Luck Mervil

Luck Mervil
Background information
Born (1967-10-20) October 20, 1967 (age 56)
Port-au-Prince, Haïti
GenresSoul, Kompa, Zouk, Afrobeat, Funk, Rap, Reggae, Pop-Rock
Occupation(s)Singer-Songwriter, Actor, Producer, Entrepreneur
Instrument(s)Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Years active1992-present

Lucknerson Junior Mervil (born October 20, 1967),[1] is a Haitian-Canadian singer-songwriter, actor and entrepreneur. He is known for his work in the French musical Notre-Dame-de-Paris, playing Clopin in the original French & English casts.[2]

During early 1990s, he achieved fame as the front runner of pop-rock/funk band RudeLuck by winning music contest L’Empire des futures starts.[3] He was approached by Luc Plamondon, to star in a Quebec/French cast new musical called Notre-Dame-de-Paris. In 2001, he starts his film career with the French movie Betty Fisher et autres histoires from director Claude Miller and will appear in several films throughout his career. He revisited his theatre musical career this time in Quebec with Génération Motown which was shown in Québec city and Montreal. Mervil hosted acclaimed boy/girl band contest Mixmania, on Vrak-TV, which will earn him an Award for his hosting skills.[4] He hosted a public affairs television program Le 3950 on TV5.

Mervil is also known for his involvement in his community. In particular when Hurricane Jeanne hit his mother land in 2004. He shared the profit of his single Ti peyi a with the CECI and  Medecins du Monde Canada.[5] That year, for his implication and bringing the Haitian and Quebecer communities together he was named Patriot of the Year  by the Saint-Jean-Bapstiste Society.[6] He release his creole album Ti Peyi A that year featuring songs like Ti Mari & Mezanmi that are known as anthems in Haiti.

Early life

Mervil was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. His family moved to Quebec when he was four years old.[7] He lived in New York between the ages of 12 and 17, and then returned to Quebec.[8]

Career

Mervil recorded several albums of reggae and rap music, including three with his band RudeLuck and later a self-titled solo album in 2000.[9]

Mervil performed the role of Clopin is the original distribution of the 1998 Notre-Dame de Paris musical.[10][9] He made several subsequent television appearances, and in 2001 acted in the film Betty Fisher et autres histoires in 2001.[11]

Mervil was a spokesperson for the Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation.[8] He founded the charitable organization, Vilaj vilaj.[12]

Personal life

Mervil is a father of 3.

Luck Mervil pleaded guilty in May 2018 to one charge of sexual exploitation for engaging in sexual relationship with a girl in 1996. The sexual contacts started when the girl was 17 and Mervil was 29, and continued after she turned 18. Despite age of consent in Canada being 14 years old at the time, the conviction stems from the fact Mervil was "in a position of authority" when the sexual contacts started while the girl was a minor. The judge, accepting the joint recommendation of the prosecution and defense, sentenced Mervil to 6 months to be served in the community, the first three of which under house arrest.[13][14]

Discography

  • 1993 : RudeLuck (with RudeLuck)
  • 1995 : Two (with RudeLuck)
  • 1998 : Revolution (CD single, with RudeLuck)
  • 1999 : Aller Simple
  • 2000 : Luck Mervil
  • 2003 : Soul
  • 2009 : Ti peyi a

Filmography

Movies

  • 2001: Betty Fisher et autres histoires as François Diembele
  • 2004: C'est pas moi, c'est l'autre as Dieudonné
  • 2004: On the Verge of a Fever (French: Le Goût des jeunes filles) as actor and composer
  • 2006: A Sunday in Kigali as Raphaël

Television

  • 1997: Sauve qui peut! (series) as Christopher Étienne
  • 1999: Notre-Dame de Paris (special) as Clopin
  • 1998–2001: Piment Fort (recurring game show guest)
  • 2002: The Mess Age (English performance, recorded in Montreal)[15]
  • 2003: MixMania [fr] (VRAK.TV), show host

References

  1. ^ QMI, Agence (20 October 2013). "Nés un 20 octobre". Le Journal de Québec. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  2. ^ "RFI Musique - - Notre-Dame de Paris". www1.rfi.fr. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. ^ "BAnQ numérique". numerique.banq.qc.ca (in French). Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Gala MétroStar - Sophie Lorain et Guy A. Lepage couronnés". Le Devoir (in French). 17 March 2003. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Haïti dévasté: "C'est la catastrophe" (Luck Mervil)". Le Soleil (in French). 13 January 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  6. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Aucun thème sélectionné- (8 November 2004). "Luck Mervil, patriote de l'année". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  7. ^ Éthique de l'altérité: la question de la culture dans le champ de la santé et des services sociaux. Presses Université Laval; 2007. ISBN 978-2-7637-8303-1. p. 66.
  8. ^ a b "Luck Mervil, patriote de l'année". Ici Radio Canada, 8 November 2004
  9. ^ a b Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism. University of Kansas; 2004. pp. 131–133.
  10. ^ Notre Dame de Paris a 20 ans: l'histoire d'un succès planétaire". Alain de Repentigny, LA PRESSE, 11 August 2018
  11. ^ Marie-Christine Weidmann Koop. Le Québec à l’aube du nouveau millénaire: Entre tradition et modernité. PUQ; 22 April 2011. ISBN 978-2-7605-2197-1. p. 350.
  12. ^ "Un an depuis le tremblement de terre". Ici Radio Canada, 12 January 2011
  13. ^ "Luck Mervil sentenced to 6 months for sexual exploitation of a minor". Montreal Gazette, 23 May 2018
  14. ^ "Luck Mervil est accusé d'agression sexuelle". Ici Radio Canada, 2014/12/03. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ "Luck Mervil : The Mess Age". Telefilm Canada. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2009.