Léo Daniderff
Léo Daniderff (Gaston-Ferdinand Niquet; 16 February 1878 in Angers, France – 24 October 1943 in Rosny-sous-Bois, France)[1] was a French composer of the pre-World War II era.
His 1917 comical song, a foxtrot-shimmy named "Je cherche après Titine" (lyrics by Louis Mauban and Marcel Bertal), became world-famous due to Charlie Chaplin's singing it in gibberish in Modern Times (1936), especially because it was the first time his character ever spoke in the movies and Chaplin did not want The Tramp to use any particular language. The title means "I am looking for Titine", and Titine is the diminutive of some feminine first names such as Martine and Clémentine.
In the United States this song appeared in 1925 in the Broadway musical Puzzles of 1925,
In Poland, the song was initially sung as a
Around 1964, Jacques Brel also wrote a song named Titine, incorporating fragments of the melody and referencing both Daniderff's song and Chaplin.
Other singers were Georgette Plana and Yves Montand.
The song's copyright belongs or belonged to Editions Léon Agel and Les Nouvelles Editions Méridian.
Daniderff's other hit song, "Sur la Riviera", was used as the theme for Jean Renoir's film Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932).
The song was parodied by Gary Muller in 1982 as "My Name Is Not Merv Griffin".
References
External links
- Free scores by Léo Daniderff at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Léo Daniderff at IMDb
- Source for birth/death dates (French)