Actor, Mime and Comedian. He was born in Montreal on May 21st, 1914, to vaudevillian parents Effie MacDonald and Olivier Guimond Sr. At the age of 7, he was placed in the Mont-Saint-Louis foster home until the age of 16. Later on, he quickly became known in the cabaret scenes of Montreal but it wasn't until 1958 that he became the most popular Québecois comedian. With the help of fellow comedian Jean Grimaldi, Olivier's career was launched and in that same year, producer Noël Gauvin hired Olivier whom later became the major star of the popular variety show called "Music-Hall" aired at the time by Radio-Canada. When the Télé-Métropole TV station opened in 1961, he interpreted the role of "Cré Basile." This series highly influenced a commercial ad for the Labatt brewery (Labatt 50 beer) where the new slogan "Lui, il connaît ça!" [that guy knows what he's talking about!] emerged and became popular for the brewery company. He also acted in numerous series, such as "Le Zoo du Capitaine Bonhomme," "La Branche d'Olivier," "Smash" and small operettas such as "Les Trois valses" and "La Vie Parisienne." For his inept aptitudes, comical expressions and his extraordinary subtleness, he was widely compared to as the Canadian version of Charlie Chaplin. Olivier has been immortalized with the creation of an "Oscar" type of trophy that is awarded to Quebec humorists and is befittingly called l'Olivier.
Actor, Mime and Comedian. He was born in Montreal on May 21st, 1914, to vaudevillian parents Effie MacDonald and Olivier Guimond Sr. At the age of 7, he was placed in the Mont-Saint-Louis foster home until the age of 16. Later on, he quickly became known in the cabaret scenes of Montreal but it wasn't until 1958 that he became the most popular Québecois comedian. With the help of fellow comedian Jean Grimaldi, Olivier's career was launched and in that same year, producer Noël Gauvin hired Olivier whom later became the major star of the popular variety show called "Music-Hall" aired at the time by Radio-Canada. When the Télé-Métropole TV station opened in 1961, he interpreted the role of "Cré Basile." This series highly influenced a commercial ad for the Labatt brewery (Labatt 50 beer) where the new slogan "Lui, il connaît ça!" [that guy knows what he's talking about!] emerged and became popular for the brewery company. He also acted in numerous series, such as "Le Zoo du Capitaine Bonhomme," "La Branche d'Olivier," "Smash" and small operettas such as "Les Trois valses" and "La Vie Parisienne." For his inept aptitudes, comical expressions and his extraordinary subtleness, he was widely compared to as the Canadian version of Charlie Chaplin. Olivier has been immortalized with the creation of an "Oscar" type of trophy that is awarded to Quebec humorists and is befittingly called l'Olivier.
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