William Sheller, who became known to the general public in 1975 with the title Rock’n’Dollars, accepted this Tuesday, December 3, 2024 to return to the secrets surrounding his birth, during his appearance on the show It starts todaybroadcast on France 2 and presented by Faustine Bollaert. The son of Paulette Desboeuf was raised by Jack Hand, unaware that he was not his biological father. It was actually Colin Thomas MacLeod, an American soldier. How did he discover it?
It all started when he was already 53 years old. At that time, his mother's health had just deteriorated. And even if he did not have an easy relationship with her, he wanted to support her at the end of her life: “She was in palliative care and she was a camel. But it is not because people are camels that we should abandon them and reproach them.”. So he stayed by her side, hearing her mention names that were foreign to him: ’“That’s how I learned my father wasn’t Jack Hand.”
William Sheller, how did he find his biological family?
Surprise: yes and no. William Sheller, father of two children, suspected it. He had noticed that hedidn't look at all” to his supposed paternal family. Following the death of his mother, he began to gather all the information he heard, with the aim of finding his biological father: “I had Colin. I had Thomas. I had a MacLeod. I had Detroit, Michigan”. And it was in the early 2000s that he finally managed to find it. Finally…He came into contact with his brother and sister, since Colin Thomas MacLeod, who had searched for his son “all his life”, died in 1989.
A few weeks after this discovery and his discussions, he was able to meet his biological family. A moment which will certainly remain engraved in the memory of the man who has great hits such as In an old rock'n roll, The Spiral Notebook, I wouldn't hesitate to say that I still love you, Oh! I run alone, The girls of dawn, A happy man or even The Absurd Machines.
