2023-11-10 22:15:00
“He made the world a place where we became greater than ourselves,” declared author and director Dominique Champagne, the host of the private farewell ceremony to the man of culture Guy Latraverse , died last October at the age of 84.
We ran out of chairs to seat all the artists and friends who came to greet, for a final time, the “father of show business” in the hall of Place des Arts on Friday evening. Exactly the kind of problem that filled the impresario and organizer of events and shows with joy, we pointed out, making the guests laugh.
From Daniel Lemire to Louise Portal, including Danielle Ouimet, Boucar Diouf, Claude Meunier, Marie Tifo and Pierre Curzi, many performers responded to this private invitation from Guy Latraverse’s family.
“I am privileged to have had such a complex father. His legacy is enormous, in every respect,” declared his son, Simon Latraverse, during this touching and joyful ceremony masterfully conducted by Dominique Champagne, a great friend of this immense figure in the Quebec cultural industry.
In this Place des Arts, “a place that Guy made so alive, so often, from the beginning to the end of his career”, the powerful tributes followed one another.
Gregory Charles, Robert Charlebois, Diane Dufresne and Claude Dubois
Gregory Charles first delivered the piece on the piano Like the first day by André Gagnon (a friend of Guy Latraverse, also deceased).
Emotional, the eccentric Louise Latraverse read a lovely text that she had specially composed for her brother. Titled The intelligent little child, the poem was signed “Loulou your osti sister, who cries”, she said while crying.
Magical and timeless moment: Claude Dubois came to sing, almost a capela, the sublime song If god existscausing tears to roll down almost every cheek.
His brother-in-law, Franco Nuovo spoke of Guy Latraverse – his mentor – as “the man who opened the doors for us, the man of the first chance” while the actress, screenwriter and lyricist Mouffe shared with people a “little prayer” dedicated to his friend. “Thank you for being a producer with a creative heart and soul,” she whispered.
Words sent by absent fellow artists were also read by the host of the ceremony, including a text from Luc Plamondon and another from Yvon Deschamps in which the comedian said: “I wish us that eternity brings us closer together little more.”
Finally, Robert Charlebois found himself at the piano to perform a song by Saint-Augustin “which makes the voice of the deceased speak”. A piece that he finished by inviting the great Diane Dufresne to accompany him.
About a hundred people from the public passed through Place des Arts during the followingnoon to greet the “father of Quebec show business” one last time.
-Guy Latraverse died following a long illness on October 16, at the age of 84. The Quebec flag of the National Assembly was flown at half-mast all day Friday in tribute to the man of culture.
An important man for local artists:
Louise Latraverse, the sister of Guy Latraverse
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“As you can imagine, it’s emotional. It’s a celebration. We didn’t want it to be something heavy. We wanted it to be a place where he lived all his life, with his friends, his artists. We’re celebrating Guy! We are among friends, with family, his friends from show business.”
Dominic Champagne, the host of the ceremony
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“I am happy to be there both for the father of show business, the sacred monster, one of the pillars of the temple, but also for the friend and the family. […] He did great things on the show business level, but also on the humanist level. He helped. He gave us great artistic events, but he also helped many people to live, or to live once more.
Gregory Charles, artiste
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“I love Guy. Who didn’t love Guy? I worked a lot with Guy, especially in TV in the 90s. Guy always called me to say “Listen, it would help me a lot if you accepted” and I always said yes before he finished his sentence.”
Franco Nuovo, journalist and columnist
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“There has never been a Quebec artist who has sung at Place des Arts. Guy brought in Claude Léveillée, and following that, he completely cleared the scene. He brought a lot of Europeans, Julien Clerc, Aznavour… He was super important for Quebec culture.”
Isabelle Brais, wife of Prime Minister François Legault
“I represent my husband. I come especially for my friend, Louise. We want to tell people how important culture is to us.”
Mathieu Lacombe, Minister of Culture and Communications
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“Mr. Latraverse embodies everything we can have in mind when we talk regarding a builder. For me, it’s always impressive to see people who worked so hard, so long before my own birth, to build something like the Quebec star system.”
Danielle Ouimet, actress and host
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“I have always been very close to him. He is an absolutely exceptional being. Always a smile, never a reproach. An absolutely fabulous being.”
Diane Dufresne, singer and actress
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“Guy Latraverse is very important. He was very important in my life as a singer. I followed Guy in his big projects.”
Boucar Diouf, comedian and biologist
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“It was Guy who brought me to Montreal. Once, I was invited to the Grand Rire de Québec. He saw me on stage, and he said to me: “I would like to make you known by the people of Montreal”. […] He’s a real gentleman. A nice guy.”
Robert Charlebois, singer
The singer was invited to sing during the tribute to Guy Latraverse.
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