CABARET

THE WORLD’S FIRST CABARET CAN CAN SUPER STAR

LA GOULUE (1865 - 1929)

By Maximillien de Lafayette

THE SUPER STAR OF LE MOULIN ROUGE. THE QUEEN OF MONTMARTRE CABARETS… AND THE SADDEST SHADOW OF THE STREETS OF PARIS

She lived the two lives of Cabaret: The happy one on stage and the tragic one in her real life when her last impoverished days ended her up in the streets of Paris.

Photos: Mademoiselle La Goulue, the Super Star of the French Can Can. Quite a woman, quite a character and quite a human tragedy!

MADEMOISELLE LA GOULUE : Nee Louise Weber. She was born in Clichy, France around 1865. Her mother was a “Blanchisseuse” laundry woman. Her father, unknown. At 16, she became like her mother, a « Blanchisseuse ». To earn more money, she sold roses on rue de la Goutte d’Or in her spare time. God knows how it happened, she met France’s great, Auguste Renoir and became one of his models. Her income as a model allowed her to buy fashionable clothes suitable for places and parks where people of a certain culture and a social position mingle and gather. A more accessible and safer way of meeting “respectable” men. In one of the parks, she meets Joseph Oller, a co–owner of Le Moulin Rouge. Taken by her wit and beauty, he offered her a job as a dancer and as an “artiste” in his cabaret. Overnight, she became a sensation, the talk of the town. The press and the Cabaret customers called her “La reine de la sensualite Parisienne”, meaning the queen of the Parisian sensuality. La Goulue had her own style. While all the dancers were required by the Cabaret management to wear a hat while dancing, La Goulue categorically refused to follow the rules. She danced on the tables, her long hair floating all over her body and gladly, she would show to selected clients, the delicate little heart etched on her underwear “culotte”. Her fame allowed her to play hardball with the Cabaret owners. On April 6, 1885, she decided to leave Le Moulin Rouge and open her own Cabaret, hoping to cash on her beauty, fame and eccentricity. Unfortunately, luck was not on her side. She failed. She became bitter and alcoholic. In June 1899, she became a partner in an impresario agency and convinced the owner Monsieur Pezon to open a night club. Once again, she failed. So, she decided to leave Paris for good, more bitter than ever. In 1903, she meets a shady character who did not treat her right. She became extremely dependant on alcohol. Her beauty became to fade away and her health deteriorated. Those who saw her could not recognize her. The once upon a time, the Toast of Paris has become one of the frightening shadows of the dark alleys of Paris.

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