Guilda

Guida claimed to have been the son of an Italian countess whose family surname was de Mortellaro,[2] although journalist Alan Hustak later found that he was unable to verify this as there was no record of the de Mortellaro surname in directories of Italian nobility.[1] Following World War II he began his career as a stage entertainer, taking his stage name from the 1946 Rita Hayworth film Gilda.[3] In 1946, he had a small acting role in Yvan Noé's film Une femme coupée en morceaux.[2]

In 1951 he toured internationally as a stage double for French cabaret performer Mistinguett;[4] discovered by American theatre impresario Lou Walters, he moved to New York City for a time as a headliner of his own show, before moving to Montreal once his American work visa expired.[1]

In Montreal, Guilda became a star performer at the Chez Paree club, becoming renowned for celebrity impersonations of Hayworth, Mistinguett, Marlene Dietrich, Édith Piaf, Barbra Streisand and Marilyn Monroe,[1] and performed regularly on Quebec television variety shows.[5]

In 1965, he performed a sold-out show at Montreal's Salle Wilfred-Pelletier.[1] In 1967, he opened his own drag cabaret club, Chez Guilda, near the Montreal Forum.[1]

In the 1970s Guilda had a number of acting roles in the films of Denis Héroux, including The Awakening (L'amour humain), There's Always a Way to Find a Way (Y'a toujours moyen de moyenner!) and Don't Push It (Pousse mais pousse égal).[6] He also launched the theatrical revue Guilda's Follies, blending both musical and sketch comedy performances, in 1975,[7] undertook a performance tour of the United States in 1977,[8] and published his first autobiography Guilda, elle et moi in 1979.[2]

In the 1980s Guilda appeared in an episode of Télévision de Radio-Canada's annual New Year's Eve special Bye Bye, portrayed the Chevalier d'Éon in an episode of Radio-Canada's dramatic anthology series Les Grands Esprits,[5] and appeared in André Forcier's 1988 film Kalamazoo.[6] In 1983 he launched the stage revue Viva Guilda.[9] In 1985, he acted in a production of Sylvie Lemay's stage play Qui a vendu la meche?.[10] He was the subject of the television documentary film Allez Guilda! in 1986;[5] in the same year, he also undertook a Canadian tour,[11] performing most notably at Expo 86 in Vancouver.[12]

Having largely retired from stage performing by the late 1980s, he also took up painting, and had a number of exhibitions of his artistic work in the early 2000s.[4] In 2004, he mounted a return show at Montreal's Théâtre National to mark both his 80th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his Montreal stage debut.[2] He published a second autobiography, Guilda: Il était une fois, in 2009.[1]

Over the course of his career, Guilda also recorded and released a number of albums of cabaret pop.

Guida died in 2012, at the age of 88.[13] Guida, who identified as bisexual, was married a number of times and fathered three children.[1]

In 2014, Guilda was the subject of Julien Cadieux's documentary film Guilda: Elle est bien dans ma peau.[14]

In 2022, Rita Baga impersonated Guilda in the Snatch Game episode of Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World.[15]

• Guilda at IMDb