Yvon Deschamps

Yvon Deschamps (born July 31, 1935, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Quebec author, actor, comedian and producer best known for his monologues. His social-commentary-tinged humour propelled him to prominence in Quebec popular culture in the 1970s and 1980s. A long time comedian and still active, Deschamps is now perceived as one of the greatest in Quebec history. Yvon Deschamps was born in Montreal's working-class Saint-Henri district. He left school in 1951, after Grade 11, and in 1953 found work in the record library at Radio-Canada's new television service. It was at Radio-Canada that Deschamps discovered the performing arts; after attending a boulevard theatre piece starring Georges Groulx and Denise Pelletier, he added a taste for the theatre, and enrolled in acting classes with François Rozet and Paul Buissonneau. He took the stage for the first time in 1957 at the Théâtre universitaire canadien, playing Pylade in a production of Jean Racine's Andromaque.