Jérôme Lemay, of the Quebec duo Les Jérolas, dies at 77

Singer-songwriter Jérôme Lemay, best known as half of the cult comedy duo Les Jérolas, died on April 20 in Laval, Quebec, at the age of 77, after collapsing onstage in Place des Arts’ Maisonneuve Theatre in Montreal on March 31 during a reunion performance titled Le grand retour des Jérolas. After this onstage incident, the show’s producers announced that Lemay and Jean Lapointe, the duo’s other half, had decided to bring to a close to their act, which dated back to 1955.

During their career, Les Jérolas released some 20 albums, as well as the runaway hit “Méo Penché,” a Lemay-written song that became a SOCAN Classic in 1999. At the height of their success in the late 1950s and early '60s, the group toured in France and the U.S., and made a much-noticed guest appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. They performed their last show together in October 1973, and disbanded in July 1974.

Lapointe – himself a singer-songwriter, actor and ex-senator – expressed great sorrow at the death of his longtime stage partner, with whom he'd recently performed comeback shows in some Quebec locations, around Montreal and in Florida.

Born on August 22, 1933, in Béarn, in Quebec’s Témiscamingue region, Jérôme Lemay leaves behind a catalogue of more than 250 songs.