Lavigueur family
Encyclopedia
The Lavigueur family is a Quebec
family that made headlines in Canada
in the 1980s after winning a lottery jackpot of $7,650,267 in 1986, which was then the largest prize ever given by Loto-Québec
. The trials and troubles of the Lavigueur family have since become entrenched in Quebec popular culture for various reasons: the fact that a poor family became multimillionaires overnight, the intervention of a stranger who found the lottery ticket lost by the family's father, the judicial saga of one of the family's daughters, the only member of the family to not have participated in the purchase of the winning ticket, suing her father for a fraction of the jackpot, the subsequent family disputes that tore apart the family which dissipated its fortune, all of which received wide coverage in the mainstream media of Quebec.
, Quebec
. Jean-Guy Lavigueur had been unemployed for a year and a half after having worked for 34 years at United Bedding Company.
The father was raising his four children, Sylvie, Yve, Louise and Michel, with the help of his brother-in-law Jean-Marie Daudelin, since the death of the children's mother, Micheline Daudelin, who died of sudden cardiac arrest in 1983. The couple also had two girls who died in infancy from heart problems.
A few days before the draw, Jean-Guy Lavigueur lost his wallet, which was given back to him by a good Samaritan, 28-year-old William Murphy, from Vancouver
, British Columbia
, who had recently moved to Montreal, and was himself unemployed. Murphy found the wallet and gave it back to Lavigueur, with a lottery ticket which he knew was the jackpot winner. When he got to the Lavigueur's house to give them back the unsigned winning ticket, it was the eldest son, Yve, who answered the door and refused to let him in, not understanding what he wanted. Murphy came back a second time to meet the father.
The new millionaires were Jean-Guy, Sylvie, Yve and Michel Lavigueur, Jean-Marie Daudelin, and William Murphy, with whom the family agreed to share the jackpot. In 1986, Louise Lavigueur, the only member of the family who did not take part in the purchase of the ticket, sued her father to get a share of the jackpot.
, in 2008. Sylvie chose to remain away from public life.
Louise Lavigueur died from heart failure in 1991, at age 22. The father, Jean-Guy Lavigueur, died from respiratory problems on November 26, 2000.
Michel Lavigueur committed suicide on February 11, 2004, at age 32.
's Le Bourgeois gentilhomme
.
, Flodder in Amerika
, and Flodder 3
) have been translated in joual
in Quebec and given the French titles Les Lavigueur déménagent, Les Lavigueur redéménagent et Les Lavigueur, le retour. However, these comedies had nothing to do with the real-life family or the events they lived.
French-speaking Quebecer
French-speaking Quebecers are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Quebec....
family that made headlines in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in the 1980s after winning a lottery jackpot of $7,650,267 in 1986, which was then the largest prize ever given by Loto-Québec
Loto-Québec
Loto-Québec is a government agency that develops and operates lotteries in the province of Quebec, Canada.-Loto-Québec's mission:Loto-Québec is a Québec government corporation whose mandate is to operate games of chance in the province in an orderly and measured way. It was created in 1969 to...
. The trials and troubles of the Lavigueur family have since become entrenched in Quebec popular culture for various reasons: the fact that a poor family became multimillionaires overnight, the intervention of a stranger who found the lottery ticket lost by the family's father, the judicial saga of one of the family's daughters, the only member of the family to not have participated in the purchase of the winning ticket, suing her father for a fraction of the jackpot, the subsequent family disputes that tore apart the family which dissipated its fortune, all of which received wide coverage in the mainstream media of Quebec.
Jackpot
The Lavigueurs lived in Ville-Marie, a poor neighborhood of MontrealMontreal
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...
, 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....
. Jean-Guy Lavigueur had been unemployed for a year and a half after having worked for 34 years at United Bedding Company.
The father was raising his four children, Sylvie, Yve, Louise and Michel, with the help of his brother-in-law Jean-Marie Daudelin, since the death of the children's mother, Micheline Daudelin, who died of sudden cardiac arrest in 1983. The couple also had two girls who died in infancy from heart problems.
A few days before the draw, Jean-Guy Lavigueur lost his wallet, which was given back to him by a good Samaritan, 28-year-old William Murphy, from Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, who had recently moved to Montreal, and was himself unemployed. Murphy found the wallet and gave it back to Lavigueur, with a lottery ticket which he knew was the jackpot winner. When he got to the Lavigueur's house to give them back the unsigned winning ticket, it was the eldest son, Yve, who answered the door and refused to let him in, not understanding what he wanted. Murphy came back a second time to meet the father.
The new millionaires were Jean-Guy, Sylvie, Yve and Michel Lavigueur, Jean-Marie Daudelin, and William Murphy, with whom the family agreed to share the jackpot. In 1986, Louise Lavigueur, the only member of the family who did not take part in the purchase of the ticket, sued her father to get a share of the jackpot.
Family members
Two members of the Lavigueur family are still alive: Yve and Sylvie. Yve published a book in 2000 about the family's story and helped with the production of a 6-episode TV series which was broadcast by the SRC, the French-language branch of the CBCCanadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, in 2008. Sylvie chose to remain away from public life.
Louise Lavigueur died from heart failure in 1991, at age 22. The father, Jean-Guy Lavigueur, died from respiratory problems on November 26, 2000.
Michel Lavigueur committed suicide on February 11, 2004, at age 32.
Television
On December 31, 1986, in a humorous year-end review, Bye-bye 86, Radio-Canada broadcasts a sketch titled "Le bourgeois gentilhomme Lavigueur," inspired from MolièreMolière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's Le Bourgeois gentilhomme
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme is a five-act comédie-ballet—a play intermingled with music, dance and singing—by Molière, first presented on 14 October 1670 before the court of Louis XIV at the Château of Chambord by Molière's troupe of actors...
.
Comics
From 1986 to 1989, the humor magazine Croc published a monthly satirical comic titled Les Ravibreur, which showed the newly famous family and depicted it as simple-minded, uneducated people. The physionomy of the main character was easily recognizable as a caricature of Jean-Guy Lavigueur.Movies
From 1986, three Dutch movies (FlodderFlodder
Flodder is a 1986 Dutch comedy film written and directed by Dick Maas, and distributed by First Floor Features. It is the first film in the Flodder franchise and is followed by two more films and a spin-off series...
, Flodder in Amerika
Flodder in Amerika
Flodders in America is a 1992 Dutch comedy film directed by Dick Maas. The film is the sequel of the successful film Flodder from 1986. It was filmed on location in New York and stars Dutch actors Huub Stapel, Nelly Frijda, Tatjana Simic, Rene van 't Hof, Lou Landre and American actor Jon Polito...
, and Flodder 3
Flodder 3
Flodder 3 is a 1995 Dutch comedy film directed by Dick Maas.This is the third and last movie about the anti-social family, called 'Flodder'. As with all the other productions of Dick Maas, he composed the score himself....
) have been translated in joual
Joual
Joual is the common name for the linguistic features of basilectal Quebec French that are associated with the French-speaking working class in Montreal which has become a symbol of national identity for a large number of artists from that area...
in Quebec and given the French titles Les Lavigueur déménagent, Les Lavigueur redéménagent et Les Lavigueur, le retour. However, these comedies had nothing to do with the real-life family or the events they lived.
Books on the Lavigueur
Yve Lavigueur published in 2000 the book Les Lavigueur: leur véritable histoire ("The Lavigueurs: the real story", ISBN 2-89035-341-9) at Éditions St-Martin. The book was used as a base for a TV series shot in 2007 and which was broadcast in 2008.TV series
From January 8, 2008, the SRC network broadcasted a 6-episode series titled Les Lavigueur, la vraie histoire. based on the book written by Yve Lavigueur. The series was directed by Sylvain Archambault, who also directed Le négociateur.External links
- Flodder on Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...