{{Short description|French music producer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} thumb|Coquatrix in 1940

'''Bruno Coquatrix''' ({{IPA|fr|bʁyno kɔkatʁi}}; 5 August 1910, Ronchin, Nord – 1 April 1979) was a French record producer, the owner and manager of Olympia in Paris from 1954 until his death in 1979.

==Career== Coquatrix was first known as a song and music writer. He wrote over 300 songs, including ''Mon ange'' (1940) ; ''Dans un coin de mon pays'' (1940);<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [https://www.lesoir.be/art/il-peut-le-dire-chanson-dans-un-coin-de-mon-pays-_t-20001123-Z0JYN3.html IL PEUT LE DIRE Chanson: «Dans un coin de mon pays»], ''Lesoir.be'', 23 November 2000</ref> ''Clopin-clopant'' (1947); ''Cheveux dans le vent'' (1949), as well as some operettas. He was also an impresario, representing Jacques Pills and Lucienne Boyer, among others.

He managed the variety theatre Bobino before he took over the Olympia Hall, Europe's biggest music hall in 1954. In 1956, during a "tomorrow's number 1" audition at the Olympia, Coquatrix, Lucien Morrisse and Eddie Barclay discovered the unknown cabaret singer Dalida.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/227927/La_vie_mest_insupportable%252C_pardonnez-moi_Il_y_a_dix_ans%252C_le_suicide_de_Dalida.html La vie m'est insupportable, pardonnez-moi Il y a dix ans, le suicide de Dalida], ''Lorientlejour.com'', 30 April 1997</ref> He then staged all the era's celebrities, including Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel, Gilbert Bécaud, Ewa Demarczyk, Johnny Hallyday, Violetta Villas, Umm Kulthum, Édith Piaf, Annie Cordy, Charles Aznavour, Mireille Mathieu and Yves Montand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=When Umm Kulthum Went to Paris |url=https://cairoscene.com/artsandculture/when-umm-kulthum-went-to-paris |access-date=2026-01-09 |website=CairoScene}}</ref>

Bruno Coquatrix co-founded a record company, the Disques Versailles.

Bruno Coquatrix was the director of the casino of Cabourg (Calvados) in the 1950s, and the mayor of Cabourg from 1971 until his death in 1979.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [https://www.francebleu.fr/emissions/un-jour-en-normandie/normandie-rouen/direction-cabourg-le-maire-bruno-coquatrix-n-avait-pas-froid-aux-yeux Direction Cabourg, le maire Bruno Coquatrix n’avait pas froid aux yeux…], ''Francebleu.fr'', 30 January 2018</ref><ref name="ouestfrance esplanade">{{in lang|fr}} [https://www.ouest-france.fr/normandie/cabourg-14390/cabourg-une-nouvelle-esplanade-en-coeur-de-ville-6449834 Cabourg. Une nouvelle esplanade en cœur de ville], ''Ouest-france.com'', 18 July 2019</ref> His mandate as Mayor of Cabourg was focused on the development of tourism and real estate, and the growth of Cabourg's sister cities (+11 during his mandate).<ref name="ouestfrance esplanade"/>

==Personal life== Coquatrix was married to Paulette Coquatrix.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/mort-de-paulette-coquatrix-ancienne-proprietaire-de-l-olympia-29-05-2018-7742625.php|title=Mort de Paulette Coquatrix, ancienne propriétaire de l'Olympia|accessdate=5 June 2018|work=leparisien.fr|language=fr-FR}}</ref>

He was the best man of Henri Betti in 1949 and André Hornez in 1963 who were the authors of ''C'est si bon''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.operette-theatremusical.fr/2015/07/08/bruno-coquatrix/ |title=Coquatrix Bruno |language=fr |website=Opérette — Théâtre Musical |date= 27 July 2023|access-date=2023-09-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930153155/http://www.operette-theatremusical.fr/2015/07/08/bruno-coquatrix/ |archive-date=2023-09-30 |url-status=live }}</ref> Coquatrix was buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery (division 96). In November 2010, the newly named street "Rue Bruno Coquatrix" was inaugurated in Paris next to the Olympia Hall.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [https://www.lepoint.fr/insolite/une-rue-bruno-coquatrix-a-paris-pres-de-l-olympia-19-11-2010-1264683_48.php Une rue Bruno Coquatrix à Paris, près de l'Olympia], ''Lepoint.fr'', 19 November 2011</ref> In Calbourg where he was Mayor, the downtown square, "Place Bruno Coquatrix", was named after him, and a "Bruno Coquatrix Stèle" stands in the middle of the square.<ref name="ouestfrance esplanade"/>

<gallery> File:Olympia Paris dsc00803.jpg|Olympia's facade with "Bruno Coquatrix" in the official name, 2005. File:Panneau L'Olympia.jpg|Paris' Landmark sign mentioning Coquatrix in the history of the Olympia Hall. File:Père-Lachaise - Division 96 - Coquatrix 01.jpg|Tomb of Bruno Coquatrix, Père Lachaise Cemetery. </gallery>

==See also== *Olympia Hall *Paulette Coquatrix

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== * Paulette Coquatrix. ''Les coulisses de ma mémoire'' (1984) Grasset & Fasquelle; {{ISBN|2-246-31071-7}} * Jean-Michel Boris. ''Olympia, Bruno Coquatrix'' (2003) Hors Collection; {{ISBN|2-258-06234-9}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|0178954}} * [http://data.bnf.fr/13892729/bruno_coquatrix/ Bruno Coquatrix] at the ''BnF''

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Coquatrix, Bruno}} Category:People from Nord (French department) Category:1910 births Category:1979 deaths Category:20th-century French businesspeople Category:French male songwriters Category:French songwriters Category:Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Category:20th-century French musicians Category:20th-century French male writers