French singer and actor Georges Milton (1886-1970) peaked in the French cinema of the 1930s as the character Bouboule.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, Paris, no. 181. Photo: Star.
French postcard by Campari. Photo: Studio Lorelle. Caption: 'Au travers d'un Campari, Tout est gai, tout est joli' [With a Campari, all is gay, all is nice].
Georges Milton, whose real name was Georges Michaud Desire, was born in 1886 in Puteaux, France. He debuted in 1905 at the Casino de Montmartre. After an exile in Russia during the First World War, he returned to France in 1920.
On the advice of Maurice Chevalier, he changed to singing tours. It earned him immediate success, and he became one of the headliners of the main Parisian café concerts. He also played small parts in four silent films by Henri Diamant-Berger in 1923, all with Maurice Chevalier in the lead.
After a revue at La Cigale, Milton turned to operetta. He created 'J'te veux' (I want you) by Gaston Gabaroche and Fred Pearly at the Marigny Theatre in 1923, 'Bouche à bouche' (Mouth to mouth) by André Barde and Maurice Yvain at the Apollo in 1925 and 'Un bon garçon' (A good boy) by the same two at the Théâtre des Nouveautés in 1926.
The huge success of 'La Fille du bédouin' and 'Artichauts', songs from the operetta 'Comte Obligado!' by Raoul Moretti and André Barde, created for Théâtre des Nouveautés in 1927, propelled Milton to stardom. In 1929, he played two operettas by Barde and Yvain: 'Elle est à vous' and 'Kadubec', followed in 1930 by 'Miami' by René Pujol, Saint-Granier and Maurice Yvain, a French adaptation of the American operetta 'Follow Thru'.
With his daring, merry songs, Milton expressed the atmosphere of the French roaring twenties, just like Mistinguett, Maurice Chevalier and Josephine Baker.
French postcard in the Nos Artistes series by Edit. Art de Comoedia, no. 33. Photo: Comoedia.
French postcard by Editions P-C, Paris, no. 114. Photo: Walery, Paris. Georges Milton sang the one-step march 'Adieu... Adieu...' (Adieu, mon petit officier) in the stage operetta 'L'auberge du cheval blanc' (The White Horse Inn). Text by René Dorin and music by Robert Stolz (music). Copyright: Alrobi, Berlin / Editions Salabert, Paris, in 1930.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 808. Photo: GFFA.
The arrival of sound cinema created a new career for Georges Milton. He created the character of Eugène 'Bouboule' Leroy, a French middle-class Joe, who became the optimistic and joyful hero of a series of films.
These included Le Roi des resquilleurs / The King of the Gate Crashers (Pierre Colombier, 1930), La Bande à Bouboule / Bouboule’s Gang (1931), Le Roi du cirage / The Polish King (1931),Bouboule Ier, roi des Nègres / Bouboule I, King of the Negroes (1933) and Le prince Bouboule / Prince Bouboule (Jacques Houssin, 1939). Most of these were directed by Léon Mathot.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, Paris, no. 181. Photo: Star.
French postcard by Campari. Photo: Studio Lorelle. Caption: 'Au travers d'un Campari, Tout est gai, tout est joli' [With a Campari, all is gay, all is nice].
Propelled to stardom
Georges Milton, whose real name was Georges Michaud Desire, was born in 1886 in Puteaux, France. He debuted in 1905 at the Casino de Montmartre. After an exile in Russia during the First World War, he returned to France in 1920.
On the advice of Maurice Chevalier, he changed to singing tours. It earned him immediate success, and he became one of the headliners of the main Parisian café concerts. He also played small parts in four silent films by Henri Diamant-Berger in 1923, all with Maurice Chevalier in the lead.
After a revue at La Cigale, Milton turned to operetta. He created 'J'te veux' (I want you) by Gaston Gabaroche and Fred Pearly at the Marigny Theatre in 1923, 'Bouche à bouche' (Mouth to mouth) by André Barde and Maurice Yvain at the Apollo in 1925 and 'Un bon garçon' (A good boy) by the same two at the Théâtre des Nouveautés in 1926.
The huge success of 'La Fille du bédouin' and 'Artichauts', songs from the operetta 'Comte Obligado!' by Raoul Moretti and André Barde, created for Théâtre des Nouveautés in 1927, propelled Milton to stardom. In 1929, he played two operettas by Barde and Yvain: 'Elle est à vous' and 'Kadubec', followed in 1930 by 'Miami' by René Pujol, Saint-Granier and Maurice Yvain, a French adaptation of the American operetta 'Follow Thru'.
With his daring, merry songs, Milton expressed the atmosphere of the French roaring twenties, just like Mistinguett, Maurice Chevalier and Josephine Baker.
French postcard in the Nos Artistes series by Edit. Art de Comoedia, no. 33. Photo: Comoedia.
French postcard by Editions P-C, Paris, no. 114. Photo: Walery, Paris. Georges Milton sang the one-step march 'Adieu... Adieu...' (Adieu, mon petit officier) in the stage operetta 'L'auberge du cheval blanc' (The White Horse Inn). Text by René Dorin and music by Robert Stolz (music). Copyright: Alrobi, Berlin / Editions Salabert, Paris, in 1930.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 808. Photo: GFFA.
A French middle-class Joe
The arrival of sound cinema created a new career for Georges Milton. He created the character of Eugène 'Bouboule' Leroy, a French middle-class Joe, who became the optimistic and joyful hero of a series of films.
Between the late 1920s and the mid-1930s, Milton issued many songs on records. In 1932, he created on stage the role of Leopold in the French version of 'Im Weissen Rössl' by Ralph Benatzky, 'L'Auberge du Cheval Blanc' (The White Horse Inn), performed at the Mogador Theatre. Then came 'Vacances' (1934), 'Un de la musique' (1937), 'La Féerie blanche' (1938) and 'L’amour s’amuse' (1940), but none of these shows renewed the success of 'Comte Obligado!'
The latter was adapted to film in 1934 as Le Comte Obligado / Count Obligado (Léon Mathot, 1934). In this film, Milton perfectly incorporated the ‘petit Parisien’, enormously dynamic, despite his lack of size and classic beauty. With his air of ‘average Frenchman’, he acted in at least one film a year in the 1930s. Milton retired after the war in 1948, appearing occasionally on television until 1964.
George Milton died in 1970 in Antibes, Juan-les-Pins. He was 84. Milton was buried in the old cemetery of Neuilly-sur-Seine.
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 769. Photo: Film Pathe-Natan.
Georges Milton sings 'C'est pour mon papa'. Source: jonjamg (YouTube).
Sources: Wikipedia (French and English) and IMDb.
This post was last updated on 14 September 2025.
No comments:
Post a Comment