Monsieur Tranquille

Monsieur Tranquille is a character in the Canadian children's television series Patof voyage. He is well known for the 1977 disco hit Ma'm Thibault. He was portrayed by actor-comedian Roger Giguère.

Monsieur Tranquille
Patof raconte Patof voyage Monsieur Tranquille Le monde de Monsieur Tranquille character
Monsieur Tranquille
First appearance	September 1976
Created by	Éric Mérinat, Daniel Tremblay (design), Mérinat Marionettes[1]
Portrayed by	Roger Giguère
Voiced by	Roger Giguère
Alias	Lesley Tranquille
Nickname	Tranquille
Spouse	Farnande

Children's TV shows

Mr. Tranquille is first mentioned in the television series Patof raconte (CFTM-TV, 1975). Played by the soundman Roger Giguère, it's an invisible character and he interacts with the clown Patof by means of sound and music effects. It's only in the series Patof voyage (CFTM-TV, 1976) that Roger Giguère embodies him as a puppet.[2]

Lesley Tranquille (a play on words meaning "leave him alone") quickly wins the heart of the children. A single recorded in January 1977, Madame Thibault becomes a number one in Quebec.[3] A disco version, mostly instrumental except for the phrase "Ma'm Thibault", is created and becomes a club hit. The single is even issued in France and Australia, where it becomes very popular. The song credited to "Tranquille", to dissociate from the TV character, is also issued on a K-tel double-LP compilation called Disco Fever (1978).

In September 1977, Mr. Tranquille get his own television series called Monsieur Tranquille (CFTM-TV, 1977). To increase the popularity of the character, two LPs, several coloring books and posters, as well as a series of eight comic books illustrated by Henri Desclez are published.

The following season, a new series called Le monde de Monsieur Tranquille (CFTM-TV, 1978) was created to be more educational. However, the series was canceled mid-season.

In spite of a short career, Mr. Tranquille fired the imagination of a generation of Québécois. Songs like Faut pas me chercher (a duet with Patof, 1976), Madame Thibault (1977), Ça va pas dans l'soulier? (1977), Les monstres (1977), Farnande (1977) and Pepperoni are among his greatest hits.

Filmography

Television Series

• 1975-1976 Patof raconte
• 1976-1977 Patof voyage
• 1977-1978 Monsieur Tranquille
• 1978 Le monde de Monsieur Tranquille)

DVD

• 2011 Bonjour Patof (Musicor Produits Spéciaux)

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Label	Qc chart[4]	Notes
1977	Monsieur Tranquille – Faut pas m'chercher	Les disques P.A.X.	N°3
1977	Monsieur Tranquille – Superstar	Les disques P.A.X.	—
1977	Eugène – Les chansons d'Eugène	T.M./P.A.X.	—	Eugène Album (performed by Jacques Desrosiers)

Singles

Year	Single	Label	Qc chart[4]	Notes
1976	Faut pas me chercher (Monsieur Tranquille and Patof) – Mon ami Pierrot	Campus	— —	Patof Single
1977	Madame Thibault – Faut pas m'chercher	Les Disques P.A.X. inc.	N°1 —
1977	Madame Thibault (version disco) – Madame Thibault (version disco)	Les Disques P.A.X. inc.	— —	12 in. single; Time : 6:47; Tempo : 112 BPM; Mixed by Mike Delaney at Studio Six Montréal
1977	Pepperoni – La chanson des martiens	Les Disques P.A.X. inc.	N°21 —
1978	Le monde de M. Tranquille – Il a réponse à tout	TMPX	— —

European release

Year	Single	Label	Chart	Notes
1977	Ma'm Thibault (version disco) – Ma'm Thibault (vocal)	Vogue	— —	Short disco version (±3 min.)
1977	Ma'm Thibault (version disco) – Dracula Disco (Gerry Bribosia)	Vogue	— —	12 in. single, promo, "Ma'm Thibault" disco version of 6:47 min.

Australian release

Year	Single	Label	Chart	Notes
1977	Ma'm Thibault (Tranquille) – Dracula Disco (Gerry Bribosia)	Miracle	— —	12 in. single, "Ma'm Thibault" disco version of 6:47 min.

Compilations

Year	Album	Label	Chart	Notes
1979	Les super grands succès de Mr Tranquille + ses trois nouvelles productions	Totem	—

Collaborations and performances as guest star

Year	Album	Collaborator	Notes
1976	Super Patof	Patof	Contains "Faut pas me chercher" by Patof with Monsieur Tranquille (Campus, PA 49312)

Charts

Reconstituted chart[4]

Songs

Title / Date / Best rank / Weeks on chart

• 1977 Madame Thibault / 1977-01-29 / #1 / 19 weeks on chart
• 1978 Pepperoni / 1978-02-18 / #21 / 3 weeks on chart

Albums

Title / Date / Best rank / Weeks on Top 30

• 1977 Monsieur Tranquille – Faut pas m'chercher / 1977-03-05 / #3 / 12 weeks in Top 30

Bibliography

Comics

• 1977 Monsieur Tranquille – N° 1 (illustrated by Henri Desclez; text by Claude Leclerc), Éditions Héritage
• 1977 Monsieur Tranquille – N° 2 (illustrated by Henri Desclez; text by Claude Leclerc), Éditions Héritage
• 1977 Monsieur Tranquille – N° 3 : Super-diva (illustrated by Henri Desclez; text by Claude Leclerc), Éditions Héritage
• 1977 Monsieur Tranquille – N° 4 : Un numéro super explosif! (avec Junior Tranquille et Minibus) (illustrated by Henri Desclez; text by Claude Leclerc), Éditions Héritage
• 1977 Monsieur Tranquille – N° 5 : Un numéro spatial (avec Junior Tranquille et Minibus) (illustrated by Henri Desclez; text by Claude Leclerc), Éditions Héritage
• 1977 Monsieur Tranquille – N° 6 : Un numéro fumeux!... (11 pages de jeux et d'activités) (illustrated by Henri Desclez; text by Claude Leclerc), Éditions Héritage
• 1978 Monsieur Tranquille – N° 7 (illustrated by Henri Desclez; text by Claude Leclerc), Éditions Héritage
• 1978 Monsieur Tranquille – N° 8 (illustrated by Henri Desclez; text by Claude Leclerc), Éditions Héritage

Awards and Recognitions

• 1977 Golden record for the single Madame Thibault [5]

See also

• List of disco artists (L-R)

References

1. Canadian Museum of Civilization, Control no B3, f115 F3-F115.001.009
2. Bonjour Patof DVD (Musicor Produits Spéciaux, 2011)
3. Photo-Journal, April 9, 1977
4. Palmarès reconstitués de la chanson au Québec Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine
5. Photo-Journal, March 5, 1977

External links

• French Blog about Mr. Tranquille, Patof and Jacques Desrosiers