“Looking back, I am left with the impression that someone watched me drown without throwing a buoy at me,” he wrote in his biography entitled D. Turcotte & filsin bookstores October 10.
Words which give an idea of the spirit in which he was at the time of his hasty departure in February 2021.
If the book is not a settling of scores towards Guy A. Lepage and his former team, it allows Dany Turcotte to set the record straight and tell how he experienced this painful episode in his professional life.
After 17 years of service, at least 15 of which were happy, things should certainly have ended differently.
“I didn’t want to sound bitter, but it’s written as I experienced it. I would have liked it to end differently, that I would have left in better conditions. I was forced to leave in a hurry because I asked a clumsy question,” Dany Turcotte confided to me in an interview.
This question, remember, was asked of Mamadi Camara, arrested by mistake by the SPVM after the attack on a police officer.
“I have often asked [des questions malhabiles] but with editing, there was always this barrier where we could dare things thinking that it could be removed, whereas there [en direct]everything that came out of your mouth was collected in waves.
In this context of pandemic, where jokes no longer really had their place, the comedian had offered the team the opportunity to ask at least one question during the interviews, which he had been refused.
“There is no bickering between us. I don’t think he’s angry [du livre]», affirms Dany Turcotte about Guy A. Lepage. (Archives Radio-Canada)
Without it ever being said, he had the impression that we wanted to renew the concept and that this meant his departure.
When reading the book, we realize that these people should have had a good conversation, saying everything in the eyes, to verbalize these unsaid things.
“We will not have had these discussions. Guys, it’s in our DNA. It doesn’t complain, it suffers in silence. Unfortunately, I am one of those people, I am 59 years old.
That said, Dany Turcotte assures that he has not remained in conflict with Guy A. Lepage, even if they no longer meet regularly.
“I went to his house for dinner three weeks ago, for the birthday of his son, of whom I am the godfather. There is no bickering between us. I don’t think he’s angry [du livre].»
Dany also contradicts these artistic sites which declared that he found Everyone is talking about it without interest since his departure.
“I still find it very good, very relevant. It’s a show that makes the rounds during the week, it always has its place. For someone interested in local culture, it’s an unmissable event.”
— Dany Turcotte
If he had to do it again, Dany Turcotte nevertheless believes that he should have left his seat well before.
“If someone had said to me, in a diplomatic way: “Dany, it might be a good idea for you to leave”, I would have taken it better, rather than making a hasty departure. A magician who does the same tricks for 17 years, we begin to know his tricks. Renewing my humor, two hours a week live, was a bit difficult,” he admits three and a half years later.
Dany Turcotte does not reveal himself half in this biography, a real open book on his childhood and adolescence in Saguenay in a not boring family, on his love life, his father’s mental health problems, in particular.
“I never thought about writing my biography, but after reading that of Stéphane Rousseau, who is my age and who had a special childhood, it gave me impetus. I started for fun and I got caught up in it.”
The comedian has no TV projects; writing amply fills it. He even finished writing a first novel.
“I no longer want to experience pressure, being under a microscope for two hours with a camera in my face and people who can interpret a simple facial expression for days. I am no longer strong enough to live through this, I am traumatized.
— Dany Turcotte
“Writing fills me with happiness, it’s healthy, it’s simple, extremely rewarding. It makes me happy. After having been in an intense social world, 20 years in shows, 20 in TV, where I was always surrounded by people, here I am all alone at home with tea and the noise of REM! I savor these moments of solitude.”
Among my favorite passages from the book, including the title, D. Turcotte & filsrecalls the name of the company of his grandfather, then of his father, there is the one dedicated to the politicians who frequented the set of Everyone is talking about itfull of anecdotes.
Including this card which was cut during editing, given to Jean Charest who is usually a good player, but who glared at the king’s fool that evening.
A moderate sovereignist, the former madman admits that he was tougher with the proponents of this political conviction in order to appear as impartial as possible.
Another card, awarded to Gilles Duceppe, earned him a volley of green wood. Jean-François Lisée also did not appreciate the one that Dany had written for him.
Although he speaks at length about Everyone is talking about itthe author tells in detail the fascinating story of the Sanguin Group, a humorous UFO in Quebec, which did things like no one else, from lip-sync with shadow puppets.
Everything is told there: his love affairs with his bandmate, Émile Gaudreault; his teacher Dominique Lévesque, whom he hated and who became his best friend; their early director, Robert Lepage; their chaotic entrance to the Just for Laughs Festival.
Dominique Lévesque is also a central character in the book, his scene partner with the Lévesque-Turcotte duo but also as his brother. The story of his tragic death in Honduras, incomprehensible, certainly constituted a painful exercise for the author.
The loss of loved ones punctuates several moments in the book, like so many invitations to embrace life and enjoy the present moment.
The author talks at length about the adventure of Groupe Sanguin, a group he formed with Bernard Vandal, Dominique Lévesque, Marie-Lise Pilote and Émile Gaudreault. (La Presse Archives)
Dany Turcotte also looks back on the years of Hot pepperof which he has wonderful memories and which he does not deny, despite the very dubious humor practiced there and while he was still in the closet.
“We were encouraged to bullierit must be said. I myself made homophobic gags, without any remorse. It’s not correct, I know very well that we were in the field, but that’s how it was,” he remembers.
He also considers that the exit to Francs-tireurs by Daniel Pinard, who died this week, arrived at the right time and made the difference; the host denounced the homophobic relentlessness of comedians from Hot pepper.
“It changed mentalities. He kicked the hornet’s nest saying “Calm down my gang of bozos!” It’s like he brought us back to order and it was perfect. He was a delinquent, free, funny being, trash.»
While some star biographies are sprinkled with somewhat futile anecdotes, Dany Turcotte’s contains several tasty ones. The author chooses not to censor himself, even if it means perhaps offending a few personalities.
Ginette Reno is one of them. In one of the most hilarious passages of the book, the ex-host of The little seduction recounts the exhausting weekend spent with the singer, during the filming of the summer show in Champlain.
Everything that wasn’t on screen is recounted there: his overly ribald jokes at the worst times, his confusing responses to well-meaning fans, his whims, etc.
The comedian of course evokes his own coming outthat of his private life and that of his public life, in front of the cameras.
He says a lot, but he doesn’t say everything.
“I have preserved my family in different aspects, because people are still alive, my mother is still alive.”
— Dany Turcotte
I recognized the writing, the humor of Dany Turcotte, who plays with words and comparisons, as in his cards, which he distributed for so long to Everyone is talking about it.
We also recognize his sensitivity, particularly in his desire to demystify mental health problems. The whole story about his father’s bipolar disorder is extremely revealing and touching.
But where I broke down was when he talked about André, his ex-lover, left quadriplegic following a serious car accident.
The months that followed were fatal for their relationship, even if things had deteriorated before the accident. This breakup against a backdrop of guilt and heartbreak is heartbreaking.
The comedian has often said it: getting smeared day after day on social networks ended up getting the better of his confidence and his mastery on the air. The daily flood of insults has washed away his corrosive humor.
“The ideas formerly expressed in the urinals at 2 a.m., the content of which we more or less remembered the next day, are now public [sur les réseaux sociaux]», he writes, rightly.
Dany talks a lot about his love life and reveals that it’s over with Robert, with whom he spent seven years. In an interview, he confides that he is currently dating an opera singer, Rain, of Thai origin.
“We are not a couple, we have not yet established what we are,” he explains, always with the same frankness.
What does Dany Turcotte hope we remember from the story of his life?
“How beautiful life is. It is also hard, extremely cruel, but resilience and humor can save us and help us to continue. Despite all the drama I tell, I always end up overwhelming and coming back. Humor keeps me going. Every life deserves to be told. Everyone should write their life, there’s something liberating about that.”
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