Éloi de Grandmont

Grandmont, Éloi de

Éloi de Grandmont, pseudonym of Joseph-Éloi-Augustin Grammont, writer, director (b at Baie-du-Fèbre, Qué 17 Apr 1921; d at Montréal 25 Nov 1970). He studied at the Séminaire de Nicolet and Montréal's École des beaux-arts, where he was a leading opponent of the conservative director Charles Maillard, a proponent of naturalism. He later spent 1946-48 studying at the Sorbonne and the École du Louvre. During 1944 to1946 he was an arts critic for Le Devoir; in 1946 he directed the series "Les Cahiers de la file indienne" and wrote the first collection of poetry in this series: Le Voyage d'Arlequin, illustrated by his former teacher, Alfred PELLAN.

Upon his return from Europe, he wrote screenplays for Renaissance Film, as well as about 30 short stories for Radio-Canada, most of which were produced by Guy BEAULNE (1950-52). In 1949 he cofounded, with Jean-Louis ROUX, the Théâtre d'essai, which opened with one of his plays, Un fils à tuer.

This theatre was replaced in 1951 by the Théâtre du nouveau-monde, which he directed for 3 years. Between 1954 and 1964, Radio-Canada broadcast a novel for radio by him (over 1½ years), 4 radio plays in the "Nouveautés dramatiques" series and 4 humorous weekly or daily serials. He authored an excellent adaptation of My Fair Lady and died only a few months after his appointment as professor at U de M's School of Translation.