Mr. Speaker, the man of a thousand voices left us yesterday. Jean-Guy Moreau gave his last show one Friday in April 2012 at the Théâtre de la Ville, in Longueuil, not far from where I live.
The predecessor of today's great impersonators, Jean-Guy Moreau liked to think of himself as an impressionist, and he had an uncanny talent for assuming the personality of his subjects, whom he impersonated to a tee by capturing their very essence.
A great catalyst for the evolution of Quebec society, from the Quiet Revolution to present times, Jean-Guy Moreau accompanied us to the end. I would like to quote his friend, Robert Charlebois: “An entire chapter of Quebec's history has left us.”
He was a true gem of Quebec culture. We will never forget his masterful parody of the great classic by his friend Robert Charlebois, when he took on the mannerisms and personality of René Lévesque and sang, “Chu rien qu'un gars ben ordinaire”, “I'm just an ordinary guy”.
Our thoughts are with his children, Véronique, Antoine and Sophie. His daughter Sophie recently published a biography of her father entitled Jean-Guy Moreau 50 ans,1 000 visages.
All that remains to be said is “Thank you, Jean-Guy Moreau. You were anything but ordinary.”