THANKS for stopping by, I do my best to acknowledge when someone leaves a comment,you do not have to be a member here & everyone is welcome. Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.
I bet there aren't many people who know or remember this talented young singer who was raised in Verdun, sang on local radio stations and went on tour in Canada and in Europe, starred in a Canadian film at the age of 14, became a priest at 24 and died 2 months later in 1960. More details in my Album no. 53.
Guy
10 comments:
What a wonderful heritage we have. Who knew about all the wonderful, and talented people who came from our little corner of the world. Not only does it make us feel proud, but also nostalgic for our pasts. Now we are all scattered to the 4 corners of the world, and hopefully sharing what Verdun has meant to each of us. I know for myself that I am constantly, and without hesitation, telling people of my wonderul home town. God bless Canada, and our wonderful Verdun....
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=j4syLfOXVPE&feature=related
Gerard Barbeau
Memorial Photos Flowers Edit
Birth: 1931
Death: Sep. 16, 1960
Actor. He appeared in the film, "Le Rossignol Et Les Cloches" (1952).
Search Amazon for Gerard Barbeau
Burial:
Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery
Montreal
Quebec, Canada
Plot: Section Z
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Record added: Mar 28, 2003
Find A Grave Memorial# 7301637
Added by: Anthony S
Added by: Guy Gagnon
Cemetery Photo
Added by: Precious Memories
Photos may be scaled.
Click on image for full size.
Rest in Peace Gerard Barbeau
- Pickles
Added: Aug. 20, 2010
- lisa greenman
Added: Jan. 27, 2010
- muffin
Added: Jan. 8, 2010
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7301637
HF&RV
Gerard Barbeau was a popular boy soprano in Canada in the mid fifties. Gerard Barbeau was born in Verdun, Canada and began singing at the age of 6 years. At eleven years old he had mastered many of the works for boy soprano and became a popular artist on Radio for the next three years. he went on tour to Europe and sang in France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Swizerland and in the Vatican. At 14 years of age Gerard played the lead role in the film 'Le Rossignol et les cloches' (The nightingale and the bells). After his voice broke he studied Theology. Unfortunately he became ill and died at the early age of 24. A book about his short life called 'UNE VIE INACHEVÉE' was published in 1982.
http://www.boysoloist.com/artist.asp?VID=270
also some other video onhttp://www.google.ca/search?q=gerard+barbeau&hl=en&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=HSRwTLfbJ42-sQP997jMCw&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CA0QqwQwAA Gerard B.
I have checked the Lovell's directory to see where the Barbeau family lived. There is only one S. Barbeau listed who had a biscuit shop at 6095 Blvd Monk and 186 Church in Verdun at the beginning of the 40s. Then in 1949, he is listed at 3543 Evelyn. There is no Verdun address prior to 1942 so my guess is this is where Gerard Barbeau lived when in Verdun. This would also indicate that he was not born in Verdun but in Montreal but was raised in Verdun as I have first indicated..
Guy
If memory serves well, he lived on Fifth above Verdun. His aunt lived on Egan and he would visit her.
She was the first female detective I knew of, she would teach me self defense moves.
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-910.002-e.html
Research Tips
It was not mandatory to be listed in the directories; many people did not want to be listed. Therefore, if you don't find someone listed in the directories, it doesn't mean that they weren't in the city, town, etc.
Always check several years around the time period in which you are interested; sometimes people are listed in one year and then not the next and so on.
Always check both the alphabetical and street sections of the directory; you will often find different information (sometimes contradictory!) in each section.
Check various spellings of family names; the directories were compiled quickly through a door-to-door canvass and therefore frequently contain errors.
...................................................the first 4 words,can explain missing or unentered info..
-Cheers, HF&RV--
Lovell's and other books like it were,simply a tool for marketing....at least that's what they started out to be,.other info available on this 'collections Canada site' all sorts of info can be found ,including some death,birth,marriage,.records etc etc ......Checkout the site if you like,I'm sure some info will be of interest.................. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-910.002-e.html
Les,
Thanks for the excellant research tips. I have checked the years 1938 to 1950 in the Lovell directory for Sylvio Barbeau wich would have been Gerard's father who's name appears on the family tombstone. I think the Verdun community should be more aware of their past and hopefully both our societies, SHGV and MVC can play an important part in this area.
Guy
Such an awesome voice ......and great loss..Thanks for another great Verdun history lesson.
Gerard was not simply a "wonderful soprano voice", he was capable of things most sopranos are not. I know, I used to be a soprano boy myself. There have been MAYBE 3 or 4 boys in the last 1000 years who could sing like Gerard. Had he been born 50 years later, he would have been world famous and immortalized a million ways. It is with a sad heart that I learned of his passing at a young age. RIP Gerard.
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