Patof
Patof is a character in the highly successful Canadian children's television series Patofville. He was portrayed by actor-comedian Jacques Desrosiers.
| Patof | |
|---|---|
| Le cirque du Capitaine Patofville Patof raconte Patof voyage character | |
 Patof, the King of Clowns | |
| First appearance | January 1972 |
| Portrayed by | Jacques Desrosiers |
| Alias | Gregor Patof |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Clown |
| Nationality | Russian |
Television, performances, and comics
In January 1972, the clown Patof made his appearance in the series Le Cirque du Capitaine on the French-language Quebec television station CFTM-TV Channel 10. He hosted three different series: Patofville, Patof raconte, and Patof voyage.[1]
Patof told jokes and stories characterized by puns and often ended his numbers by exclaiming "On m'applaudit!!!" (applaud me!!!)
He had a successful recording career during the 1970s. Songs like "Patof Blou" (1972), "Patof le roi des clowns" (1972), "Patofville" (1973), "L'éléphant Tic-Tac" (1973), "La plus belle poupée du monde" (1973), "Bienvenue dans ma bottine" (1974), "Gros minou" (1975), and "Bonjour Patof" (1975) are among his greatest hits.
Patof participated in the Shriner Circus in 1973 and 1974, at the Montreal Forum.
He recorded an English single called "The King of Clowns".[1]
Some of Patof's adventures were released as recordings and comic strips, including Patof en Russie, Patof chez les esquimaux, Patof chez les coupeurs de têtes, Patof dans la baleine, Patof chez les petits hommes verts, Patof chez les cowboys, Patof raconte, Patof découvre un ovni, Patof en Chine, and Patof chez les dinosaures.
Character background
The character's full name is Gregor Patof. According to his background story, he was born in Bobruisk, Belarus. Patof's father was a clown, and he and his wife both worked for a circus in Moscow. Patof lost his father at the age of six, and his mother died a few years later, reportedly from laughter after seeing a bearded woman.[2]
As an orphan, Patof went to work at a circus. Everything in his environment reminded him of his parents, however, so he decided to leave. Not wishing to drastically alter his climate, he moved to Montreal in Canada, a city as cold as Moscow.[2]
He was lucky to meet "Capitaine Bonhomme" who, always ready to help, found him clowning work on television. Patof rapidly became popular with children. Making numerous personal, unpaid appearances at hospitals and orphanages, he won many hearts.[3]
Besides being a clown, Patof is also the mayor of Patofville, a fancy city filled with surprises for young and old alike, where he lives with his friends Boulik, Polpon, and Itof.
Characters
Patof
Gregor Patof is a Russian clown and the central character of Patofville, of which he is also the mayor. He appears for the first time in the television series Le cirque du capitaine. His costume consists of red pants and a tweed fitted coat with collar and matched cuffs. He wears enormous red shoes named "tatanes". In Patofville, he lives in a big yellow bootee. He is also the director of the Patof Circus.
Polpon
Mister Polpon is the police and fire brigade chief of Patofville. The best friend and confidant of Patof, he lives in a huge teapot, which doubles as a prison.
Itof
General Itof is a Russian spy whose mission is to return Patof to Moscow. Inventor, imitator, and practical joker, he is also a master in the art of disguise. He wears a Cossack's traditional costume as well as a surprising moustache, which transforms according to its own wishes. In Patofville, he lives in a huge pumpkin.
Boulik
Boulik (full name: Boulik Scavanovitch) is Patof's faithful dog. Stemming from the famous Toutousavanski race, he can speak and goes crazy when he sees a cat.
Minor characters
- Patof Circus members: Patof Circus is composed of the fortune teller Madam Sauratout, the acrobats "Les Fabuleux Risquetout", the giant Pandemur, the elastic man Sétir, the two dwarves Fromage and Chocolat, the tamer Mister Desfauves, the mahouts and elephant trainers "Pachy et Derme", as well as the ringmaster, Turira.
- Patof Circus animals: Among the main attractions at the circus are the performing horses Macaron and Macaroni, Bananof the gorilla, and Tic-Tac the elephant.
- Amikwan
- Fafouin
- Madeleine
- Midas
- Monsieur Qui
- Monsieur Tranquille
- Uncle Tom
- Tut-Tut
Filmography
Television series
- Le cirque du Capitaine (1972–1973)
- Patofville (1973–1976)
- Patof raconte (1975–1976)
- Patof voyage (1976–1977)
DVDs
- Bonjour Patof (20111)
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Label | Qc Chart[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Patof en Russie | Campus | N°5 | |
| 1972 | Patof chez les esquimaux | Campus | — | |
| 1972 | Patof chez les coupeurs de têtes | Campus | — | |
| 1972 | Patof dans la baleine | Campus | Top 50 | |
| 1972 | Patof chez les petits hommes verts | Campus | Top 50 | |
| 1972 | Patof chez les cowboys | Campus | Top 50 | |
| 1973 | Patof chante 10 chansons pour tous les enfants du monde | Campus | Top 50 | |
| 1973 | Patofville – Patof chante pour toi | Campus | Top 50 | |
| 1974 | Bienvenue dans ma bottine | Campus | Top 50 | |
| 1974 | Itof et la ville souterraine | Campus | — | Itof album |
| 1974 | Polpon – Opération bonbon | Campus | — | Polpon album |
| 1974 | Amikwan – Koi koi ayaho | Campus | Top 50 | Amikwan album |
| 1974 | L'histoire de Boulik | Campus | — | Boulik album |
| 1975 | Bricolons avec Madeleine | Campus | — | Madeleine album |
| 1975 | Patof Rock | Campus | — | |
| 1975 | Itof – Dans ma citrouille | Campus | — | Itof album |
| 1975 | Gilbert Chénier – Polpon | Campus | — | Polpon album |
| 1975 | Noël Noël Noël avec Patof | Campus | — | |
| 1976 | Gare... à Patof | Campus | — | |
| 1976 | Tut-Tut / Fafouin | Campus | — | Tut-Tut & Fafouin album |
| 1976 | Super Patof | Campus | — | |
| 1980 | Nestor et Patof – Pour tous | Girafe | Top 50 | with Nestor |
Singles
| Year | Single | Label | Qc Chart[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Patof Blou (children's version) – Patof Blou (political version) |
Campus | N°1 — |
|
| 1972 | Patof le roi des clowns – Ballade pour un clown (Dis Patof?) |
Campus | N°2 — |
|
| 1973 | The King of Clowns – Dear Patof |
Polydor | — — |
|
| 1973 | Oh! Les enfants – On m'applaudit |
Campus | N°14 — |
|
| 1973 | Patofville – L'éléphant Tic-Tac |
Campus | N°15 — |
|
| 1973 | L'éléphant Tic-Tac (mono version) – L'éléphant Tic-Tac (mono version) |
Campus | — — |
"D.J. Special" version |
| 1973 | Bonjour les enfants – La plus belle poupée du monde |
Campus | N°15 — |
|
| 1974 | Bienvenue dans ma bottine – Goodbye, au revoir, dasvidanie! |
Campus | N°31 — |
|
| 1974 | Le roi des espions – Je suis bon malgré tout |
Campus | — — |
Itof single |
| 1974 | Policier bonbon – Prudence |
Campus | — — |
Polpon single |
| 1974 | Une vie de chien – Je n'aime pas les chats |
Campus | — — |
Boulik single |
| 1975 | Gros minou – Bonjour Patof |
Campus | — — |
|
| 1976 | Patof Blou – Patofville – Bonjour Patof – Gros minou |
Campus | — — — — |
Previously released material, promo |
| 1976 | Faut pas me chercher (Patof & Monsieur Tranquille) – Mon ami Pierrot |
Jades | — — |
|
| 1980 | T'es pas sérieux – On fait le tour de la terre |
Girafe | — — |
with Nestor |
Compilations
| Year | Album | Label | Qc Chart[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Patof le roi des clowns | Pantin | Top 50 | |
| 1975 | 22 grands succès de Patof | Trans-World | — | |
| 1976 | Patofville – Patof et ses amis | TeeVee | — | |
| 1977 | 20 grands succès de Patof, Fafouin, Itof | Télé-Métropole Inc. | — |
Collaborations and performances as guest star
| Year | Album | Collaborator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Nestor – Les grands succès | Claude Blanchard | Featuring the B-side of the album Nestor et Patof – Pour tous (Disques Mérite, compilation) |
Meritas hit parade chart
On the Meritas chart, which was the most reliable chart list in Quebec at the beginning of the 1970s, Patof Blou reached #1 during two weeks on 16 September 1972[5][6] and Patof le roi des clowns reached #7 on 30 December 1972. Jacques Desrosiers received two golden records[7] for the two singles.
Songs
Title / Date / Best rank / Weeks on chart
- 1972 "Patof Blou" / 1972-07-01 / #1 / 16 weeks on chart
- 1972 "Patof le roi des clowns" / 1972-10-21 / #2 / 22 weeks on chart
- 1973 "Oh! Les enfants" / 1973-04-07 / #14 / 5 weeks on chart
- 1973 "Patofville" / 1973-09-01 / #15 / 19 weeks on chart
- 1974 "Bonjour les enfants" / 1974-01-12 / #15 / 11 weeks on chart
- 1974 "Bienvenue dans ma bottine" / 1974-11-16 / #31 / 1 week on chart
Albums
Title / Date / Best rank / Weeks on Top 30
- 1972 Patof en Russie / 1972-09-23 / #5 / 7 weeks in Top 30
- 1972 Patof dans la baleine / 1972-12
- 1972 Patof chez les petits hommes verts / 1972-12
- 1972 Patof chez les cowboys / 1972-12
- 1973 Patof chante 10 chansons pour tous les enfants du monde / 1973-05
- 1974 Patofville – Patof chante pour toi / 1974-03
- 1974 Bienvenue dans ma bottine / 1974-12
- 1975 Patof le roi des clowns / 1975-04
- 1975 Amikwan – Koi koi ayaho / 1975-04
- 1980 Nestor et Patof – Pour tous / 1980-05
Bibliography
- 1972 Patof raconte, Éditions de l'Homme
- 1972 Patofun, Éditions de l'Homme
- 1972 Cuisinons avec Patof, Éditions de l'Homme
- 1973 Patof découvre un ovni, Éditions Mirabel
- 1974 Patof en Chine, Éditions Mirabel
- 1976 Patof chez les dinosaures, Éditions Mirabel
- 2009 Une journée à Patofville, Éditions Les Intouchables (Non-canon)
- 2009 Patof à la rescousse de la forêt, Éditions Les Intouchables (Non-canon)
- 2009 Patof et le monstre du lac, Éditions Les Intouchables (Non-canon)
References
- Jacques Desrosiers, Millionnaire (1981). Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- Pierre Richard, 25 ans de télévision au Québec (1986). Retrieved 3 October 2011
- 34th Shriners Circus Program at the Montreal Forum, 29 May to 2 June 1974 (1974). Retrieved 3 October 2011
- Palmarès reconstitués de la chanson au Québec Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Le palmarès Méritas, 16 septembre 1972, Photo-Vedettes, 16 septembre 1972, page 8.
- Le palmarès Méritas, 23 septembre 1972, Photo-Vedettes, 23 septembre 1972, page 8.
- In Québec at the time, the benchmark for a gold record was 100,000 sales.
