L’one of the funniest voices of French television of the 70s and 80s disappears. Impersonator Chantal Gallia, who has taken part in many iconic shows like The Academy of Nine, The Games at 8 p.m., Champs-Élysées or Number one de Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier, died on July 10 at the age of 65. His family told the Figaro that she succumbed to “a brutal stroke”.
Chantal Gallia, whose real name is Chantal Halimi, was born in 1956 in Constantine. In line with the success of Thierry Le Luron, the actress finds within the French song of the time a pool of voices and launches into imitation, then in vogue.
An imitator with 120 voices
Dalida, France Gall, Véronique Sanson, Brigitte Bardot, Joëlle, Nana Mouskouri, then Sheila, Petula Clark or even the announcer Denise Fabre, Chantal Gallia develops a spectacular range of personalities of her time and even attacks certain male voices, among including François Mitterand, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and Georges Marchais. In her repertoire, Chantal Gallia counted around 120 voices.
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In a press release reported by our colleagues from BFMTV, the impersonator’s family writes that “for nearly 20 years, she has forged a very strong bond with her audience, who have appreciated her talents as an imitator and singer, and the follow in his artistic career. On stage, adds her family, she notably “participated in the tours of Joe Dassin, Claude François, Dalida, Pierret Bachelet, Hervé Vilard, Linda de Souza at the Olympia in 1984, before producing her own show in 1992-1993 at the Michel Theater of the Renaissance”.
Chantal Gallia is gone. We did shows together 30 years ago. She had character and did not spare the young man that I was in this extract, but she had heart and talent. Very sad news. ���� https://t.co/LXnWOwUG1K
— Olivier MINNE (@olivierminne) July 11, 2022
In the late 1980s, Chantal Gallia participated in the launch of the show morning happiness presented by Thierry Beccaro alongside, among others, the young Olivier Minne. He pays tribute to him this Monday on Twitter. “We made shows together 30 years ago,” he wrote, sharing an excerpt from morning happiness. She had character and did not spare the young man that I was in this excerpt, but she had heart and talent. Very sad news. »