Lise Dion was recently at the Saint-Jérôme Seniors’ Salon, where Yvon Deschamps was the guest of honor. When I met her, she was getting ready to pay her respects with a few friends. The one who somehow announced the end of his career as a comedian and his retirement was in good shape. As always, she agreed to confide without restraint.
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Lise, the last time you and I saw each other was before your heart attack. You hadn’t yet decided to end your tour. Have you stopped completely?
Yes. I have agreed to participate in special events, but it is certain that there will be no more show productions.
How do you live with this situation?
I have to tell you that I live very well with that. I recovered from the heart attack easily. But the fatigue of the 367 shows was more difficult to overcome. I am now 69 years old. I told myself that I had had a warning and that if I had 10 years, 5 years or 4 years left, I had to take advantage of it. I said to myself: “Do what you want to do and enjoy the children, your life, the country house.”
How do you spend your days?
I read and I read! I have read 5000 pages of all kinds of books! I recovered like this: with reading, the swimming pool, going out. I changed my mind. This summer, I did 46 activities. I know this because I had written them; These were things I wanted to do. I can’t stop reading, but I also want to write. That’s always going to be there. I have an idea for a novel, but I don’t want to give myself a deadline. I don’t want to put pressure on myself. The first times I said no to contracts, it stung. As soon as work came up, I felt really bad. Before, I didn’t like saying no, but I no longer have remorse today when I refuse things, because I understood that I have to take care of what is coming .
Did you realize that you were heading towards the wall and that you had to stop?
Exact. I had 17 left shows to do and I told my agent that I didn’t think we were going to put them back and do them. I was afraid to leave, I don’t want to leave right away.
Are you feeling good?
Yes, I’m in good shape! I lost 45 lbs in about a year. I had lost 7 lbs before my heart attack, and the rest since then. I don’t go out to eat as often anymore, not every day like when I was on tour. That, I can say, felt good. And when we know how the arteries get blocked, we look at the meat and we say to ourselves that it sticks to the arteries, that thing! It’s scary. I don’t know how long this fear will last, but I’m eating a lot less meat and more vegetables.
So, is recovery going well since your heart attack?
Yes, but I’m still afraid of experiencing a symptom. There are people who told me that the first year (she had her heart attack on November 3, 2023), it was normal for me to be afraid. When you feel a little thing on the left, you wonder if that’s it… These are moments of panic, but it passes.
Do you still ride four wheels?
Yes, I still have mine. I do it in the woods, but I sold the Spyder (his three-wheeled motorcycle). I was too nervous when I was driving. My hands were so tight on the handles that I had to stop because my hands were too numb! I don’t want any more stress, it doesn’t tempt me anymore. The cardiologist told me — and people absolutely need to know this — that we don’t yet know everything that stress causes on the heart. It’s really not good! I want to try to talk about it as much as possible. The symptoms are severe stomach problems; when we have it, it’s a sign that stress is taking over us. Of course we feel it, the pain of the crisis, but it doesn’t last long; four or five seconds. It’s a big pain that makes you say: “Ouch!” I had a lot of anxiety attacks, and when I had my heart attack, I thought it was just another one. But that wasn’t it.
What do people say to you when they meet you?
Most tell me I was right to stop and enjoy it. There are others who are sad and bored. They hope I will come back on stage. It pains me to say no to them, but I can’t do another production, another show: it’s my health that will suffer. I will make other appearances, for example if I am asked to do a sketch at a gala. But I needed a year just to get back on my feet. It’s going to be a year soon, and I feel like the showbiz world is giving me a break. I don’t have too many calls.
You are 69 years old, but you can say that you are still in your 60s!
(She laughs) Exactly. The 70 years will be more rough. But hey… I have the privilege of being there, and I no longer see the 70 in the same way. It made me sweat before, but now it’s okay. I’m in good shape.
Do you have anyone in your life?
No. Maybe something will happen, because I have more time. I will be at home on the weekends. But I would tell you that I am very happy on my own. If the opportunity presents itself, I would definitely like to share my life with someone, but it’s not necessary. It’s not meeting someone that will make me happy. I learned — and it was a long process for me — to go to the cinema alone, to go to a restaurant alone, and it doesn’t bother me at all! And since I’m not accompanied, there are lots of people talking to me. I’m never really alone.
How is your daughter?
My daughter is my angel. She was the one who was there last November 3. Luckily she was there! She was the one who took me off the stage.
Do you think you will be a grandmother one day?
Well no! Neither from my boy nor from my daughter. They are 45 and 43 years old. Unless Hugo meet someone who already has kids, but that’s not it at the moment, and that doesn’t bother me. Claudie would have liked to make me experience that, but life is life! What do you want us to do? I am very happy to have my children, they are so close to me. They are my best friends, we have a lot of fun.
To find out more about Lise Dion’s production house, 6th Sense, go to sixiemesens.ca.
