Lucille Dumont

Lucille Dumont
Dumont, pictured in 1940.
Born	Lucelle Dumont (1919-01-20)January 20, 1919 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	July 29, 2016(2016-07-29) (aged 97)
Nationality	Canadian
Other names	Micheline Lalonde
Occupation	Singer, radio/television host
Years active	1935–1999
Spouse(s)	Jean Maurice Bailly

Lucille Dumont (born Lucelle Dumont; January 20, 1919 – July 29, 2016) was a Canadian singer and radio and television host. She is credited by the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame with having "served and personified Quebec popular music" and popularized the music of Quebec songwriters by singing their songs. She is also credited with being "at the birth of Quebec television," participating in Radio Canada's first television shows.

She was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006 and was an Officer of the Order of Canada and an Officer of the National Order of Quebec.

Lucelle Dumont was born on January 20, 1919, in Montreal. At a young age, she was encouraged by her mother – who possessed a somewhat unorthodox attitude for the time – to perform on a radio station.

Dumont first performed under the name of Micheline Lalonde to hide her real identity due to the societal stigma around being a performer.

On October 16, 1935, at age 16, Dumont made her professional debut, performing on the Sweet Caporal radio show. It was produced by Léo Le Sieur, a pianist, organist, and composer who served as her mentor. She began hosting the Linger Awhile and Two Messengers of Melody radio show the same year, with Le Sieur performing the organ on the latter show at James S. Ogilvy's Tudor Hall. Radio Canada hired Dumont to participate in or host shows including Variétés françaises, Rêverie, Sur les boulevards, Le moulin qui jazze, Le p’tit bal des copains, Connaissez-vous la musique, Tambour battant and Hier, aujourd'hui.

In the early stages of her career, Dumont primarily performed Lucienne Boyer's songs, focusing on French music from the start. In April 1945, at a War Loan Drive concert, she performed Insensiblement, composed by Paul Misraki and conducted by Ray Ventura. This was the Quebec premiere of the song and was known as an "astounding success." Ventura invited Dumont to travel to France and go on a performing tour; however, she turned down the offer as she would marry Jean Maurice Bailly, a sports commentator at Radio Canada, in two months.