Lalonde, Pierre - The Canadian Encyclopedia

Pierre (Joseph Alphonse Jean) Lalonde. Singer, actor, host, b Montreal 20 Jan 1941. He made his singing debut at the age of four on the CKAC radio program 'Café-concert Kraft' and later acted in radio drama series and on CBC TV in 'Sourire de France.' Bernard Diamant, Roger Larivière, and Simone Quesnel were among his teachers. In 1954 he moved to the USA to study drama, then returned to Quebec in 1960. His first single was released in 1962, the year he became co-host with Joël Denis of CFTM-TV's 'Jeunesse d'aujourd'hui' (later 'Jeunesse'); he soon became the sole host of this popular program and held the position until 1971. In 1963 he made his first LP, En d'autres mots, and was named male discovery of the year at the Montreal Gala des artistes. He formed two record companies, Prestige (not to be confused with the US label) in 1966, and Youppi in 1975. He had some success in New York in 1967 with his own program, 'The Peter Martin Show,' on WPJX; he also made a record under this name.


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Until the early 1970s Lalonde appealed primarily to the young, who liked his easy, rhythmic songs. A decline in his popularity caused him to revise his style following the advice of Stéphane Venne. Recitals at the PDA, in Quebec City, and in Ottawa, as well as the LP Inouik resulted from the Venne-Lalonde association and revealed a new side of Lalonde. He also performed in several cabarets. In 1980 he sang at Canada Day with an orchestra of 18 musicians and CBC devoted a program to him, 'Pierre Lalonde: ça va bien...' The next year, with Donald Lautrec and Michel Louvain, he set up a huge variety show, 'Les 3 L,' at the PDA. Subsequently, his career turned more and more towards hosting TV shows. Besides those programs already mentioned he was the host for 'Pierre, Jean jasent' (1973) and 'Showbizz' (1976-7) on CFTM TV, the quiz show 'Mad Dash' (1979) and 'Circus' (1983) on CTV, the 'Pierre Lalonde Show' on CFCF (which he also produced 1982, 1984), the game show 'Action Réaction' (1985) on TVQS, and 'Star d'un soir' (1985-90) on CBC. As an actor, he appeared in the film La Maîresse (1973).

Lalonde composed the music of the songs 'Tout' and 'Montréal,' and Marc Gélinas and Christian Simard are among those who have written for him. His hits include the gold records 'Caroline,' 'Louise,' 'C'est toujours comme ça,' 'Donne-moi ta bouche,' and 'Attention, la vie est courte.'