Edith Piaf
Edith Piaf was born on 19th December 1915 as legend tells it "under a gas
light on the night streets of Paris." In reality she was born in a local hospital. Her real name was Edith Giovanna Gassion.
Her Father was an acrobat, performing the streets of Paris, her Mother a street
singer with no care for her new born child.
For years she struggled
making a living entertaining passers-by, for some time she worked with her
Father, until she was spotted by an impresario who offered her a
contract.
With many problems throughout her career, Edith eventually
became the most highly paid star in the world. She made many recordings dating
from 1936 until her last recorded song, L'homme de Berlin, which she taped in
early 1963.
Edith did not die a rich woman. In fact she left many debts
to her second husband, Theo Sarapo, a man many years her junior, but she lived
her short life to the full, living only to entertain her public in the only way
she knew how.
I can only appreciate this woman through her recording
and biographies of her life, I wish she could have hung on a little longer
!
The beautiful family grave at Pere Lachaise
cemetery.
1996-2009 ©J.M.Smethurst