documents and escape.
7. Thanks to the generous heart of Edith Piaf, many talented young men of those years took huge steps towards their artistic fame. Among them were Yves Montand and Charles Aznavour. But only the great passion that flared up between Edith and the famous boxer Michel Cerdan breathed such a feeling into her “Hymn of Love” that immortalized this song. In October 1949, 33-year-old Cerdan flew to New York, where Edith Piaf was on tour, but the plane crashed over the Atlantic. In deep grief, the singer began taking morphine.
8. In July 1951, the singer was in a car accident with Charles Aznavour, who was then simultaneously her confidant, protégé, secretary and driver. To relieve the pain from numerous fractures, she was again prescribed morphine, and a year later Edith began her first course of treatment for drug addiction.
9. By 1955, after numerous detoxification procedures, Edith Piaf managed to temporarily cope with her dependence on morphine, but she was left with severe rheumatoid arthritis, alcohol and the pain of loneliness after the death of Marcel Cerdan, whom Edith could not forget, although she later fell in love and went out more than once married Her grand triumph continued to grow, and her fame conquered the whole world.
10. Edith Piaf passed away at the age of 47 - her body gave way under the monstrous burden of illness, harmful excesses and suffering throughout her life. Upon learning of her death, close friend The great singer, writer, artist and director Jean Cocteau said: “I didn’t know anyone else who didn’t take care of his soul like that. She didn’t spend it - she was a spendthrift, as if she were throwing gold through a window.”
The French “sparrow” Edith Piaf is one of the legendary singers of the 20th century, the owner of a unique voice and inimitable grace, recognized by critics as the best performer of chanson.
This independent, courageous woman won the love of the capricious Parisian public thanks not to her bright appearance, but to her masterly performance of songs, which were later included in the golden musical fund. During her life, little Piaf accomplished quite a lot:
- This graceful Frenchwoman has roles in eight films, among which the film “Life in pink color", for the role main character in which she won an Oscar. In the film “Paris Always Sings,” Edith sang a song that for a long time became the anthem of Paris and all lovers.
- Despite the fact that off stage Piaf dressed very simply and discreetly, for millions of women she became a trendsetter in elegant black dresses and thin, thread-like eyebrows.
- Edith Piaf wrote two autobiographical books, where she revealed some secrets about her romances with outstanding actors of French cinema.
- Ten of Edith's songs have been recognized as classics of French chanson.
The singer's childhood and youth
The life story of Edith Giovanna Gassion, and this is the name the girl received at birth, is full of trials and misfortunes; fate meted out a lot of grief to her share. Edith was born into the family of a street acrobat and a failed singer; soon after birth, the mother left the baby, and she went to work.
The grandmother didn’t last long, and three years later the baby was given to the second grandmother. The kind old woman was shocked by the terrifying state of the child, who did not know what affection and love were. Edith Piaf as a child was incredibly thin, pale, in addition, her eyes constantly festered, and the rapidly progressing disease threatened Piaf with complete blindness. The efforts of the doctors and the prayers of her grandmother saved her sight, and little Edith began to come to life before her eyes.
But this idyll did not last long, and the fate of Edith Piaf again took on dark tones. The grown-up girl could no longer stay with her grandmother, because she was the owner of a brothel. When Edith turned 15, she decided to leave to earn her own living. All the future star could do was sing soulfully, and therefore, without any doubts, Edith decided to go work in a cabaret.
Career
However, Leple believed that Edith Piaf could achieve much more as a singer, especially if she put some effort into cutting this diamond. He raised from a sparrow a real star: she was taught to dress correctly, communicate with the public, and move on stage.
The owner of the cabaret did not stand on ceremony with the future star, often slapped her on the head, and spoke rudely about the singer’s appearance. Edith always went on stage in black; she believed that this color gave room for imagination and did not distract from the song.
Her first appearance on the radio brought her incredible popularity, and the story of Edith Piaf’s appearance in the Zernice cabaret aroused great interest among the public. However, Leple was soon shot dead, and the police suspected Piaf, because she was mentioned among the heirs.
Soon the aspiring French singer will meet Raymond Asso, a composer and producer who will turn Piaf into a real star. It was he who wrote for her the famous “Paris, the Mediterranean”, “My Legionnaire”, as well as many other songs that have become a real treasure of French chanson. Soon Marguerite Monnot joined their creative union, and songs such as “Hymn of Love” and “Baby Marie” appeared in the list of “Sparrow” hits.
A couple of years later, Piaf made her debut on the stage of one of the most prestigious music halls in the country, ABC, and the newspapers were full of reports that she had risen on the stage new star. Soon Edith Piaf meets the famous director Cocteau, her songs begin to sound on the screen, and she becomes famous throughout the country. During the war, the singer actively toured, singing for French soldiers.
Once during a performance, the singer became ill, she was hospitalized and during the examination she was diagnosed with liver cancer. Music was the meaning of life for Edith, so she perceived the doctors’ ban on performances and the need for subsequent treatment as real torture and punishment from above.
Piaf always had problems with alcohol, it helped her forget, distract her from adversity. Unfortunately, the treatment did not bring a positive result - despite all the efforts of doctors, Edith Piaf died in 1963. The official cause of death is liver cancer.
Personal life
The personal life of Edith Piaf can arouse the envy of any beauty, because this unprepossessing-looking baby is credited with affairs with the most prominent men of French cinema and stage. The newspapers of that time were full of catchy headlines about the sparrow’s next hobby, and the church considered her a real sinner. The biography of Edith Piaf served as material for three films, and books about her became real bestsellers.
Edith Piaf's husband demanded that the singer give up the stage and sit at home, but she could not imagine life without music. Soon, Edith's daughter dies of meningitis, and the couple divorces.
Piaf's next object of passion was 23-year-old Yves Montand, then just beginning his acting career. She taught the handsome young man acting, helped him make the necessary contacts, and even got him leading role from a famous director. Two years later, Piaf left Montana, saying that love had passed.
Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour met at a party quite by accident, and mutual sympathy immediately flared up between them. Newspapers immediately published notes that Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour were lovers, but everything was completely wrong. For many years the two brilliant chansonniers were bound by strong friendship and platonic feelings, which never developed into anything more.
The wedding of Edith Piaf and Greek hairdresser Theo Sarapo amazed all the singer’s fans, who seemed to have become accustomed to the star’s strange antics. By that time, Piaf, due to her age and addiction to alcohol, was very sick, and her lover was barely 26 years old. Knowing that his wife had very little time left, he touchingly looked after her, fed her, and walked her until the very last day.
The singer died in hospital after her liver completely failed. Piaf was buried in the famous Père Lachaise cemetery; numerous fans and tourists still come to the star’s grave. Fans of chanson often compare Edith Piaf and Mireille Mathieu, because it is her performance that most closely resembles the singing style of the famous French “sparrow”. Author: Natalya Ivanova
Piaf Edith
Real name - Edith Giovanna Gassion (born in 1915 - died in 1963)
The great French pop singer, the pride of France, a symbol of its culture, a phenomenon of world musical art.
The main theme of Piaf's songs was love. Tragic, broken, unhappy, daring, with all her impulse the opposite of petty prosperity and bourgeois decency. Love is rock, love is a test, love is a curse sent down by fate. This was her life too.
Edith Piaf's personal life is not an example to follow. It had everything: and friendly relations, and fleeting hobbies, and of course love. As soon as one great love ended, another began. She had her own rule about this: “A woman who allows herself to be abandoned is a total fool. There are a dime a dozen men, there are so many of them walking the streets. You just need to find a replacement not after, but before. If after, then you were abandoned, if before, then you! Big difference."
Edith always applied this principle with a sense of duty. No man could change her. And if there was someone who tried to leave her, he was in trouble - she had long been several lengths ahead. Bye new lover could not yet live with her under the same roof, she was silent, kept the old one with her, believing that there should always be a man in the house: “A house where there is no man’s shirt lying around, where you don’t come across socks, a tie hanging on the back of a chair yet a warm jacket - this is a widow’s house, there is melancholy and darkness in it.”
Edith was born on December 19, 1915 at three o'clock in the morning under a street lamp near house number 72 on Belleville Street in Paris. Two police officers attended the birth - “ ambulance“It was too late to call. The future pop star was born into the circus family of acrobat Louis Gassion and singer Anita Maillard at a not very opportune time. Walked First world war, and the father, who went on vacation for the occasion, immediately after the birth of his daughter returned to the trenches to feed the lice. Two months later, the mother gave the girl to her alcoholic parents and forgot about both her husband and child: she was “ real actress, but she had no heart."
When Louis Gassion was able to come to another vacation, he saw his daughter in such a state that he was horrified: “a head like a balloon, arms and legs like matches, a chicken breast.” Without thinking twice, the father took the child and took him to his mother in Normandy - he didn’t even have the thought of giving her to an orphanage. Here in the town of Bernay, grandmother Louise served as a cook for her sister Marie, who ran a brothel.
"Madame" Marie and her girls were delighted with little Edith. “A child in the house is fortunate!” - they thought. They barely managed to wash the dirt off her, and then it turned out that the girl had cataracts - she couldn’t see anything. The baby remained blind for three years, and all this time her new big family did not lose hope for her recovery. At first, Edith was taken to doctors, and then one of the girls came up with the idea of going on a pilgrimage to Saint Therese in Lisieux.
The Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on August 15, 1921, all the girls, led by “Madame,” spent in the cathedral, where they prayed for the health of their favorite. And a miracle happened. A week after visiting Saint Teresa, the child regained his sight. The shock was so great that the “establishment” was closed for the second time for the whole day and a feast was thrown without men, but with champagne.
So Edith regained her sight, but soon lost her cozy home, where everyone loved her very much. Without allowing the girl to study for a year at school, under pressure from the priest and the “decent” public, Louis Gassion was forced to take her away from the “indecent house.” From eight to fourteen years old, he dragged Edith with him through taverns and bistros, through city streets and village squares - the war ended, and he again became a street acrobat. Edith later said: “I walked so many roads with dad that my legs should have been worn down to the very knees.”
Her job was to collect money. “Smile,” my father taught, “then they will give you more.” Even then, Edith tried to sing in front of cafe regulars, which guaranteed Louis a daily drink. He had long ago given up the idea of making her a gymnast: “This girl has everything in her throat and nothing in her hands!” - he used to say. The first time Edith sang on the street was when she was nine years old. The song she debuted with was called “I'm a Slut.”
At the age of fifteen, Edith was tired of working for free for her father and putting up with his girlfriends, constantly replacing each other. She tried to deliver milk, washed floors and realized that this was not for her - she dreamed of singing on the street. But in order not to look like an ordinary beggar in the eyes of passers-by, it was necessary to find an accompanist. One day Edith met a self-taught musician named Raymond, with whom she performed for some time in soldiers’ barracks and squares.
Soon she began to sing on her own, and then persuaded her half-sister Simone Berto to leave her drunkard mother and work together. By the time they met, Edith already knew many men. She didn't remember the first, and all she could say about the second was that he taught her to play the banjo and mandolin. Men always revolved around her, but most of all the street singer liked the soldiers of the Foreign Legion, colonial troops and sailors: “If a guy looks at you, you are no longer an empty place, you exist. You can laugh and rage with them, soldiers are easy people.”
One evening in 1932, in a bistro near Fort Romainville, Edith met her Baby - a blond boy, Louis Dupont, who was a year older than her. Although Edith had many admirers in the nearby barracks, Louis became her first true love. From that evening she began to live with the Kid under the same roof, because he was the first who offered it to her. There was no question about marriage, but within two months Edith became pregnant.
The future dad was jealous of his girlfriend and often beat her. Their views on life were diametrically opposed - Edith was eager to go outside, and he wanted her to stay at home. Even the birth of their daughter Cecel could not change the situation: Edith began singing in the streets again, returning home late, which led to frequent quarrels and fights that ended in the police station. This couldn't go on for long. They finally broke up after Edith got a job at the Juan-les-Pins cabaret on Pigalle Street - in the very center of the Parisian “bottom”.
Her new friends were prostitutes, robbers, pimps, dealers in stolen goods, and card sharps. She now did not have a permanent home - she wandered from hotel to hotel, renting a room for the night where Cecel could sleep peacefully. In the morning Edith put her in a stroller and took her around the city all day. Despite such a chaotic lifestyle, the girl grew up healthy and cheerful. One day, the Kid stole his daughter from the hotel, hoping that Edith would return to him. But such numbers did not work for her - she crossed him out of her life.
Sesel did not stay with Baby for long: at two and a half years old she fell ill with meningitis and died. Edith was nineteen years old at this time. Ten francs were missing for the funeral, and Edith went to the boulevard for the first time: “So much the worse... I’ll do it.” In the hotel room, the client asked why she was doing this. Hearing that the young girl standing in front of him had just lost her daughter, he swore and put it on the table. large bill and left.
A few days later, Edith no longer remembered her dead daughter - the streets during the day, the cabaret at night - life continued as before. One day in October 1935, she was performing on the Champs-Elysees, and here on Troyon Street, chance intervened in her fate - she was noticed by the owner of the fashionable cabaret "Zhernice" Louis Leple. The performance of Jean Lenoir's song “Like Little Sparrows” impressed him so much that he immediately offered the street singer a job.
The young artist needed to choose a sonorous stage name. It dawned on Father Leple: “You are a real Parisian sparrow, and the name Moineau would best suit you. Unfortunately, the baby's name Muano has already been taken. We need to find something else. In Parisian slang, "moineau" is "piaf". Why don't you become Mom Piaf? Thus, with his light hand, Edith Gassion began to be called Little Piaf.
A week later, Piaf’s debut took place in the Zhernis cabaret, which was visited by aristocrats, literary and artistic figures. After the first song there was a flurry of applause. Piaf’s success exceeded all Leple’s expectations: “Order. She conquered them...” It was the most difficult moment of her entire career, but until her death she considered it the most beautiful. She was drunk with happiness.
Everything was fine with work, but in her personal life at this time Edith simply “went off the rails.” This was a period of intense fascination with sailors, legionnaires and various rogues who were waiting for her after the concert at the doors of the cabaret.
Every day, for seven months, Edith did not spare the money she had earned so hard for her friends - they drank every last sou. She was happy in her own way: “Love is not a matter of time, but a matter of quantity. For me it fits in one day more love than at ten years old. The townspeople are stretching their feelings. They are prudent and stingy, which is why they become rich. They don't make a fire with all their wood. Their system may be good for money, but it’s not good for love.”
On the night of April 6, 1936, everything collapsed - Father Leple was killed in his house by people who made up lately Edith's entourage. Some of them were even her lovers. The newspapers howled - such a sensation - the singer was involved in the murder of her owner. However, the police were unable to prove anything, and Piaf was released. But everyone had already turned their backs on her: “What a pity that you lost your patron. He was the only one who could believe in you. Now you have only one way - back to the pavement.”
In Paris, Edith was declared a boycott, and she went to Brest to sing during the intervals between films at the local cinema. Here she remained true to herself - on the very first evening she made friends among the sailors. “Nice guys, they didn’t ask any questions,” but behaved in such a way that they scared all the civilian spectators in the cinema. As a result, the management was dissatisfied with Piaf’s work and did not renew her contract. Nothing worked out in the provinces either...
It seemed that Edith would no longer be able to rise from the very bottom a second time. But she was rescued by her old friend Raymon Asso - “long, thin, nervous, with very black hair and a tanned face” - he became her friend, teacher, impresario and, of course, lover. It was Raymon who turned “Little Piaf” into “Edith Piaf,” which was very difficult. He literally taught her to read and write - Piaf did not understand some words in her own songs and could not give an autograph without errors, in addition, she did not understand musical notation. Raymon taught her good manners and patiently explained how she should behave in life, at the table, with people.
In their relationship, ups alternated with downs, but still Edith repeated: “How I love him! He makes me do whatever he wants." Raymond Asso polished her biography and created the “Edith style”, writing several hits for her. Asso was the first man Edith knew whose interests extended beyond the desire to drink, take a walk or make love. She needed him, and she could not do without him in order to escape from the world of her past street life.
Raymond loved Edith as his wife, as his creation and as his child, but he understood that nothing could hold her back. They broke up a year and a half after her triumphant debut at the most famous Parisian music hall, ABC, on the Grands Boulevards. “Yesterday a great singer was born in France...” the newspapers wrote. She owed her brilliant victory in everything, except perhaps her vocal abilities, to Raymond Asso, and Piaf always remembered this. Every time he needed her, she was there. But love passed, and Edith never compromised on this. She needed a new, fresh feeling: “You can truly love only when you feel it like for the first time. When love grows cold, it must either be warmed up or thrown away. This is not a product that should be kept in a cool place!”
Edith Piaf's next love was the singer Paul Meurisse. He struck her imagination, his actions were unpredictable: “If he suddenly started eating orchids at breakfast, she would take it normally.” The relationship between them was not easy - their temperaments were too different, but despite constant quarrels, they did not part.
In 1940, Edith met playwright Jean Cocteau, who became her good friend. He sincerely wanted to help Edith establish a normal relationship with Paul. To do this, he wrote a one-act play “The Indifferent Handsome Man,” the plot of which was taken from Piaf’s story about her life with Meurisse, and invited them to play it in the theater. “It’s very simple,” he persuaded Edith, “Paul doesn’t say anything, and you play the scene that you arrange for him every day.” Some of Piaf's friends doubted its success and even on the day of the premiere predicted failure. Coming onto the stage, the aspiring actress suddenly forgot all the words out of excitement, but, pulling herself together, she performed the performance in one go, captivating the audience with her talent.
The “indifferent handsome man” extended Paul’s stay in Edith’s life, but her feeling died. In August 1941, on the set of the film Montmartre-on-Seine, she met a tall, elegant man - journalist Henri Conte. He was the complete opposite of Paul, but he entered Piaf’s life not so much as her next lover, but as the author of her immortal songs, which she so needed. Much to the singer’s regret, he did not want to live in her house - it was the height of the German occupation, and every evening he went to another, deceiving Edith that he did not have a night pass. Piaf fought for him for some time, but could not hold him.
Her participation in the anti-fascist Resistance movement dates back to this time. During the war, Edith Piaf almost did not appear on stage, but, to the surprise of many, she accepted an offer to sing in Germany. For this she was accused of collaborating with the Germans. Not everyone knew that the singer performed in prisoner of war camps and gave them the fees she received. One day she asked the camp management to allow her to take a souvenir photo with her compatriots. In Paris from great photos The underground workers made 120 small ones and prepared false documents for “the French who voluntarily came to Germany.” Returning to the camp a few months later, Piaf brought these documents in a box with makeup and gave them to prisoners of war. For those who managed to escape, these papers saved their lives.
A month before the liberation of France from the Nazis, a period began in Edith’s life that she called “a factory for producing singers,” which lasted until her death. She started with Yves Montand and immediately fell head over heels in love with him. Yves reciprocated her feelings and repeatedly invited her to become his wife. However, he always started this conversation at the wrong time - either while eating, or when Edith was drinking and wanted to fool around. Yves stubbornly continued to call her his bride and either carried her in his arms, or for no apparent reason made scenes of jealousy for her, and they yelled at each other for hours.
After Montand's first successful performance in Alhambra, there was a chill in the relationship between them, and after filming together in Marcel Blistin's film The Nameless Star, they broke up. Leaving in triumph after a two-hour solo concert on the Etoile stage, where previously only the great Maurice Chevalier could perform, Montand hugged Piaf last time and said, “Thank you. I owe you everything.”
At the beginning of 1946, Edith decided to take up the little-known ensemble “Friends of the Song” and bring it to the big stage. When asked how she was going to cope with nine young people at once, she replied: “You need to be able to change, this is the secret of eternal youth.” One pupil was no longer enough for her. Together with the ensemble, Edith Piaf went on a tour of America in November 1947.
Here in New York she met herself great love, which immediately erased her entire past. Boxer Marcel Cerdan was preparing for his first match, and Edith was preparing to perform on the stage of the Versailles cabaret theater - they were both going to conquer America. "This was my real and only love. I loved. I idolized...What would I do for him to live, for the whole world to know how generous he was, how impeccable he was.”
Marcel Cerdan forced Edith to be reborn and relieved her of the bitterness that poisoned her heart. He discovered tenderness and kindness in her and lit a bright light in her soul. They asked her: “How could you fall in love with a boxer? This is rudeness itself!” “Rudeness from which one should learn delicacy!” - Edith retorted. Their tender relationship was no secret to anyone, including Cerdan’s wife, Marinette, who lives with her sons in Casablanca. It would seem that these two women should hate each other.
But when Marcel died along with the entire crew in a plane crash near New York, Marinette, thirsty for consolation, called Edith to her, and she took off on the first plane to Casablanca. Then the orphaned family was taken to Paris, where Piaf nursed her recent rival and her children with such cordiality that she did not even deign to her relatives.
And on that evening of October 27, 1949, when news of the tragedy became known, Edith was supposed to perform at Versailles. The singer was in a state close to madness or suicide, but she could not refuse the concert. “I dedicate my performance to the blessed memory of Marcel Cerdan,” she said when she saw the hall, and sang “Hymn of Love” with her own words, set to music by her favorite composer Marguerite Monnot.
She sang as she had never sung before. And it was that spirituality of performance, that solemnity and power of genuine feelings that makes a thousand people turn into one. Her small, inconspicuous body, possessed by the greatest spirit, conveyed the immortality of her love, who died in the prime of her life. Piaf was carried off the stage in a deep faint.
Strange, but in the biography of Edith Piaf, some sad coincidences are noticeable: two of her lovers died in plane crashes, and she herself ended up in car accidents. And it would be fine if the consequences were only broken ribs, a mutilated lip, and scars on the face. In the hospital where she ended up after the first car accident, Piaf was saved from pain by morphine, to which she eventually became addicted, just as she had previously become addicted to alcohol.
The famous singer hid bottles of alcohol in the most unexpected places in the apartment, and the day came when the alcohol content in her blood reached a dangerous concentration - now she was drunk from several glasses of beer. Sometimes, having already been thoroughly drunk, she would suddenly sneak off for a night stroll through drinking establishments, generously treat the regulars who sat there and, keeping up with them, downed glass after glass.
At some point, not yet losing control of herself, she began to sing, and the involuntary listeners laughed encouragingly: “Wow! You can’t tell her from Edith Piaf!” And at dawn, the phone rang in Piaf’s apartment, and the unknown owner of the bar demanded from the servants: “Come immediately for your madam. It’s already six o’clock, we’re closing, and she doesn’t want to leave and yells: “I’m yours!” It’s time for us to sleep. By the way, grab checkbook, Madam has a decent record.”
On the night when she was surrounded by a horde of slippery centipedes, it became obvious: Piaf had delirium tremens. She was taken to a hospital, from where she immediately escaped. Placed there again, she escaped home again. She swore that she was done with morphine, and yet she injected herself secretly. The potion suppliers pursued Edith, pushing their “product” on her, and if she refused, they threatened to expose her. To pay them off, she signed new contracts for performances, but her drug addiction made itself felt. Once she couldn’t get out from behind the scenes onto the stage, it seemed to her that the exit was tightly closed, another time she began to sing, but, as it turned out, she was uttering meaningless words, the third time she grabbed the microphone with her hands so as not to fall. She heard neither the musicians nor her own voice - it disappeared.
Singing for Edith turned into torture, her body was covered with bruises and scabs, she did not perceive those around her. One clinic was replaced by another, and during periods of enlightenment, Piaf returned to work on new songs, becoming, as before, very picky. “For the public, I embody love. Everything should burst inside me and scream - this is my image... My audience doesn’t think, they get what I sing about in the gut.”
At this time, the singer got married for the first time. Her husband in 1952 was the poet and singer Jacques Pil, with whom they had long known each other from their joint performances. Piaf was happy again, but life always developed in such a way that the couple were constantly apart, performing concerts in different theaters, cities and countries. Maybe it was for the better - Edith’s character was difficult to get along with. Essentially, they were not connected by anything: neither home nor family worked out, and in 1956 they divorced.
Piaf performed again with solo concerts, although ill-wishers who discovered her drug addiction foreshadowed not just failure, but a scandalous excommunication from the stage. She again basked in the rays of glory - the audience sometimes did not let her go for an hour, despite the fact that the program was performed in full. And again, affectionate and tireless men, usually young, sometimes half her age, invaded the singer’s life. They shared a bed with her because the men who told her " Good night! and left, she simply did not admit it.
Just as she did not recognize those who, instead of making love, indulged in discussions about work, art or their own success. Piaf once told her sister: “Never say that you know a man well until you have experienced him in bed. For one sleepless night you will learn more about him than in several months of the most intimate conversations. They don’t lie in bed!” Probably her criteria were extremely high, since despite the constant abundance of admirers, she was only married twice.
Simone Berto once calculated how many misfortunes befell Edith Piaf in the last twelve years of her life. In addition to four car accidents, this list includes a suicide attempt, four courses of detoxification, one course of sleep therapy, three hepatic comas, an attack of insanity, two attacks of delirium tremens, seven operations, two bronchopneumonia, and suddenly diagnosed cancer.
At the beginning of 1962, an ordinary admirer came to Piaf’s hospital room for a visit - twenty-seven-year-old hairdresser Theofanis Lambukas, who left there as her lover, the young singer Theo Sarapo. They fell in love at first sight and on October 29 of the same year they officially became husband and wife. Evil tongues claimed that Theo coveted her wealth and sacrificed himself for them. In fact, he inherited only Edith's debts - 45 million francs, which he faithfully paid to creditors all his life. Theo Sarapo became a fairly famous performer - and, like before Charles Aznavour, Yves Montand and her other admirers, Piaf brought him into the public eye, turning an ordinary amateur into a popular singer. She came up with a nickname for her husband herself, remembering that “sarapo” in Greek means “I love you.”
“They loved each other with an extraordinary love,” recalled Simone Berto, “the kind that they write about in novels, about which they say: this doesn’t happen, it’s too beautiful to really happen. He did not notice that Edith’s hands were twisted, that she looked like a hundred-year-old woman. He never left her..."
She left her Theo on October 11, 1963, dying in his arms from pulmonary edema in their home on Cote d'Azur. Edith Piaf was buried three days later. Tens of thousands of Parisians came to the Père Lachaise cemetery to the large coffin in which the small body of the great singer was lost. All the “Piaf boys,” as Charles Aznavour called them, also came to say goodbye to their old love. But this time they wore black suits, not blue ones.
That evening Theo wanted to be alone. He returned to the upside-down apartment, where there was a cemetery smell from forgotten flowers, and saw a wooden sheet lying on the chest of drawers with Edith’s motto: “Love conquers all!”
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Who doesn’t know the greatest French singer, whose songs became world hits, and she herself is a role model for millions? But not everyone knows how many trials she had to endure. She experienced a difficult - almost hungry - childhood, the death of a child, 2 car accidents, 7 operations, 3 comas, several attacks of delirium tremens, an attack of insanity, a suicide attempt, two world wars.
The only thing she did not survive was liver cancer in the last stage, which was discovered in her 2 years before her death. And if you're ever in once again If you want to complain about your fate, just remember the “little sparrow” of Paris, the woman who last days moved forward without giving up, winning the hearts of millions, inspired and gifted with the power to love - Edith Piaf.
1. Edith Piaf (real name Edith Giovanna Gasion) was born on December 19, 1915. Almost on the same day, the girl’s mother, failed actress Anita Mayar, gave the girl to be raised by her mother while her husband was at the front. But she didn’t need it - in order to calm the little girl who was disturbing her with her crying, the “loving” grandmother fed the child with diluted wine. This feeding bore fruit - by the age of three, Edith became completely blind.
2. Later, a legend will appear related to the birth of Edith. However, it is unlikely to correspond to reality, but according to it, a girl was born under a street lamp in winter on one of the streets of Paris.
3. As soon as Edith's father, Louis Gasion, finds out about this, he immediately sends the girl to be raised by her mother, who ran a brothel. However, she fell in love with her granddaughter and took care of her. She did everything so that the girl could see. And in 1925 she succeeded. When there was no longer any hope for Edith’s recovery, her grandmother took her to Lisieux to Saint Theresa. A few days later, my beloved granddaughter - oh, miracle - began to see again.
4. Edith herself, recalling this, said: “My life began with a miracle. At the age of four I fell ill and went blind. My grandmother took me to Lisieux to the altar of Saint Theresa and begged her for my insight. Since then, I have not parted with the images of Saint Theresa and the baby Jesus. And because I am a believer, death does not frighten me. There was a period in my life after the death of a person dear to me when I myself called on her. I have lost all hope. Faith saved me."
5. At school, Edith was immediately disliked, which is not surprising - the girl lived in a brothel. The girl could not stand this, and soon her father took her to Paris. There, a 9-year-old girl begins to work with her father in the city squares: the father showed acrobatic tricks, and the daughter sang. Edith never fully learned to read and write - even in the songs she composed herself, there were mistakes. But who cares now?
6. At the age of 15, Edith met her half-sister, 11-year-old Simone, who began performing with Edith. New family father was experiencing enormous financial difficulties. Edith, in turn, helped them financially, but later this led to the girl leaving her father. Forever.
7. Edith continues to perform on the streets, where she is noticed and invited to sing in a cabaret. At the age of 16, Edith met Louis Duppon, the father of her only daughter Marcelle. However, her marriage was unsuccessful - her husband demanded that Edith give up work, and they separated. For some time, Edith's daughter stayed with her, but one day, not finding her at home, Edith realized that the girl was with her husband - he hoped that then his wife would return. But she didn't return. Moreover, the girl fell ill with meningitis, and a little later Edith herself became infected, who, however, recovered. But fate did not spare the girl here either - Marcel dies. Edith had no more children.
8. At the age of 20, Louis Leple noticed her and invited her to perform on the Champs-Elysees. He played a big role in Edith’s life and career: he taught her to choose songs, sing to the accompaniment, explained the importance of costume, facial expressions, behavior, and artist. It was he who made Edith Gasion into Edith Piaf. While still on the street she sang: “Born like a sparrow, lived like a sparrow, died like a sparrow.” On the posters they wrote: “Baby Piaf.” It was a success!
9. But the success did not last long. Soon Louis is killed, and Edith comes under suspicion because he left her some money. Thank God, this time everything ends well, and soon Piaf meets Raymond Asso - the man who makes Edith a great singer. It was he who sought her participation in a performance at the ABC musical hall, which was an initiation into the profession. Needless to say, the next day she woke up famous? Thanks to him, the story of Edith’s life became the story of songs and vice versa, no one could distinguish the stage image from Edith in reality.
10. Edith bathed in success and fame. Having heard her voice on the radio, people ask to play Little Piaf’s songs again and again.
11. During World War II, “Baby Piaf” meets Jean Cocteau, who invited her to play in the play “The Indifferent Handsome Man.” It was first shown in 1940. A year later, a film was made based on the play, in which Edith played the main role.
12. It’s hard to believe, but Edith Piaf was so popular and in demand that she could afford to perform in front of French prisoners of war. And after the concert, she managed to give them everything they needed to escape. Her fellow countrymen appreciated her personal courage and mercy, because she risked her life.
13. The post-war period became a time of special success for Edith. Her work was admired by the outskirts of Paris, art connoisseurs around the world, and even the future Queen of England.
14. Edith helped young talents. Charles Aznavour, Yves Montand, Eddie Constantin... These are not all the names that became known to the whole world thanks to the “little sparrow”.
15. In the post-war years, Edith meets the American boxer Marcel Cerdan, who became her greatest joy and greatest sadness. Fate again played a cruel joke on Edith - in 1949, flying to his beloved from New York, he crashed in a plane crash. Edith fell into a severe depression: she began drinking morphine, after which she had seizures, and once almost threw herself out of the window. She returned to the street again. Dressed in old clothes, she performed on the streets of Paris, and at night she brought unknown men to her place.
16. But mourning could not last forever, and Edith returns to solo career. And I was even able to fall in love again.
In 1952, Edith gets into two car accidents and breaks almost all her ribs and both arms. To ease her suffering, doctors inject her with morphine. It would seem that Edith is doomed to become addicted to drugs, but this fragile woman was not like that. Nevertheless, creativity no longer brought her the same pleasure, but Edith only became more immersed in her work.
17. In 1954, Edith starred in the historical film “If They Tell Me About Versailles.” A little later, she had an 11-month tour of America, and then of France - such loads caused great damage physical health. And in 1961, fate dealt the most swipe singer - doctors discovered Edith had liver cancer. But she continued to perform until the end of her days.
18. B recent years she was supported by 27-year-old Theo - last love Piaf. In September 1962, overcoming pain, Piaf performed at the top of the Eiffel Tower. And six months later, the last concert in her life took place - the audience gave a standing ovation.
19. On October 10, 1963, Edith Piaf died. All of France buried her, and the whole world mourned - she died with her an entire era French chanson.
20. Edith Piaf’s songs have remained with us forever, and the singer’s courage and willpower have left an indelible mark on people’s hearts. An autobiography was published during her lifetime. Whether everything in it corresponds to reality is unknown. But one thing is clear: this is how she wanted to remain in people’s memory.
“When I don’t die of love, when I have nothing to die of, then I’m ready to die!”
“I don’t sing for everyone - I sing for everyone.”
“Artists and audiences should not meet. After the curtain falls, the actor must disappear as if by magic.”
“Hands don’t lie like faces.”
In response to the doctors saying that she was killing herself, she continued to sing in front of the public: “This is the most beautiful way of suicide.”
“I led a terrible life, it’s true. But also - life is amazing. Because, first of all, I loved her."
“You often have to pay for love and happiness with tears.”
“I was hungry. I was freezing. But I was also free. Free not to get up in the morning, not to sleep at night, free to drink if I wanted, to dream... to hope.”
“This is the crowd that I hope will accompany me to last path because I don't like loneliness. The terrible loneliness that hugs you at dawn or at nightfall, when you ask yourself whether it’s still worth living and what to live for?”
Edith Piaf did not recognize sanctimonious morality and obeyed only her feelings. Fearing loneliness, the great singer threw herself into the very flames of passion. And she humbly accepted the suffering that befell her, repeating: “You must pay for love with bitter tears.”
THE BEGINNING OF A LEGEND
On a chilly evening, a tiny figure in a shabby coat appeared on the street of the poorest quarter of Paris, stopped on the corner and suddenly began to sing. Passers-by, hurrying on business, froze, listening to the powerful voice of the little ragged woman.
The girl's name was Edith Giovanna Gassion, she was only fifteen. Years later, she will remember these street performances and selflessly construct the legend of her life. She will even tell you that her mother gave birth to her right on the dirty sidewalk...
In fact, Edith was born in a clinic in Belleville, a disadvantaged area of Paris. The mother, a singer from a cheap cabaret named Annette, drank and earned money as a prostitute. She quickly lost interest in the baby and sent her to her alcoholic parents.
The father returning from the front, seeing the situation in which little Edith found herself, immediately took the sickly girl to his mother, the owner of the brothel. It’s strange, but in such an unsuitable place for a child, Edith lived well: the girls took care of her, fed her and dressed her up.
At the age of three, the girl became blind: the corneas of her eyes became inflamed due to an infection. When the doctors could not help her, the priestesses of love put on modest clothes and went to church to pray to Saint Teresa for recovery. And the miracle happened!
Life in a brothel made Edith tolerant of other people's vices, but distorted her idea of love: “I was not sentimental, it seemed to me that a woman should follow a man at his first call.”
DIFFICULT FREEDOM
At fourteen, Edith was already performing on the streets of Paris with her acrobat father, and then settled in a cheap hotel with her half-sister Momon. Thus began her independent life...
“Many people think that my early years were terrible. That's not true, they were wonderful! - said the singer. - Yes, I was starving, freezing on the streets. But she was free: she could get up late, dream, hope...”
At sixteen, Edith fell in love with the delivery boy Louis Dupont and gave birth to a daughter with him, whom she named Marcella. However, she soon almost forgot about the existence of both: every day she sang on the street, and spent her evenings in a cafe in the company of petty thieves.
In the hope of returning his flighty girlfriend, Louis took his daughter to his place. But two years later, deprived of care, Marcella died of meningitis. The baby's death shocked Edith, but she preferred to live in the future. The young woman could not even imagine that she was not destined to become a mother again...
SONGBIRD
Edith's new friend was the pimp Albert. He took most of the money Edith made from singing and tried to force her to serve clients. Edith refused, and one day he put the muzzle of a gun to his mistress’s head.
The girl ran away when her friend Nadya, who did not want to engage in prostitution, decided to commit suicide. Twenty-year-old Edith was sliding downhill, and then fate unexpectedly gave her a chance for salvation: Louis Leple, the owner of the Zhernice cabaret, heard her singing.
Edith was so nervous that she almost failed the audition. But as soon as she began to sing, not a trace of excitement remained. Leple looked at the miniature girl and came up with a pseudonym - Little Piaf (“piaf” translates as “little sparrow”).
“Songbird” knitted herself a simple black dress for her debut. Her homely appearance was more than compensated for by her powerful voice, and from the very first song she captivated the discerning audience. Leple realized that he had found a real diamond, and began to cut it: he taught Edith the basics of stagecraft, and introduced him to social circles.
The serene life did not last long. In April 1936, Louis Leple was found murdered in his apartment, and the shocked Edith was considered an accomplice to the crime. The press wrote in detail about the singer’s past connections with the criminal world.
The poet Raymond Asso came to the rescue. He became the new producer of “Songbird,” won a contract with the famous ABC theater and drove dubious friends away from his ward. 
Edith Piaf and Raymond Asso
By the end of the 1930s, Edith had become a successful and wealthy singer. Raymond treated his Galatea unceremoniously, forcing her to behave correctly in society. Working together quickly grew into a whirlwind romance.
TIME TO GIVE
Happiness was interrupted by the Second World War. Raymond went to the front, and Edith began an affair with actor Paul Maurice. “I hate loneliness, I simply cannot live in an empty house!” - she sighed. The reserved Paul was the complete opposite of the sociable Edith, but they were attracted to each other.
During the war the most famous singer France not only continued to perform, but also managed to help prisoners of war. “If God allowed me to earn so much, it is only because He knows: I will give everything,” Edith assured. And she kept her word and generously gave gifts to everyone. 
Piaf did not skimp on either money or feelings. She immersed herself in relationships, forgetting about everything, she was torn apart by unbridled passion and jealousy.
In 1944, at one of the concerts, the newly minted star noticed a common chansonnier named Yves Montand. The friends accompanying the singer, hearing him sing, were completely delighted and applauded for a long time.
“I don’t know what you see in him,” Piaf said irritably. “He sings terribly and doesn’t know how to dance, and on top of that he’s so narcissistic!”
Nevertheless, friends convinced Edith to change her anger to mercy. She watched another performance of Montana and admitted: the guy has abilities. Piaf was so honest with herself and others that she even apologized to Yves for the words she said in a narrow circle of friends.
Yves Montand and Edith Piaf
Thirty-year-old Piaf became Montand's mentor, wrote songs for him, introduced him to the right people. She claimed that she had only a platonic relationship with Yves. But few people believed in this...
IN THE RING WITH DESTINY
After the war, Edith's fame crossed the ocean, and the singer was offered a tour of the United States. World boxing champion Marcel Sedan, a Frenchman of Arab origin, happened to attend her concert in New York. His reputation as an exemplary family man did not stop him from starting to court Piaf.
Dinner at a luxury restaurant turned into a date. Marcel was the first man who needed Edith herself, and not her talent, connections or money. He presented Piaf with jewelry, invited her to matches and did not hide his love.
Marcel Sedan and Edith Piaf
Next to the “sparrow,” the boxer turned into a tame bear cub. Edith knitted sweaters for her beloved and accompanied her to training. “The relationship with Marcel gave my chaotic life a kind of precarious balance,” she recalled.
In the fall of 1949, Piaf performed in the USA again and desperately missed Cerdan, who remained in Europe. “I beg you, come quickly!” - Edith shouted into the telephone receiver. He, too, was impatient to see her, he heeded her pleas and abandoned the idea of traveling by boat.
The plane crashed over the Azores... This is the end of the fairy tale about the queen of music and the king of the ring.
ANTHEM OF LOVE
The news of the death of her beloved devastated Edith. Her sister had a hard time keeping her from committing suicide, but she couldn’t save her from self-destruction. “I don’t want to live, I’m already dead,” Piaf repeated, seeking oblivion in drugs and alcohol.
The singer attended seances and sat alone for hours, tormenting herself with reproaches. Plunged into severe depression, the woman with a haggard face hardly resembled the great Piaf, who had recently sparkled with happiness.
It was never possible to recover from the loss of Edith. In memory of Marcel, she wrote the song “Hymn of Love,” which she never performed. Piaf's rare concerts took place with tragic anguish, which earned her fame as the “singer of grief.”
Charles Aznavour and Edith Piaf
Edith's loneliness was brightened up a little by her friendship with the young singer Charles Aznavour, who took over the duties personal secretary. And again a tragedy almost occurred - Edith and Charles were in a serious car accident.
To numb the pain in his broken arm and ribs, the doctor prescribed Piaf morphine. Relatives did not recognize the singer: she lived from dose to dose, purposefully destroying herself. Even the affair and subsequent marriage with chansonnier Jacques Pill did not give her strength.
In four years family life Piaf saw doctors and nurses more often than her husband. Jacques, a faithful and caring husband, unfortunately also suffered from alcoholism. The outcome of the marriage was a foregone conclusion.
TRYING TO DOWN THE PAIN...
After the divorce, the singer faced another accident and more attempts to numb the pain with morphine. “I felt an indomitable need to destroy myself,” she admitted. “But, approaching the edge of the abyss, I always wanted to climb up.”
Piaf's premonition did not deceive: fate presented the 47-year-old singer with a farewell gift. 27-year-old Greek Theofanis Lambukas was handsome and well-built. And he looked at Edith so reverently with his dark eyes that she gave up...
Theo Sarapo. and Edith Piaf
So the hairdresser with a complicated name turned into singer Theo Sarapo. Edith chose the name after remembering that “sarapo” means “I love you” in Greek. Because, weakened by illness and the sorrows of loss, Piaf fell in love again.
In October 1962, the couple got married. Many considered the Greek a gigolo, but Theo touchingly courted his wife, and the voices of his ill-wishers fell silent. He took Piaf to wheelchair, did not leave his wife’s bedside for a second and carefully hid the terrible diagnosis of cancer from her.
But Edith felt death approaching and therefore made her husband take an oath: he would never fly on airplanes. Theo kept his promise, but failed to deceive fate: he died in a car accident, outliving his wife by only seven years.
But that was later, and then Theo had to put an end to the beautiful and sad legend of Edith Piaf. She died on October 10, 1963 at Riviera. Bursting with tears, Theo put his wife's body in the car and rushed to Paris. He understood: the life of the great Piaf should end in the same place where it began - in the city of love.
A FEW FACTS
The singer got her name in honor of nurse Edith Cavell, who was shot by the Germans in the First World War.
Louis Leple strictly ordered the singer to wear a black dress to concerts. Later, black dresses became the singer's trademark.
Edith found out about Marcel's death on the day of the next concert, but found the strength to go on stage, declaring that she would sing for the sake of her beloved.
Upon learning of Edith's death, her friend and poet Jacques Cocteau quietly said: “I want to die next.” He passed away a few hours later.
Theo did everything to give the public the impression that Edith died in Paris. He believed that the singer, who personified France, should complete her career in this city.
Edith Piaf's height is 1.47 m. Zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Birthday: December 19, 1915. Day of death - October 10, 1963 (Grasse, France).
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