We know Serge Laprade for his songs and his television variety shows. But the charming singer, who died on Wednesday at the age of 83, also made a name for himself in the cinema, especially in erotic films The inauguration.
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In 1970, Serge Laprade surprised everyone when he agreed to play one of the main roles in this drama by Denis Héroux alongside the actress Danielle Ouimet, discovered a year earlier in the film Valérie.
“Serge was already a big audience star at the time and I had the opportunity to see him at work in the show Jeunesse d'hui a few years earlier. But I never thought he would play my lover in a movie! And I have to say that I was very happy with the result,” Danielle Ouimet said in an interview with the Journal on Thursday.
The 76-year-old actress and presenter says she had a lot of fun acting with Serge Laprade on the set of L'Initiation.
“I will always remember his smile and his madness,” she says.
“In one scene in the film we had to pretend to make love in bed. To laugh, Serge started tickling me. But when I tried to free myself, I literally fell to the ground! Dennis [Héroux] I kept this attitude for the film and given the music and the atmosphere, we think it's serious. But in reality, we were laughing out loud while filming the scene!”
“A remarkable man”
Danielle Ouimet, Serge Laprade's friend for more than 50 years, only learned last month that he was suffering from a relapse of his cancer.
“We had more or less forgotten about his cancer because it was gone,” she admitted.
“Serge was always very sick. He had psoriasis. He never complained, but suffered greatly from certain illnesses. […] He was a remarkable man, generous and of great kindness.”