Alain Montpetit
Encyclopedia
Alain Montpetit was a television
and radio
personality in Quebec
, as well as an actor.
Montpetit was a native of Westmount
, where he was born and where he grew up. His grandfather was Édouard Montpetit
, founder of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Montreal. He was the son of André Montpetit, a prominent labour lawyer, founding chair of the board of the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal and a judge of the Quebec Superior Court
, chairing the Commission of Inquiry into Working Conditions in the Post Office 1966.
He studied at the National Theatre School of Canada
and UCLA. During his days in the United States, he worked at KMET
/Los Angeles, California
and ran a pirate radio station near the US/Canadian border. On his return to Montreal
, in the early 1970s he became a full-time airstaffer at CKGM. After that stint at the Top 40 AM outlet, he would take the offer of being the host of a radio show on CKMF-FM
at the start of the fashion for disco
. Thanks to the station's emphasis on disco, it went from 48,000 listeners to around 500,000. Montpetit was also hired to host a disco dance show on Montréal's private French-language TV station, Télé-Métropole
.
According to François Roy, one of Montpetit's colleague and friends at the time, Montpetit did not particularly like disco music. However, he took advantage of the opportunity and was known as Montreal's "King of Disco", accepting sizable payment in cash or drugs from various club owners for spending time at their establishments.
Although Montpetit was married to classical ballet
dancer Nanci Moretti and had an infant daughter, he had brief encounters with many other women. He had a more serious affair with Paule Charbonneau. One of Charbonneau’s friends was Marie-Josée Saint-Antoine, a model from Montreal with the Elite agency, who was to move to New York City
. On a visit back to Quebec in June 1982, Saint-Antoine convinced her friend to break with Montpetit and communicated this decision to him.
Saint-Antoine was stabbed to death, on 17 June 1982, upon her return to New York City. Strong circumstantial evidence ties Montpetit to this murder. Among other things, he gave an alibi
to police which, much later, was revealed to be false. A witness saw a man who looked like him with Saint-Antoine shortly before she was killed. Upon a reinvestigation of the case years later, two women also described to New York police how Montpetit had confessed the crime to them.
Douglas Coco Leopold, who also worked for CKMF and was a prominent disco radio and TV personality, accused Montpetit of the murder on the air. Montpetit sued Leopold for defamation and the case was settled out of court.
In June 1987, Montpetit went on air while he was evidently under the influence, as he had on some other occasions. The manager of the station had to have him physically removed from the studio. Montpetit continued to react violently when he was told that he was fired. He travelled to Washington, D.C.
to join his mistress Jackie Lee, a disc jockey. He was found dead of an overdose in a Washington hotel room. He was thirty-six years old.
A fictionalised version of Montpetit, played by Patrick Huard
, is one of the central characters in the 2010 Canadian film Funkytown
.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
personality in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, as well as an actor.
Montpetit was a native of Westmount
Westmount, Quebec
Westmount is a city on the Island of Montreal, an enclave of the city of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada; pop. 20,494; area 4.02 km²; population density of 5,092.56 inhabitants/km²....
, where he was born and where he grew up. His grandfather was Édouard Montpetit
Édouard Montpetit
-Biography:Called to the bar in 1904, Montpetit worked as a lawyer and taught political economy before he obtained a scholarship in 1907, which made him the first holder of such a scholarship to be officially sent by the province of Quebec to Paris. In Paris he studied political and social science,...
, founder of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Montreal. He was the son of André Montpetit, a prominent labour lawyer, founding chair of the board of the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal and a judge of the Quebec Superior Court
Quebec Superior Court
Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen...
, chairing the Commission of Inquiry into Working Conditions in the Post Office 1966.
He studied at the National Theatre School of Canada
National Theatre School of Canada
The National Theatre School of Canada is a private college located in Montreal, Quebec.Established in Montreal in 1960, the National Theatre School of Canada offers professional training in English and French in a setting that unites all the theatre arts: acting, playwriting, directing, set and...
and UCLA. During his days in the United States, he worked at KMET
KTWV
KTWV is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside–San Bernardino and Ventura County areas on 94.7 FM. KTWV airs a hybrid Smooth AC radio format branded as "94.7 The Wave"...
/Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and ran a pirate radio station near the US/Canadian border. On his return to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, in the early 1970s he became a full-time airstaffer at CKGM. After that stint at the Top 40 AM outlet, he would take the offer of being the host of a radio show on CKMF-FM
CKMF-FM
CKMF-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec.Owned and operated by Astral Media, it broadcasts on 94.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 41,400 watts using an omnidirectional antenna from the Mount Royal candelabra tower.The station has a contemporary hit...
at the start of the fashion for disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
. Thanks to the station's emphasis on disco, it went from 48,000 listeners to around 500,000. Montpetit was also hired to host a disco dance show on Montréal's private French-language TV station, Télé-Métropole
TVA (TV network)
TVA is a privately owned French language television network in Canada. The network is currently owned by Groupe TVA Inc. , a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media...
.
According to François Roy, one of Montpetit's colleague and friends at the time, Montpetit did not particularly like disco music. However, he took advantage of the opportunity and was known as Montreal's "King of Disco", accepting sizable payment in cash or drugs from various club owners for spending time at their establishments.
Although Montpetit was married to classical ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
dancer Nanci Moretti and had an infant daughter, he had brief encounters with many other women. He had a more serious affair with Paule Charbonneau. One of Charbonneau’s friends was Marie-Josée Saint-Antoine, a model from Montreal with the Elite agency, who was to move to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. On a visit back to Quebec in June 1982, Saint-Antoine convinced her friend to break with Montpetit and communicated this decision to him.
Saint-Antoine was stabbed to death, on 17 June 1982, upon her return to New York City. Strong circumstantial evidence ties Montpetit to this murder. Among other things, he gave an alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
to police which, much later, was revealed to be false. A witness saw a man who looked like him with Saint-Antoine shortly before she was killed. Upon a reinvestigation of the case years later, two women also described to New York police how Montpetit had confessed the crime to them.
Douglas Coco Leopold, who also worked for CKMF and was a prominent disco radio and TV personality, accused Montpetit of the murder on the air. Montpetit sued Leopold for defamation and the case was settled out of court.
In June 1987, Montpetit went on air while he was evidently under the influence, as he had on some other occasions. The manager of the station had to have him physically removed from the studio. Montpetit continued to react violently when he was told that he was fired. He travelled to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to join his mistress Jackie Lee, a disc jockey. He was found dead of an overdose in a Washington hotel room. He was thirty-six years old.
A fictionalised version of Montpetit, played by Patrick Huard
Patrick Huard
Patrick Huard is a Quebecer actor and comedian.-Feature films:* 1997: J’en suis* 1997: Les Boys* 1998: Les Boys II* 2000: La vie après l’amour* 2000: Stardom* 2001: Les Boys III...
, is one of the central characters in the 2010 Canadian film Funkytown
Funkytown (film)
Funkytown is a 2011 Canadian drama film directed by Daniel Roby and written by Steve Galluccio.Set in Montreal during the disco era, the film revolves around the Starlight, a fictionalized version of Montreal's famed Lime Light discothèque...
.
External Links
- Interview of Montpetit on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....