The French press announced that 93-year-old Greco died in his home in Ramatuelle, with his loved ones.
Born in Montpelier in 1927, Greco was imprisoned in Nazi Germany-occupied France.
Greco, who started acting at a young age, was known for the “millions of poems in her voice” by the existentialist and writer Jean Paul Sartre.
Greco had a daughter from actress Phillippe Lemaire, whom she married in 1953.
Juliette Gréco February 7, 1927 – September 23, 2020) was a French actress and cabaret singer. Her best known songs were “Jolie Môme”, “Déshabillez-moi” and “La Javanaise”. He sang with lyrics written by French poets such as Jacques Prévert and Boris Vian, and singers such as Jacques Brel and Serge Gainsbourg. His sixty-year career ended when he started his last world tour under the name “Merci” in 2015.
Early life and family;
Juliette Greco was born in Montpellier to his Corsican father Gerard Greco and a mother Burgundy Juliette Lafeychine (1899-1978). Some of his ancestry comes from Greece. He suffered from harsh words such as “You are not my daughter. You are the child of rape” because he was an unwanted child who had never received any love from his mother in his childhood. She was raised by her maternal grandparents in Bordeaux with her older sister Charlotte. After the death of her grandparents, her mother took her two daughters back to live in Paris. He became a ballerina at Opéra Garnier in 1938. When World War II began, the family returned to the southwest of France. Gréco was a student at the Institut Royal d’éducation Sainte Jeanne d’Arc in Montauban. The Gréco family became active in Résistance and his mother was arrested at his home in 1943. The two sisters later decided to return to Paris, but were captured and tortured by the Gestapo before being incarcerated in Fresnes Prison in September 1943. While her mother and sister were sent to a concentration camp in Ravensbrück, Juliette, who was 16 at the time, spent several months in prison before being released. After his release, he alone walked eight miles to Paris to retrieve his belongings back to the Gestapo headquarters. Hélène Duc, the former French teacher and friend of her mother, decided to take care of her.
In 1945, Gréco’s mother and sister returned from exile after Ravensbrück was liberated by the Red Army. Gréco moved to Saint-Germain-des-Prés in 1945 after his mother moved to Indochina, outpacing Gréco and his sister.
Bohemian lifestyle;
Gréco was fascinated by the bohemian fashion of some intellectuals of post-war France. Duc sent him to attend acting classes taught by Solange Sicard. He made his debut in November 1946 in the play Victor ou les Enfants au pouvoir and began hosting a radio show devoted to poetry.
His friend Jean-Paul Sartre placed him at Hotel La Louisiane and said Greco had “millions of poems in his voice”. It was recognized by many writers and artists who worked at Saint-Germain-des-Prés such as Albert Camus, Jacques Prévert and Boris Vian, thus earning the pseudonym la Muse de l’existentialisme.
Gréco spent his post-Liberation years in Saint-Germain-des-Prés cafes, immersed in the political and philosophical bohemian culture. As a regular figure in music and poetry venues such as Le Tabou on Rue Dauphine, he knew Jean Cocteau and was given roles in Cocteau’s film Orphée (1950).
In 1949, he started a relationship with American jazz musician Miles Davis. [9] In 1957, because of their careers in different countries and fear of damaging the reputation of being in an interracial relationship, they always decided to simply be lovers. They remained lovers and friends until his death in 1991.
In 1949, he made his debut as a cabaret singer at the Paris cabaret Le Bœuf sur le toit and sang the lyrics of many well-known French authors; “Si tu t’imagines” by Raymond Queneau was one of the first songs to become popular.
Personal life and death;
Gréco has been married three times:
to actor Philippe Lemaire (1953–1956)
actor Michel Piccoli (1966–1977)
pianist Gérard Jouannest (1988 until his death in 2018)
With Lemaire, they had a daughter named Laurence-Marie, born in 1954. Laurence-Marie Lemaire died of cancer at the age of 62 in 2016.
Gréco was the girlfriend of married racing driver Jean-Pierre Wimille in the year leading up to his death in the late 1940s, and had a posthumous miscarriage.
According to Spanish writer Manuel Vicent, Juliette Gréco was Albert Camus’ lover. [15] He was also in a relationship with French singer Sacha Distel and Hollywood producer Darryl F. Zanuck.
During his relationship with Miles Davis, he was also dating US record producer Quincy Jones. According to Jones’ autobiography, Davis had been annoyed by him for years when he found out.
Gréco had three rhinoplasties; In Paris in 1953 and 1956 and in London in 1960.
In September 1965, Gréco attempted suicide using an overdose of sleeping pills. He was found unconscious in his bathroom and was hospitalized by Françoise Sagan.
Gréco lived in the south of France, between Paris and Saint-Tropez.
Left-winged, he supported François Mitterrand in the 1974 presidential election, and was a starting investor in Minute when mainly focused on the non-political and entertainment world.
Gréco died on September 23, 2020 at the age of 93.
Important songs;
1950: Si tu t’imagines: written by Raymond Queneau and composed by Joseph Kosma.
1950: La Fourmi: written by Robert Desnos and composed by Joseph Kosma.
1951: Je suis comme je suis: Written by Jacques Prévert and composed by Joseph Kosma.
1951: Les Feuilles mortes: from the movie Les Portes de la nuit written by Jacques Prévert and composed by Joseph Kosma.
1951: Sous le ciel de Paris: from the film Sous le ciel de Paris written by Jean Dréjac and composed by Hubert Giraud.
1951: Je hais les dimanches: written by Charles Aznavour and composed by Florence Véran.
1953: La Fiancée du pirate: quote from L’Opéra de quatous.
1954: Coin de rue: written and composed by Charles Trenet.
1955: Chanson pour l’Auvergnat: written and composed by Georges Brassens.
1957: Musique Mécanique: written by Boris Vian and composed by André Popp.
1957: La Complainte du téléphone: written by François Billetdoux and composed by André Popp.
1959: De Pantin à Pékin: Written by Pierre Delanoë and composed by André Popp.
1959: Il était une oie: written and composed by Serge Gainsbourg.
1960: Il n’y a plus d’après: written and composed by Guy Béart.
1961: in n’oublie rien: written by Jacques Brel.
1961: Jolie Môme: written and composed by Léo Ferré.
1961: C’était bien (Le P’tit honey perdu): written by Robert Nyel and composed by Gaby Verlor.
1961: Le Temps passé: written and composed by Georges Brassens.
1961: Chandernagor: written and composed by Guy Béart.
1962: Accordéon: written and composed by Serge Gainsbourg.
1962: Paris Canaille: written and composed by Léo Ferré.
1963: La Javanaise: written and composed by Serge Gainsbourg.
1966: Un petit poisson, un petit oiseau: written by Jean-Max Rivière and composed by Gérard Bourgeois.
1967: Déshabillez-moi: written by Robert Nyel and composed by Gaby Verlor.
1970: Les Pingouins: written and composed by Frédéric Botton.
1971: La Chanson des vieux amants: written by Jacques Brel and composed by Gérard Jouannest.
1971: J’arrive: Written by Jacques Brel and composed by Gérard Jouannest.
1972: Mon fils chante: written by Maurice Fanon and composed by Gérard Jouannest.
1977: Non-Monsieur je n’ai pas vingt ans: written by Henri Gougaud and composed by Gérard Jouannest.
1983: Le Temps des cerises: written by Jean Baptiste Clément and composed by Antoine Renard.
1988: Ne me quitte pas: written and composed by Jacques Brel.
2006: La Chanson de Prévert: written and composed by Serge Gainsbourg.
2009: Le Déserteur: written and composed by Boris Vian.
Filmography;
1948: Les Frères Bouquinquant by Louis Daquin.
1949: Ulysse ou les mauvaises rencontres by Alexandre Astruc.
1949: Au royaume des cieux by Julien Duvivier.
1950: Orphée, Jean Cocteau.
1950: Sans laisser d’adresse by Jean-Paul Le Chanois.
1951: Boum sur Paris by Maurice de Canonge.
1952: Green Gloves by Rudolph Maté.
1953: Saluti e baci by Maurice Labro and Giorgio Simonelli.
1953: When You Read This Letter From Jean-Pierre Melville.
1955: Elena and Her Men, by Jean Renoir.
1956: La Châtelaine du Liban by Richard Pottier.
1956: L’Homme et l’Enfant [fr] by Raoul André.
1957: il pour il written by André Cayatte.
1957: The Sun Also Rises by Henry King.
1958: Bonjour tristesse by Otto Preminger.
1958: Roots of Heaven (film) by John Huston.
1958: The Naked World by Vincent Sherman.
1959: Whirlpool, Lewis Allen.
1960: The Crack in the Mirror by Richard Fleischer.
1961: The Big Gamble by Richard Fleischer.
1962: Lies of Truth by Henri Decoin.
1964: The Chase, Michel Boisrond.
1965: Love at Sea, Guy Gilles.
1966: Night of the Generals by Anatole Litvak.
1967: Le Désordre à vingt ans: Jacques Baratier’s documentary.
1973: Le Far West by Jacques Brel.
1975: Lily aime-moi by Maurice Dugowson.
1999: Lettre à mon frère Guy Gilles, cinéaste trop tôt disparu: documentary Luc Bernard.
2001: Paris à tout prix: Yves Jeuland’s documentary.
2001: Belphégor, Le fantôme du Louvre, by Jean-Paul Salomé.
2002: Jedermanns Festival by Fritz Lehner.
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