Edith Piaf – Fact or Fiction?

Posted by Ben Smith

October 14, 2008

(Edith Piaf: This post was written to celebrate the smash-hit, sell-out run of Jamie Lloyd’s production of Piaf at the Donmar Warehouse, and its upcoming move to the Vaudeville Theatre on the 16th of October 2008, for a limited run. For Theatre Tickets click here.)

One of the biggest reasons Edith Piaf has been such an enduring icon is that despite the millions of words written in books and biographies, much of her life is still shrouded in mystery. Happily many intriguing legends have replaced boring old facts.

So to wet your appetite for the show (which opens at the Vaudeville Theatre on October 18th) here are a few of my favourites:

Born on the Pavement (Truth Rating 3/10)

Let’s kick off our run down right at the beginning, the very moment when little Edith took her first tiny breath in this cruel cruel world. Legend suggests that she was born right on the street, and when I say street I mean that her crash mat was the cold hard pavement. I was born at ‘Queen Charlotte’s Hospital’ in Hammersmith so I can only imagine the scene… screaming, scratching, lots of blood, cats looking on in wonder, men selling fruit from scruffy stalls, children playing with dog poo.

Honestly that does not sound like a very sterile environment in which birth a young infant. If I look out my window here, onto the streets of Leicester Square I can see a number of weird looking men with overlong beards and floppy cigarettes supposedly tiding up, and I must admit that London does feel a little bit cleaner recently. But the streets of Paris back in 1915 must have been teaming with nasty parasites just waiting to pounce on a little baby.

I wouldn’t have lasted a week with all those germs, not with my sickly constitution…

What’s in a name? (Truth Rating 5/10)

The Edith part of Edith Piaf’s name supposedly comes from the heroic British nurse Edith Cavell, who in World War 1 risked life and limb to transport injured British and French troops back to neutral territory. Unfortunately she was caught and sent to the firing squad, but became a martyr and hero for many people during the war, and a number of little babies were awarded the name in her honour.

The Piaf part develops many years later when fans attending her live performances were shocked to see how very small the woman was, only four feet ten inches! After saying “Ooo isn’t she small” the nickname Piaf was given, meaning “Little Sparrow” in French. (Not that I speak French you understand, apart from “Je M’Appelle Ben, et c’est mon freind Chris” and “Je voudrais roast beouf.”)

Personally I will name my two unborn daughters Sandalwood 1 and Sandalwood 2, for I believe a spirit from wood and trees runs through us all…

P.S

Why are older people called: Ethel, Maureen, Margret, Phyllis and Enoch…?

And younger people called: Flash, Imagen, Shy, Peaches, Pixies, Brooklyn, Apple, Romeo and Tiger…?

Weird…

Raised by Prostitutes (Truth Rating 8/10)

Before enlisting to help fight World War 1, Edith’s father called up his mother and said “Hi Mum, I’m just off to help fight World War 1, would you mind watching the baby for me until I get back”. His Mother said “SURE!”

The only slight issue here was that Edith’s grandmother was the madam of a Paris brothel, which for some ‘Bleeding Heart Liberals’ might not sound like ideal place to bring up an innocent young girl.

But by all accounts little Edith had a whale of a time making friends with the women there, allowing herself to be fussed over and adopted as their little cherub of sin.

Let there be sight (Truth Rating 5/10)

Another rumor I’ve often heard is that Edith lost her sight when she was three due to a nasty condition called Keratitis, in which the eye’s cornea becomes inflamed.

Cue a piece of amazing kindliness on the part of her grandmother’s brothel women who scrimped and saved, pooling their money they sent Edith on a religious pilgrimage resulting in sight being restored.

It’s a miracle….

CDs in 1946 (Truth Rating 0/10)

Finally the music world catches on and realizes that Edith Piaf has just the right mixture of talent and tragedy to sell bucket loads of CDs, which were invented right after the World War 1 to boost moral. (Just like our latter-day Pop Idols who always seem to be most successful when struggling with some kind of drug abuse or family tragedy.)

Club owner Louis Leplée was first to discover Edith singing on the streets and persuaded her to perform at his establishment even though she had crushing stage fright.

That was it, everybody loved the ‘Little Sparrow’ and the world became her oyster card.

Ello Ello (Truth Rating 1/10)

During World War 2 Edith was branded ‘Traitor’ due to her frequent performances for the German troops, although she always maintained that throughout this period she was really working as a double agent for the French resistance, and used her position and popularity to aid the war effort.

That sounds kind of feasible to me, so I think I’m going to believe it wholeheartedly. It’s like my mother always says, “Don’t let questionable morals get in the way of an enjoyable iTunes playlist, apart from when it comes to Gary Glitter!”

Biggest Star in the Universe (Truth Rating 10/10)

Due to her rather colorful lifestyle Edith Paif was denied a funeral mass by the Roman Catholic archbishop when she died. But 100.000 people came along anyway, and Paris descended into complete chaos and standstill for a good few hours.

A qwerky Russian astronomer even named a tiny little planet in memory of the singing-pocket-rocket, planet 3772 Piaf.

Theatre Tickets / London Theatre Tickets

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