Pierre Louki
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Pierre Louki (née Varenne, 1920-2006) was a French actor and singer/songwriter.
Pierre Varenne was born 25 July 1920, in Yonne,[1] the son of Georges Varenne, a teacher killed in Auschwitz concentration camp.[citation needed]
Varenne learnt the theatre in Auxerre,[citation needed] before going to Paris in the early 1950s, where he met Roger Blin and Jean-Louis Barrault. He subsequently played in Blin's production of Waiting for Godot. He also began song-writing at this time.[1]
Among the interpreters of Louki's more than 200 chansons (besides himself) were Jean Ferrat, Catherine Sauvage, Marcel Amont, Juliette Gréco, Cora Vaucaire, Isabelle Aubret, Annie Cordy,[1] Francesca Solleville, Les Frères Jacques, Philippe Clay, Colette Renard, and Georges Brassens. He toured with the latter and wrote a book of recollections entitled Avec Brassens (éditions Christian Pirot, 1999, ISBN 2-86808-129-0).[citation needed]
He received the Académie Charles Cros prize (1972), and SACEM André-Didier Mauprey prize (1999). Pierre Louki also appeared as stage author and actor and broadcast on France-Culture, while on television he took part in programmes of Jean-Christophe Averty.[citation needed]
He wrote several books for children and his memoirs are Quelques confidences (éditions Christian Pirot, septembre 2006).[citation needed]
Louki died 21 December 2006.[1]
