Félix Mayol

Biography

Félix Mayol (1872-1941) was a popular French singer of the Belle Epoque. Born in Toulon, he had modest debuts on the stages of Toulon and Marseille but became a success in Paris in 1895 as a singer performing in a campy, effeminate way. An anecdote published in his memoirs reports that for lack of finding a camellia, that the elegant men wore at the time on the revers of their frock coat, he took a bit of lily of the valley which became his emblem. The improbable hair tassel he wore (and which gave him the nickname of "the red-toupeed artist" or "flame of punch") became so famous that it inspired many imitators. He knew his first great success in 1896 with La Paimpolaise by Théodore Botrel. In 1900, after a brief stint at the Eldorado where he sang À la cabane bambou, he was engaged by La Scala. It was there that he created the title that would make him both rich and famous: Viens, poupoule! (1902), an adaptation of a German song arranged by Henri Christiné and Alexandre Trébitsch. He returned in 1905 with La Matchiche, the adaptation of a fashionable Spanish dance song. The same year, he performed at Gaumont in 14 phonoscènes under the direction of Alice Guy, such as La Paimpolaise. These were short sound films using a sound on disc system. Several still exist. Already, Mayol had to his credit many recordings on cylinders and on discs. In 1907, Mayol's operetta Cinderella at La Scala did not convince, unlike one of the show's songs, Les Mains de femmes which became a success, followed in 1908 by Cousine. His cachet then reached the sum of a thousand gold francs, which allowed him to buy in 1910 the Paris cabaret Concert which hence took his name, the Concert Mayol. He was the main star of the shows, and in turn launched young artists, including Valentin Sardou (father of Fernand and grandfather of Michel Sardou), Maurice Chevalier, Émile Audiffred and Raimu. In 1914 he passed the scepter to Oscar Dufrenne. He then began a tour of the whole of France and the French-speaking countries with his Baret tours. His fame was such that even Charlie Chaplin came to listen. The period 1914-1918 was marked, as for many artists, by many anti-German songs, intended to maintain the morale of the troops, but Mayol's career stalled after the First World War. He published his Souvenirs in 1929, made "seven farewell shows to the Paris public" in 1938 and retired to Toulon. Attached to his hometown Toulon and particularly his rugby club, he offered 60,000 gold francs to finance the construction of a stadium that still bears his name at the moment, the stadium Mayol. The lily of the valley he loved became the emblem of the club and the sumptuous dinner he gave players to celebrate the title of 1931 has remained in the annals. The traditional lily of the buttonhole was artificial because he could not bear the scent. Mayol's supposed or real homosexuality, linked to his celibacy and his "effeminate stage play", made Mayol a target of journalists. At the time, songwriters and other writers often referred to it, such as the marriage between Mayol and Mistinguett invented from scratch, resulting in a lot of laughter. Until now, no published direct testimony, with the exception of one, has been known in which the artist has openly evoked his sexual preferences. In his songs, often very gritty, Mayol employs most of the time the "we" of the male collective. These songs portray prostitutes or women always welcoming to the sexual encounter. According to his Memories, Mayol created almost 500 songs. The French Wikipedia lists some 120 songs, based on the website Gallica and other sources. After the 1905 phonoscènes series at Gaumont, Mayol acted in five more films, three silent films, including Le filon du Bouif (Louis Osmont, 1922), and two early sound films, Aux urnes, citoyens!/Tu sera député (Jean Hémard, 1932) and La dame de chez Maxim's (Alexander Korda, 1933) starring Florelle.