Paul Cormier

Paul Cormier was, perhaps, better known by the stage name the adopted, Monsieur Pointu which came from the expression “La vie est triste, mais le bonheur est pointu.” One of a family of itinerant Québec musicians, he began to learn the violin when he was just 9 on an instrument made by his father. By time he turned 12 he was playing for dances in many communities along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. After military service in World War II, Cormier performed on radio station CBJ in Chicoutimi but later settled in Montréal, where he played regularly in hotels, nightclubs, and for traditional dances. He worked as a mechanic from 1954 to 1960 but returned to his musical career and played for several years in the Montréal area. The 1974 National Film Board movie, Monsieur Pointu, which shows a Cormier performance along with animated scenes, received an Academy Award nomination. In his only other film appearance he played, not surprisingly, a fiddler. Not just a musician he was also a composer with more than 30 musical titles to his name. In 2006 the Québec government awarded him its Médaille de l’Assemblée nationale.