Gratien Gélinas, Montreal, Quebec, ca. 1980, by André Le Coz (1929-1996)

A unique person with an exceptional destiny, Gratien Gélinas (1909-1999) was surely one of the outstanding figures in the history of arts and theatre in Quebec and French Canada.

Created in 1937, his character, Fridolin, a young troublemaker from a Montreal working-class neighbourhood, launched his career in the theatre. His play, Tit-Coq, the story of an illegitimate child in search of social identity, was adapted for the cinema.

In addition to writing other plays such as Bousille et les justes, Hier les enfants dansaient and La Passion de Narcisse Mondoux, he also wrote for television.

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