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Writers & Poets

Charles FALLOT

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Lyricist, cabaret singer and cabaret owner.

Charles Fallot wrote song lyrics and sang them himself, at the Carillon and the Noctambules, before founding his own cabaret in Montmartre with Paul Marinier: La Pie qui chante. His hit is “La Petite Église”, written in 1902 to music by Paul Delmet, still being reissued forty years later. He signed dozens of other songs whose author nobody now looks for — such is the lot of the lyricist. At nearly sixty he turned to the cinema: eight films between 1931 and 1936, directed by Max Ophüls and the young Clouzot. He died in 1939.

LocationAvenue Transversale n°3, 3ᵉ ligne
Division95
Dates1874 – 1939

The story

Born in Paris on 14 August 1874, Charles Fallot wrote the words of songs and sang them himself in the cabarets of Montmartre, at the Carillon and the Noctambules, before opening one of his own with Paul Marinier: La Pie qui chante, the Singing Magpie, which he ran.

His hit was “La Petite Église”, which he wrote in 1902 to a tune by Paul Delmet; it was still being reprinted forty years later, in 1942. He signed dozens of other songs whose author nobody now looks for: that is the lyricist's lot, the man the audience never sees.

At nearly sixty he moved into cinema: eight films between 1931 and 1936, directed by Max Ophüls and by the young Henri-Georges Clouzot. He died on 16 December 1939 and lies in Division 95, avenue Transversale n°3, third row, in his parents' vault, under an inscription that calls him a poet.

On site, do not miss

The inscription calls him a poet. He was one in the most concrete way: his lines were sung.

Visitors' questions

What did Charles Fallot write?

Songs. “La Petite Église”, written in 1902 to music by Paul Delmet, was still being reissued forty years later. He signed dozens of others whose author nobody now looks for: such is the lot of the lyricist, whom the public never sees.

The writers and poets

Where is Charles Fallot's grave?

In Division 95, avenue Transversale no. 3, third row, in his parents' vault. The inscription calls him a poet — he was a lyricist, a cabaret singer and a cabaret owner.

The grave of Eugène Pottier

Which cabaret did Charles Fallot run?

La Pie qui chante, which he founded in Montmartre with Paul Marinier after singing at the Carillon and the Noctambules.

Marcel Proust

Did he do anything besides songs?

The cinema, at nearly sixty: eight films between 1931 and 1936, directed by Max Ophüls and the young Henri-Georges Clouzot.

Alain Decaux

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