Jacques L'Heureux

Jacques L'Heureux

Jacques L'Heureux, actor (b at Sillery, Qc 10 Feb 1953). Jacques L'Heureux was propelled to stardom on the small screen in his role as Passe-Montagne in the children's cult classic Passe-Partout. He went on to pursue a productive career in theatre and television miniseries and, committed to innovative theatre, he has created many memorable characters.

After his education at the NATIONAL THEATRE SCHOOL OF CANADA (1971-1974), Jacques L'Heureux worked in radio and television broadcasting. He became well-known as the comical and clumsy Passe-Montagne, who communicated his thirst for knowledge to children in the phenomenally successful Radio-Québec program, Passe-Partout.

He shared the billing with associates Marie Eykel in the role of Passe-Partout, and Claire Pimparé as Passe-Carreau. He collaborated on the writing and directing of five performances inspired by the broadcasts and presented on tour in Québec and Canada. The program was on the air from 1977 to 1991, and became popular again in 2007, thanks to its release on DVD.

On stage, after the openings of two plays by Élisabeth Bourget (Bernadette et Juliette, a coproduction of Conventum and the Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui in 1979, and Bonne Fête maman, with the Compagnie Jean-Duceppe in 1982), Jacques L'Heureux worked at the Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental (NTE) directed by Jean-Pierre RONFARD and Robert GRAVEL. He took part in Gravel's trilogy la Tragedy de l'Homme consisting of Durocher le milliardaire (1991) - where he played the lead as a man puffed up with satisfaction about himself and his possessions: his stock of alcohol, music, and his "golden outhouse," L'Homme qui n'avait plus d'amis (1991) and Il n'y a plus rien (1992). The first of these was repeated at the THÉÂTRE DU NOUVEAU MONDE and in Europe in 1999. A generous actor, without fear of ridicule, Jacques L'Heureux portrayed his characters with truthfulness and a certain shamelessness. An expert in the improv dear to Gravel, L'Heureux was also a performer and coach in the Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation for twelve years.

In 1994 he toured with the Théâtre Populaire du Québec as Houdini, in a show dedicated to the famous conjuror, then played in Molière as Dorante in Le Bourgeois gentilhomme directed by Denise FILIATRAULT at the Just for Laughs Festival (Juste pour rire) in 1995. He made a notable comeback at the NTE in 1996 in Robert Gravel's Thérèse, Tom et Simon, where he portrayed an unforgettable drunk, racist and sadistic Monsieur Brochu. He collaborated with Alexis Martin in the hit Matroni et moi; written in 1995, it toured until 1998.

A jazz buff, Jacques L'Heureux acted as author, director, singer and actor for La Petite École du jazz and the Nouvelle École du jazz at Montréal's International Jazz festival from1990 to 2004. He also established remarkable television characters such as Ti-Bob Caillouette in Victor-Lévy Beaulieu's L'Héritage and Julien Constantin in Fabienne Larouche's Virginie.