Chez Denise

Last updated
Chez Denise
Created by Denise Filiatrault
Written byDenise Filiatrault
Directed by
  • Florent Forget
  • Pierre Gauvreau
  • Rolland Guay
  • Guy Hoffmann
  • Jean-Yves Laforce
  • Maude Martin
  • André Pagé
  • Gilles Perron [1]
  • Hélène Roberge
  • Daniel Roussel
Starring
  • Denise Filiatrault
  • Benoît Marleau
  • Roger Joubert
  • Paul Berval
  • Normand Brathwaite
  • André Montmorency
Opening theme"Chez Denise" by Gilles Rivard
Country of origin Canada
Original languageFrench
No. of seasons4
Production
Running time25 minutes
Production company Société Radio-Canada
Original release
Network Television Radio-Canada
ReleaseFebruary 4, 1979 (1979-02-04) 
May 30, 1982 (1982-05-30)

Chez Denise is a Quebec comedy television series that originally ran on Television Radio-Canada from February 4, 1979 and May 30, 1982. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Synopsis

Denise owns a restaurant where the employees have crazy adventures.

Themes

Chez Denise was the first television show in Quebec to have a black character, [5] [6] played by Normand Brathwaite. According to the le Huffington Post Québec , certain scenes are a dubious "copy of American blackface ", going so far as to have Brathwaite perform Al Jolson's "Swanee" in blackface in an episode. [7] The series is also the first in Quebec television to have a gay character and to try and change minds on the subject of homosexuality. [8] Christian Lalancette (played by André Montmorency), a caricatural hairdresser, has become one of the most memorable characters of the series, despite the fact that the character was only supposed to appear once. Despite fears at the time about homophobic reactions to the character, Montmorency's character was celebrated for his biting wit and his colorful presence. [9] [10] [11]

Cast

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References

  1. Marie-Christine Noël (9 December 2015). "L'ex-réalisateur Gilles Perron est décédé".
  2. Première présentation du téléroman « Chez Denise »
  3. ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Divertissement-. "L'ouverture de Chez Denise en 1979". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  4. Référence: Le répertoire des séries, feuilletons et téléromans québécois de 1952 à 1992 par Jean-Yves Croteau, page 78.
  5.  Le Québec est l'endroit le moins raciste au monde » - Normand Brathwaite". Radio-Canada. 11 February 2015.
  6. ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Divertissement-. "L'ouverture de Chez Denise en 1979". Radio-Canada.ca. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  7. Rachel Décoste (12 February 2016). "Je me souviens... du blackface made-in-Quebec". Le Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-08-23.
  8. Plante, Stéphane; Melbourne Dufour, Philippe (2016). "10 personnages homosexuels marquants des téléromans québécois". Journal de Montréal. Retrieved 14 July 2017..
  9. Therrien, Richard (2014). "Souvenir Télé Presse: Christian Lalancette". Le Soleil. Retrieved 14 July 2017..
  10. Boullé, Denis-Daniel (2002). "Les gais et les téléromans". Fugues. ISSN   0831-1625 . Retrieved 14 July 2017..
  11. Dictionnaire des artistes du théâtre québécois. Montréal: Québec Amérique. 2008. p. 2196..