From Michou to Chouchou, there is only one step. And a court decision. Several weeks after the legendary Parisian cabaret went into liquidation, the comedian saved it. As AFP announced this Tuesday, October 8, it was indeed “chosen by the courts to buy the business” from Chez Michou. But not the brand. He’s not going to make it a transformist cabaret like the blue prince but
“a place of comedy and humorwhile keeping the soul of the place”.
And for those close to Michou, this announcement is excellent news. “Gad Elmaleh will continue to keep 80 rue des Martyrs alive, having fallen into the right hands as Michou would have liked. We would have been unfortunate if the place became anything other than a cabaret, reacted Michou’s niece. It will no longer be called Chez Michou, but Gad will make it a very beautiful place. It’s a very good thing to turn the pagetaking a turn.”
“The cabaret will not survive me”
Gad Elmaleh thus saves a mythical place of Parisian nights but also an establishment that has become an institution. In cessation of payment since last June, this place had been placed in liquidation. “It’s heartbreaking but, after several years of difficulties, we had to face the facts”reacted Catherine Catty-Jacquart, niece of Michel Catty. The 22 artists and room staff were dismissed from Chez Michou and we do not know if Gad Elmaleh will re-employ them.
In his memoirs, published in 2017, the king of Parisian nights explained that he wanted his Montmartre cabaret not to survive him. “When I have bowed out, I hope that my cabaret closes its doors permanently. I want this house to disappear with me. It may seem pretentious, but the cabaret will not survive me.” he wrote in Michou, blue prince of Montmartre. Words that left no room for doubt.
Michou wanted to “die on stage”
A year earlier on RTL, he said
to want “die on stage“. “It’s a wish that I make. I want this establishment to be closed two days later, for it to be a memory for all those who loved me”he added. His wish will therefore be partly granted. Because if his cabaret is going to be bought, Gad Elmaleh should transform it into a comedy room. The actor and humorist has never hidden his desire to be important in France.
And with this legendary address, his beginnings as owner should go well. For the moment, Gad Elmaleh has not spoken directly and no reopening date has been announced. As a reminder, Michou died on January 26, 2020. Weakened for many months, he had succumbed to a respiratory illness. An exuberant character, he had planned a festive funeral in Montmartre. His neighborhood and now that of Gad Elmaleh.
